§ 12.

4 General Curvilinear Motion

Now, things are much more
interesting, because in multi-
dimensional problems, position,
velocity and acceleration all have
to be described as vectors.

 dr
 dr
 v
v
dt dt
The magnitude of the velocity
vector is called the speed, and it
can be described as the time rate of
change along the path or arc length:
 ds
v  vuˆv ; v 
dt
§ 12.4 General Curvilinear Motion
Whereas velocity vectors are always
tangent to the path of the particle,
acceleration vectors are not

 dv
a
dt
Suppose we take the set of velocity
vectors and trace out a continuous
curve; such a curve is called a
hodograph. The acceleration
vector is tangent to the hodograph,
but this does not produce vectors
tangent to the path of the particle:
§ 12.4 General Curvilinear Motion
It isn’t obvious by inspection what
the relationship is between the path
of the particle and the acceleration
vector

 dv d dv duˆv
a  (vuˆv )  uˆv  v
dt dt dt dt
We can experience acceleration
because the speed is changing or the
a orientation of the velocity vector is
changing or both. In the special case
of a spherical orbit at constant speed,
acceleration is due entirely to the
change in the unit vector with respect
to time.
 § 12.5 Curvilinear Motion: Rectangular
(Cartesian) Components
Cartesian systems are easiest
to consider first because the
unit vectors don’t change
orientation as the particle
moves along its path.

 dr d ˆ ˆ
v  ( xi  yj  zkˆ)
dt dt

But since the unit vectors don’t change with time, we have, for instance:
d ˆ dx ˆ diˆ dx ˆ
( xi )  ix  i  v x iˆ  x iˆ
dt dt dt dt
§ 12.5 Curvilinear Motion: Rectangular
(Cartesian) Components
All of the following are

equivalent:
 dr d ˆ ˆ
v  ( xi  yj  zkˆ)
d ˆ dx ˆ diˆ dx
( xi )  i  x  iˆ  v x iˆ  x iˆ
dt dt
dt dt dt dt
dx ˆ dy ˆ dz ˆ
 i j k
dt dt dt
 x iˆ  y ˆj  z kˆ
 v x iˆ  v y ˆj  v z kˆ
Since the speed is defined as the magnitude of the velocity, we have:
2 2 2
v  v v v x y z
§ 12.5 Curvilinear Motion: Rectangular
(Cartesian) Components
Similarly,

 dv d ˆ
a   (v x i  v y ˆj  vz kˆ)
dt dt
dvx ˆ dv y ˆ dvz ˆ
 i j k
dt dt dt
 v x iˆ  v y ˆj  v z kˆ
 xiˆ  yˆj  zkˆ
and the magnitude of the acceleration vector is:
2 2 2
a  a a a
x y z
Example 1: A particle is moving along the curve:
2
x
y ( x)  x 
400
where x and y have units of [ft]. If the velocity component
in the x-direction is vx = 2 ft/s and remains constant,
determine the magnitudes of the velocity and acceleration
when x = 20 ft.

y(x)

x
§ 12.6 Projectile Problems in Cartesian Systems
Cartesian systems
are particularly
useful in projectile
problems because
the acceleration is
constant in one
direction. Then we
can turn a two-
dimensional
problem into two
one-dimensional
problems:
dvx
0  v x(t)  vox  x(t)  xo  vox t
dt
§ 12.6 Projectile Problems in Cartesian Systems
dv y 1 2
 g  v y(t)  voy  gt  y(t)  yo  voy t  gt
dt 2
Alternatively, if convenient to 1 2 2
do so, we can use: (v y  voy )   g ( y  yo )
2
Aside: Keep in mind that projectile equations do not account for drag
exerted by the medium on the body. The faster the body moves, or the
longer the duration of the transient, the more important this becomes.

Example 2: A skydiver jumps from an airplane flying at a steady

altitude of 5,000 ft and opens her parachute at 1,000 ft. Using our
kinematic expressions for projectile motion, what is her speed at the
moment she opens her chute? Is this a reasonable number?
Example 3: The pitcher throws the baseball horizontally with a
speed of 140 ft/s from a height of 5 ft. If the batter is 60 ft away,
determine the time needed for the ball to arrive at the batter and
the height h at which it passes the batter.
Example 4: The boy at A attempts to throw a ball over the roof of
a barn with an initial speed of vA = 15 m/s. Determine the angle
A at which the ball must be thrown so that it reaches its
maximum height at C. Also, find the distance d where he should
stand to make the throw.
Example 5: Small packages traveling on the conveyor belt fall off
into a 1-m long loading car. If the conveyor is running at a
constant speed of vC = 2 m/s, determine the smallest and largest
distance R at which the end A of the car may be placed from the
conveyor so that the packages enter the car.