GAME 2302 - Mathematical Applications

for Game Development

By:
Richard Baldwin
GAME 2302 - Mathematical Applications
for Game Development

By:
Richard Baldwin

Online:
< http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29/ >

CONNEXIONS

Rice University, Houston, Texas

This selection and arrangement of content as a collection is copyrighted by Richard Baldwin. It is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Collection structure revised: January 11, 2013
PDF generated: February 5, 2013
For copyright and attribution information for the modules contained in this collection, see p. 613.
 Table of Contents
GAME 2302-0095: Preface to GAME 2302 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1 Math
1.1 GAME 2302-0100: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Game0100s Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 GAME 2302-0105: Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4 Game0105r Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1.5 Game0105s Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
1.6 GAME 2302-0110: Updating the Game Math Library for Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
1.7 Game0110r Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
1.8 Game0110s Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
1.9 GAME 2302-0115: Working with Column Matrices, Points, and Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
1.10 Game0115r Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 124
1.11 Game0115s Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
1.12 GAME 2302-0120: Visualizing Column Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 130
1.13 Game0120s Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
1.14 GAME 2302-0125: Vector Addition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
1.15 Game0125s Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
1.16 GAME 2302-0130: Putting the Game-Math Library to Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
1.17 GAME 2302-0135: Venturing into a 3D World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 233
1.18 GAME 2302-0140: Our First 3D Game Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
1.19 GAME 2302-0145: Getting Started with the Vector Dot Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
1.20 GAME 2302-0150: Applications of the Vector Dot Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
2 Physics
2.1 GAME 2302-0300 Introduction to Physics Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
2.2 GAME 2302-0310 JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
2.3 GAME 2302-0320 Brief Trigonometry Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 463
2.4 GAME 2302-0330 Scale Factors, Ratios, and Proportions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
2.5 GAME 2302-0340 Scientic Notation and Signicant Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
2.6 GAME 2302-0350 Units and Dimensional Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 516
2.7 GAME 2302-0360 Motion  Displacement and Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
2.8 GAME 2302-0370 Motion  Uniform and Relative Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
2.9 GAME 2302-0380 Motion  Variable Velocity and Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
Attributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .613
iv

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GAME 2302-0095: Preface to GAME
1
2302

Welcome
Welcome to the course material for GAME 2302 Mathematical Applications for Game Develop-
ment , which I teach at Austin Community College 2 in Austin, TX.
Ocial information about the course
The college website for this course is: http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/ 3
As of December 2012, the description for this course reads:
"GAME 2302 - Mathematical Applications for Game Development
Presents applications of mathematics and science in game and simulation programming. Includes the
utilization of matrix and vector operations, kinematics, and Newtonian principles in games and simulations.
Also covers code optimization."
The course material
This course material consists of about 20 dierent modules arranged in the following major sections:

• Math
• Physics

The modules in the Math section use Java OOP to develop a game math library.
Many of the topics consist of three separate modules:

• A tutorial (click here 4 for an example)

• A set of review questions (click here 5 for an example)
• A set of lecture slides (click here 6 for an example)

Miscellaneous
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: Game0095: Java OOP: Preface to GAME 2302
• File: Game0095.htm
• Published: 12/31/12
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45315/1.3/>.
2 http://www.austincc.edu/
3 http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/
4 http://cnx.org/content/m44990
5 http://cnx.org/content/m45585
6 http://cnx.org/content/m45610

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1
2

• Revised: 01/05/13

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

Chapter 1

Math

1.1 GAME 2302-0100: Introduction1

1.1.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 3)
• Course description (p. 3)
• Adherence to the course description (p. 3)
• Course resources (p. 4)
• Homework assignments (p. 4)
• What's next? (p. 5)
• Miscellaneous (p. 5)
• Download source code (p. 5)

1.1.2 Preface

This module is the rst in a series of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications
for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
See the Download source code (p. 5) section to download source code les for the modules contained in
this collection.

1.1.3 Course description

As of September 2012, the ocial course description reads: "Presents applications of mathematics and
science in game and simulation programming. Includes the utilization of matrix and vector operations,
kinematics, and Newtonian principles in games and simulations. Also covers code optimization."

1.1.4 Adherence to the course description

Online resources (p. 4) are provided to the student for each of the topics identied in the above description.
The topics merge in the nal module of the collection, which explains an animated simulation of the rst-
person view of a human cannonball from the point in time that the human cannonball leaves the cannon
until the human cannonball lands in the safety net, or fails to land in the safety net. The trajectory and the
point of impact are determined by such factors as:

• the acceleration of gravity,

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3
4 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• the muzzle velocity, and

• the elevation and azimuth of the aiming mechanism on the cannon.

1.1.5 Course resources

This course does not use a printed textbook. Instead, the primary resources for the course are:
1. An interactive tutorial by Dr. Bradley P. Kjell titled Vector Math for 3D Computer Graphics 2 .
You can also download a copy in a zip le here 3 . (Extract the contents of the zip le and open the
le named index.html in your browser to view the tutorial.)
2. A sub-collection of physics modules beginning with 2302-0300 Introduction to Physics Component 4
published at cnx.org 5 .
3. This collection 6 of modules published at cnx.org 7 .
4. Most of the programming examples in the course will be written in Java/OOP. Therefore, you may
need some reference material on Java/OOP programming. The collection named Object-Oriented
Programming (OOP) with Java 8 at cnx.org 9 contains the course material for two complete Java/OOP
programming courses at Austin Community College. The modules in the section named ITSE 2321
Object-Oriented Programming (Java) contains the material for the rst course. The section named
ITSE2317 - Java Programming (Intermediate) contains the material for the second course.
5. Here are some additional Java/OOP references that you may nd useful:
a. Java Platform Standard Edition 7 Documentation 10
b. Java Platform, Standard Edition 7 API Specication 11
c. Reading the Javadoc 12 - how to read the API
d. The Java Tutorials 13
e. Simplied Java tutorial 14
Main item 3 in the above list (this collection 15 ) will serve as the major resource for classroom lectures.
Main item 1 ( Vector Math for 3D Computer Graphics 16 ) and main item 2 ( physics sub-collection
17 ) will serve as major homework study assignments.
Main items 4 and 5 (including sub-items 1 through 5) are provided for reference only.
The material in this collection 18 (item 3) explains how to implement the concepts developed in the rst
two items in programming (Java) code. While this will serve as the major resource for classroom lectures,
students are encouraged to bring questions about the other items to class for discussion.

1.1.6 Homework assignments

The rst classroom session will be dedicated primarily to explaining the mechanics of the course, discussing
the syllabus, etc.
2 http://chortle.ccsu.edu/vectorlessons/vectorindex.html
3 http://cnx.org/content/m44983/latest/VectorLessons2011.zip
4 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest
5 http://cnx.org/
6 http://cnx.org/content/col11450/latest/
7 http://cnx.org/
8 http://cnx.org/content/col11441/latest/
9 http://cnx.org/
10 http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/
11 http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/index.html
12 http://www.otherwise.com/Lessons/ReadingTheJavadoc.html
13 http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/
14 http://www.otherwise.com/Lessons/index.html
15 http://cnx.org/content/col11450/latest/
16 http://chortle.ccsu.edu/vectorlessons/vectorindex.html
17 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/
18 http://cnx.org/content/col11450/latest/

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 5

Once those items have been taken care of, students will be asked to go online, access or download the
Kjell tutorials, and begin studying Kjell's CHAPTER 0  Points and Lines and CHAPTER 1  Vectors,
Points, and Column Matrices down through the topic titled Variables as Elements in Chapter 1 , in
preparation for the next classroom session.
Students should also begin studying item 2 ( physics 19 ) and should study one physics module per
week thereafter.
Finally, in addition to studying the Kjell material, students should read at least the next two modules in
this collection and bring their questions about that material to the next classroom session.

1.1.7 What's next?

In the next module, we will begin the examination of sample programs and a game-programming math library
intended to provide aspiring game programmers with the mathematical skills needed for game programming.

1.1.8 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0100: Introduction
• File: Game0100.htm
• Published: 10/08/12
• Revised: - 02/05/13

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.1.9 Download source code

Click here 20 to download a zip le containing the source code for all of the sample programs and many of
the exercises in this collection.
Extract the contents of the zip le into an empty folder. Each program should end up in a separate
folder. Double-click the le named CompileAndRun...bat in each folder to compile and run the
program contained in that folder.
-end-
19 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/
20 http://cnx.org/content/m44983/latest/AllCode.zip

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6 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.2 Game0100s Slides21

1.2.1 Table of Contents

• Instructions for viewing slides (p. 6)

• Miscellaneous (p. 6)

1.2.2 Instructions for viewing slides

This module contains lecture slides keyed to the module titled GAME 2302-0100: Introduction 22 .
Click here 23 to open an index to the slides.
Then use the links beginning with the label "aa" to open the rst slide that you want to view in a new
window in your browser.
Then use the [Next] and [Prev] links on the individual slides to navigate back and forth through the
slides.
You can also use the links on the index page to jump to a particular slide to avoid having to cycle through
the slides in sequence.

1.2.3 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: Game0100s Slides: Introduction
• File: Game0100s.htm
• Published: 01/05/13

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-
21 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45611/1.2/>.
22 http://cnx.org/content/m44983
23 http://cnx.org/content/m45611/latest/a0-Index.htm

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 7

1.3 GAME 2302-0105: Getting Started24

1.3.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 7)
· General (p. 7)
· Viewing tip (p. 8)
* Images (p. 8)
* Listings (p. 9)
• Preview (p. 9)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 9)
· Points, lines, and vectors (p. 9)
· Writing, compiling, and running Java programs (p. 9)
· The program named PointLine01 (p. 10)
· But wait, there's something wrong here (p. 17)
· The program named PointLine02 and the library named GM2D01 (p. 20)
* The GM2D01.ColMatrix class (p. 24)
* The GM2D01.Point class (p. 26)
* The GM2D01.Vector class (p. 26)
* The GM2D01.Line class (p. 27)
• The GM2D01 library is purely mathematical (p. 29)
• Documentation for the GM2D01 library (p. 29)
• Homework assignment (p. 29)
• Run the programs (p. 29)
• Summary (p. 29)
• What's next? (p. 29)
• Miscellaneous (p. 30)
• Complete program listings (p. 31)
• Exercises (p. 37)
· Exercise 1 (p. 37)
· Exercise 2 (p. 37)
· Exercise 3 (p. 38)

1.3.2 Preface

This module is one in a collection of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications
for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.

1.3.2.1 General
Good math skills are required
In order to be a successful game programmer you must be skilled in technologies other than simply
programming. Those technologies include mathematics. My purpose in writing this module is to help you
to gain mathematical strengths in addition to your other strengths.
This collection is designed to teach you some of the mathematical skills that you will need (in addition
to good programming skills) to become a successful game programmer. In addition to helping you with
your math skills, I will also teach you how to incorporate those skills into object-oriented programming using
24 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m44990/1.4/>.

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8 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Java. If you are familiar with other object-oriented programming languages such as C#, you should have no
diculty porting this material from Java to those other programming languages.
Lots of graphics
Since most computer games make heavy use of either 2D or 3D graphics, you will need skills in the
mathematical areas that are required for success in 2D and 3D graphics programming. As a minimum, this
includes but is not limited to skills in:

1. Geometry
2. Trigonometry
3. Vectors
4. Matrices
5. 2D and 3D transforms
6. Transformations between coordinate systems
7. Projections

Game programming requires mathematical skills beyond those required for graphics. This collection will con-
centrate on items 3, 4, and 5 in the above list. (I will assume that you either already have, or can gain the re-
quired skills in geometry and trigonometry on your own. There are many tutorials available on the web to help
you in that quest including the Brief Trigonometry Tutorial at http://cnx.org/content/m37435/latest/
25 .)
Insofar as vectors and matrices are concerned, I will frequently refer you to an excellent interactive
tutorial titled Vector Math for 3D Computer Graphics 26 by Dr. Bradley P. Kjell for the required technical
background. I will then teach you how to incorporate the knowledge that you gain from Kjell's tutorial into
Java code with a heavy emphasis on object-oriented programming.
In the process, I will develop and explain a game-programming math library that you can use to exper-
iment with and to conrm what you learn about vectors and matrices from the Kjell tutorial. The library
will start out small and grow as we progress through more and more material in subsequent modules.
I will also provide exercises for you to complete on your own at the end of most of the modules. Those
exercises will concentrate on the material that you have learned in that module and previous modules.

1.3.2.2 Viewing tip

II recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

1.3.2.2.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 11) . Graphics illustration of four points and two lines.
• Image 2 (p. 17) . First of three views in the construction of a 3D human gure.
• Image 3 (p. 18) . Second of three views in the construction of a 3D human gure.
• Image 4 (p. 19) . Third of three views in the construction of a 3D human gure.
• Image 5 (p. 21) . Screen output from the program named PointLine02.
• Image 6 (p. 30) . Sample output from updated programming-math library.
• Image 7 (p. 37) . Graphic output from Exercise 1.
• Image 8 (p. 38) . Text output from Exercise 2.
• Image 9 (p. 38) . Text output from Exercise 3.

25 http://cnx.org/content/m37435/latest/
26 http://chortle.ccsu.edu/vectorlessons/vectorindex.html

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 9

1.3.2.2.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 12) . The controlling class named PointLine01.
• Listing 2 (p. 13) . Beginning of the class named GUI.
• Listing 3 (p. 14) . Beginning of the inner class named MyCanvas.
• Listing 4 (p. 15) . Dene two points as two locations in space.
• Listing 5 (p. 15) . Construct a line segment.
• Listing 6 (p. 16) . Construct an object that represents a vertical line segment.
• Listing 7 (p. 16) . Draw the two lines on the screen.
• Listing 8 (p. 22) . Beginning of the class named PointLine02.
• Listing 9 (p. 24) . Beginning of the class named GM2D01.
• Listing 10 (p. 25) . Exercising the Point class.
• Listing 11 (p. 26) . The static top-level class named Point.
• Listing 12 (p. 27) . The static top-level class named Vector.
• Listing 13 (p. 28) . The static top-level class named Line.
• Listing 14 (p. 32) . Source code for the program named PointLine01.
• Listing 15 (p. 34) . Source code for the program named PointLine02.
• Listing 16 (p. 36) . Source code for the game-programming math library named GM2D01.

1.3.3 Preview

In this module, I will introduce you to an excellent interactive tutorial titled Vector Math for 3D Computer
Graphics 27 written by Dr. Bradley P. Kjell, (which you can also download in zip-le format from a link in
the rst module 28 in this collection) . Then I will present and explain two sample programs and a sample
game-programming math library intended to implement concepts from Dr. Kjell's tutorial in Java code.

1.3.4 Discussion and sample code

1.3.4.1 Points, lines, and vectors

Your homework assignment from the previous module was to study CHAPTER 0  Points and Lines and
also to study CHAPTER 1  Vectors, Points, and Column Matrices down through the topic titled Variables
as Elements in Kjell's tutorial.
You may have previously believed that you already knew all there was to know about points and lines.
However, I suspect that you found explanations of some subtle issues that you never thought about be-
fore when studying those tutorials. In addition, Kjell begins the discussion of vectors and establishes the
relationship between a vector and a column matrix in this material.
Represent a point with a column matrix
Hopefully you understand what Kjell means by a column matrix and you understand that a column
matrix can be used to represent a point in a given coordinate frame. The same point will have dierent
representations in dierent coordinate frames. (You must know which coordinate frame is being used to
represent a point with a column matrix.)

1.3.4.2 Writing, compiling, and running Java programs

One of the reasons that I chose Java as the main programming language for this course is that while Java
is a very powerful object-oriented programming language, the mechanics of writing, compiling, and running
Java programs are very simple.
Conrm your Java installation
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10 CHAPTER 1. MATH

First you need to conrm that the Java development kit (jdk) version 1.7 or later is installed on the
computer. (The jdk is already installed in the CIT computer labs at the NRG campus of ACC, and perhaps
in the labs on other ACC campuses as well.) If you are working at home, see Oracle's JDK 7 and JRE 7
Installation Guide 29 .
Creating your source code
Next, you need to use any text editor to create your Java source code les as text les with an extension
of .java. (I prefer the free JCreator 30 editor because it produces color-coded text and includes some
other simple IDE features as well. JCreator is normally installed in the CIT computer labs at the NRG
campus of ACC.)
Compiling your source code
The name of each source code le should match the name of the Java class dened in the le.
Assume that your source code le is named MyProg.java . You can compile the program by opening a
command prompt window in the folder containing the source code le and executing the following command
at the prompt:

note: Command to compile the source code:

javac MyProg.java

Running your Java program

Once the program is compiled, you can execute it by opening a command prompt window in the folder
containing the compiled source code les (les with an extension of .class) and executing the following
command at the prompt:

note: Command to execute the program:

java MyProg

Using a batch le

If you are running under Windows, the easiest approach is to create and use a batch le to compile and
run your program. (A batch le is simply a text le with an extension of .bat instead of .txt.)
Create a text le named CompileAndRun.bat containing the text shown in the note-box below.

note: Contents of batch le are shown below:

del *.class
javac MyProg.java
java MyProg
pause

Place this le in the same folder as your source code les. Then double-click on the batch le to cause your
program to be compiled and executed.
That's all there is to it.

1.3.4.3 The program named PointLine01

Before we go any further, let's take a look at a simple Java program that illustrates one of the ways that
points and lines are represented in Java code. (See Image 1 (p. 11) .)
The Point2D.Double class
This program illustrates one implementation of the concepts of point and line segment in Java code.
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Four points (locations in space) are dened by passing the coordinates of the four points as the x
and y parameters to the constructor for the Point2D.Double class. This results in four objects of the
Point2D.Double class.
( Point2D.Double is a class in the standard Java library.)
The Line2D.Double class
Two line segments are dened by passing pairs of points as parameters to the constructor for the
Line2D.Double class. This results in two objects of the Line2D.Double class.
( Line2D.Double is a class in the standard Java library.)
note: Testing: All of the programs in this module were tested using JDK 1.7 running under
Windows XP.
The draw method
The draw method belonging to an object of the Graphics2D class is used to draw the two line
segments on a Canvas object for which the origin has been translated to the center of the Canvas . The
result is shown in Image 1 (p. 11) .
( Graphics2D and Canvas are classes in the standard Java library.)

Image 1: Graphics illustration of four points and two lines.

1.1

The coordinate values of the points and the selection of point-pairs to specify the ends of the line segments
is such that the nal rendering is a pair of orthogonal lines that intersect at the origin.
(You could think of these lines as the axes in a Cartesian coordinate system.)
Will explain in fragments
I will present and explain this program in fragments. A complete listing of the program is provided in
Listing 14 (p. 32) near the end of the module.
(Use the code in Listing 14 (p. 32) and the instructions provided above (p. 9) to write, compile, and run
the program. This will be a good way for you to conrm that Java is properly installed on your computer
and that you are able to follow the instructions to produce the output shown in Image 1 (p. 11) .)

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The rst code fragment is shown in Listing 1 (p. 12) .

Listing 1: The controlling class named PointLine01.

class PointLine01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class PointLine01

1.2

Listing 1 (p. 12) shows the denition of the controlling class, including the main method for the
program named PointLine01 .
The main method simply instantiates a new object of a class named GUI and saves that object's
reference in the variable named guiObj.
(GUI is not a class in the standard Java library. It is dened below.)
The GUI object produces the screen image shown in Image 1 (p. 11) .
The class named GUI
Listing 2 (p. 13) shows the beginning of the class named GUI , including the constructor for the class.

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Listing 2: Beginning of the class named GUI.

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 200;
int vSize = 200;

GUI(){//constructor

//Set JFrame size and title

setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("R.G.Baldwin");

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
MyCanvas myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

setVisible(true);

}//end constructor

1.3

Listing 2 (p. 13) begins by declaring and initializing a pair of instance variables that will be used to
specify the size of the JFrame shown in Image 1 (p. 11) .
(A JFrame object in Java might be called a window in other programming environments.)
The constructor for the class named GUI
The constructor begins by using the two instance variables to set the size of the JFrame and by setting
the title for the JFrame to R.G.Baldwin .
Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the center of the JFrame
Then the constructor instantiates a Canvas object and adds it to the JFrame . Without getting
into the details as to why, I will simply tell you that the Canvas object lls the entire client area of the
frame, which is the area inside of the four borders.
Dene the behavior of the X-button and make the JFrame visible
Finally, the constructor denes the behavior of the X-button in the top right corner of the JFrame and
causes the JFrame to become visible on the screen.
Hopefully, everything that I have discussed so far is familiar to you. If not, you may want to spend
some time studying my earlier tutorials in this area. You will nd links to many of those tutorials at
www.DickBaldwin.com 31 .
Beginning of the inner class named MyCanvas
Listing 3 (p. 14) shows the beginning of an inner class denition named MyCanvas including the
beginning of an overridden paint method.
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14 CHAPTER 1. MATH

(The Canvas class was extended into the MyCanvas class to make it possible to override the paint
method.)
This overridden paint method will be executed whenever the JFrame containing the Canvas is
displayed on the computer screen, whenever that portion of the screen needs to be repainted, or whenever
the repaint method is called on the canvas.

Listing 3: Beginning of the inner class named MyCanvas.

class MyCanvas extends Canvas{

public void paint(Graphics g){

//Downcast the Graphics object to a Graphics2D
// object. The Graphics2D class provides
// capabilities that don't exist in the Graphics
// class.
Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D)g;

//By default, the origin is at the upper-left corner

// of the canvas. This statement translates the
// origin to the center of the canvas.
g2.translate(
this.getWidth()/2.0,this.getHeight()/2.0);

1.4

An object of the Graphics class

The paint method always receives an incoming reference to an object of the class Graphics . As a
practical matter, you can think of that object as representing a rectangular area on the screen on which the
instructions in the paint method will draw lines, images, and other graphic objects.

note: Incoming reference: The paint method actually receives a reference to an object of
the class Graphics2D , but to maintain backward compatibility, Sun elected to pass it in as the
superclass type Graphics .

The Graphics2D class

The Graphics class was dened early in the life of the Java programming language, and it is of limited
capability. Later on, Sun dened the Graphics2D class as a subclass of Graphics . Signicant new
capabilities, (including the ability to deal with coordinate values as real numbers instead of integers) , were
included in the Graphics2D class. In order to access those new capabilities, however, it is necessary to
downcast the incoming reference to type Graphics2D as shown by the cast operator (Graphics2D)
in Listing 3 (p. 14) .
Translate the origin
The last statement in Listing 3 (p. 14) translates the origin from the default position at the upper-left
corner of the canvas to the center of the canvas. This is equivalent to creating a new coordinate frame as
explained by Kjell.
The default coordinate frame has the origin at the upper-left corner of the canvas. The new coordinate
frame has the origin at the center of the canvas.

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Note, however, that even though the origin has been translated, the positive vertical direction is still
toward the bottom of the canvas.
Dene two points as two locations in space
Listing 4 (p. 15) denes two points in space by instantiating two objects of the class named
Point2D.Double , and saving references to those objects in variables of the superclass type Point2D .

Listing 4: Dene two points as two locations in space.

Point2D pointA =
new Point2D.Double(-this.getWidth()/2.5,0.0);
Point2D pointB =
new Point2D.Double(this.getWidth()/2.5,0.0);

1.5

The left and right ends of the horizontal line

The object referred to as pointA represents the location in 2D space at the left end of the horizontal
line shown in Image 1 (p. 11) .
As explained by Kjell, the values used to represent this location in space are relative to the current
coordinate frame in which the origin is at the center of the canvas. Had the origin not been translated to
the center of the canvas in Listing 3 (p. 14) , a dierent set of values would have been required to represent
that same location in space.
Similarly, the object referred to as pointB represents the location in space at the right end of the
horizontal line shown in Image 1 (p. 11) .
Construct a line segment
Listing 5 (p. 15) uses the two points described above to construct an object that represents a line segment
connecting the two points by instantiating an object of the class named Line2D.Double .
As shown in Image 1 (p. 11) , the values of the points relative to the current coordinate frame causes this
line segment to be horizontal when the coordinate frame is displayed with the orientation shown in Image 1
(p. 11) . On the other hand, a dierent rendering of the coordinate frame may have caused the line segment
to be something other than horizontal.

Listing 5: Construct a line segment.

Line2D.Double horizLine =
new Line2D.Double(pointA,pointB);

1.6

Not the true line segment

The main point here is that the line segment created in Listing 5 (p. 15) represents a line segment
between two points in space but it is not the true line segment. According to Kjell, the true line segment
has no width, and therefore is not visible to the human eye.

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16 CHAPTER 1. MATH

The line segment constructed in Listing 5 (p. 15) is simply a visual representation of the true line
segment. When rendered on the screen, that line segment could take on an innite number of appearances
depending on how the space is rendered on the screen. It just happens that in the case of Image 1 (p. 11) ,
the rendering of that space on the screen causes the line segment to appear to be parallel to the bottom of
a rectangular screen.
Construct an object that represents a vertical line segment
Listing 6 (p. 16) uses a similar procedure to construct an object that represents a line segment that is
perpendicular to the previous line segment, and which intersects the previous line segment at the origin of
the current coordinate frame.

Listing 6: Construct an object that represents a vertical line segment.

Point2D pointC =
new Point2D.Double(0.0,-this.getHeight()/2.5);
Point2D pointD =
new Point2D.Double(0.0,this.getHeight()/2.5);

Line2D.Double vertLine =
new Line2D.Double(pointC,pointD);

1.7

Draw the two lines on the screen

Finally, Listing 7 (p. 16) calls the draw method of the Graphics2D class twice in succession to
draw the two lines on the screen as shown in Image 1 (p. 11) .

Listing 7: Draw the two lines on the screen.

g2.draw(horizLine);
g2.draw(vertLine);

}//end overridden paint()

}//end inner class MyCanvas
}//end class GUI

1.8

Listing 7 (p. 16) also signals the end of the overridden paint method, the end of the inner class named
MyCanvas , and the end of the top-level class named GUI .

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1.3.4.4 But wait, there's something wrong here

Kjell describes his points and lines in a very general way that is suitable for use in mathematical operations
later on. However, in the above program, I fell into the trap of dening my points and lines using Java classes
that are intended primarily for rendering graphics on the screen. That approach is probably not conducive
to mathematical operations. We need to step back and take another look at what we are doing here.
Points, points, and more points
There will be many occasions when you, as a game programmer, will need to dene the coordinate values
for a point (or a set of points) that you have no intention of displaying on the screen. Instead, you will
use those points for various mathematical operations to produce something else that may or may not be
displayed on the screen.
The Alice ice skater
For example, Image 2 (p. 17) , Image 3 (p. 18) , and Image 4 (p. 19) show three views in the construction
of the Ice skater object in the Alice programming language 32 .

Image 2: First of three views in the construction of a 3D human gure.

1.9

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Image 3: Second of three views in the construction of a 3D human gure.

1.10

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Image 4: Third of three views in the construction of a 3D human gure.

1.11

Points as the vertices of triangles

The image in Image 2 (p. 17) shows a graphical representation of a set of points. These points were used
to dene the vertices of the set of polygons shown i n Image 3 (p. 18) . The polygons, in turn, were used
in the construction of the ice skater object shown in Image 4 (p. 19) .
As you can see, neither the points in Image 2 (p. 17) , nor the lines that comprise the sides of the
polygons in i n Image 3 (p. 18) appear in the nal rendering of the object in Image 4 (p. 19) .
However, both the points and the polygons were required to support the mathematical operations that
ultimately resulted in the ice skater object.
(Only the image in Image 4 (p. 19) is typically displayed on the computer screen. I had to do some
extra work to cause the points and the lines to be displayed.)
Another look at points and lines
We'll take another look at points and lines, and will introduce column matrices and vectors in the next
sample program.
What is a vector?
According to Kjell, "A vector is a geometrical object that has two properties: length and direction." He
also tells us, "A vector does not have a position."
In addition, Kjell tells us that we can represent a vector with two real numbers in a 2D system and with
three real numbers in a 3D system.
Use a column matrix to represent a vector
A column vector provides a good way to store two real numbers in a computer program. Therefore, in
addition to representing a point, a column matrix can also be used to represent a vector.
However, the column matrix is not the vector . The contents of the column matrix simply
represent certain attributes of the vector in a particular reference frame. Dierent column matrices can be
used to represent the same vector in dierent reference frames, in which case, the contents of the matrices
will be dierent.

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20 CHAPTER 1. MATH

An absolute location in space

The fact that a column matrix can be used to represent both points and vectors can be confusing.
However, as you will see later, this is convenient from a programming viewpoint.
The two (or three) real number values contained in the matrix to represent a point specify an absolute
location in space relative to the current coordinate frame.
A vector species a displacement
A vector does not have a position. Rather, it has only two properties: length and direction. Kjell tells
us that the two (or three) real number values contained in the matrix to represent a vector (in 2D or 3D)
specify a displacement of a specic distance from an arbitrary point in a specic direction.
In 2D, the two values contained in the matrix represent the displacements along a pair of orthogonal axes
(call them x and y for simplicity) .
As you will see in a future module, in the case of 2D, the length of the vector is the length of the
hypotenuse of a right triangle formed by the x and y displacement values.
The direction of the vector can be determined from the angle formed by the x-displacement and the line
segment that represents the hypotenuse of the right triangle. Similar considerations apply in 3D as well but
they are somewhat more complicated.
The bottom line is that while a point is an absolute location , a vector is a displacement .
Do we need to draw vectors?
It is very common to draw vectors in various engineering disciplines, such as when drawing free-body
diagrams in theoretical mechanics. My guess is that it is unusual to draw vectors in the nal version of
computer games, but I may be wrong.
Normally what you will need to draw in a computer game is the result of one or more vectors acting on an
object, such as the velocity and acceleration vectors that apply to a speeding vehicle going around a curve.
In that case, you might draw the results obtained from using the vector for mathematical computations
(perhaps the vehicle turns over) but you probably wouldn't draw the vectors themselves.

1.3.4.5 The program named PointLine02 and the library named GM2D01
The purpose of this program is to introduce you to a game-math library named GM2D01 .
(The class name GM2D01 is an abbreviation for GameMath2D01. Later in this collection, I will develop
and present a combination 2D/3D game-math library named GM03. I will develop and present several
intermediate 2D and 3D libraries along the way.)
This program instantiates objects from the following static top-level classes belonging to the class
named GM2D01 :

• GM2D01.ColMatrix
• GM2D01.Line
• GM2D01.Point
• GM2D01.Vector

(See the documentation (p. 29) for the library named GM2D01 .)
Then the program displays the contents of those objects on the standard output device in two dierent
ways.
A complete listing of the program named PointLine02 is provided in Listing 15 (p. 34) near the end
of the module and a complete listing of the game-math library named GM2D01 is provided in Listing 16
(p. 36) .
Screen output from the program named PointLine02
Image 5 (p. 21) shows the screen output produced by running this program. I will refer back to the
material in Image 5 (p. 21) in subsequent paragraphs.

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 21

Image 5: Screen output from the program named PointLine02.

Instantiate and display the contents

of a new ColMatrix object
2.5,6.8
2.5
6.8
Bad index

Instantiate and display the contents

of a new Point object
3.4,9.7
3.4
9.7
Bad index

Instantiate and display the contents

of a new Vector object
-1.9,7.5
-1.9
7.5
Bad index

Instantiate and display the contents

of a new Line object
Tail = 1.1,2.2
Head = 3.3,4.4
1.1,2.2
3.3,4.4
Press any key to continue...

1.12

The game-math library named GM2D01

As mentioned earlier, the name GM2D01 is an abbreviation for GameMath2D01. (I elected to use
the abbreviated name to keep the code from being so long.) This is a game-math class, which will be
expanded over time as I publish sample programs and additional modules in this collection.
For educational purposes only
The game-math class is provided solely for educational purposes. Although some things were done to
optimize the code and make it more ecient, the class was mainly designed and implemented for maximum
clarity. Hopefully the use of this library will help you to better understand the programming details of
various mathematical operations commonly used in graphics, game, and simulation programming.
Each time the library is expanded or modied, it will be given a new name by incrementing the two
digits at the end of the class name to make one version distinguishable from the next. No attempt will be
made to maintain backward compatibility from one version of the library to the next.
Static top-level methods
The GM2D01 class contains several static top-level classes (See Java 2D Graphics, Nested Top-Level

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22 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Classes and Interfaces 33 if you are unfamiliar with static top-level classes.) . This organizational approach
was chosen primarily for the purpose of gathering the individual classes together under a common naming
umbrella while avoiding name conicts within a single package.
For example, as time passes and this library is expanded, my default package may contain class les with
the following names, each representing a compiled version of the Point class in a dierent version of the
overall library.

• GM2D01$Point.class
• GM2D02$Point.class
• GM2D03$Point.class

Real numbers represented as type double

All real-number values used in the library are maintained as type double because double is the
default representation for literal real numbers in Java.
Will explain in fragments
I will explain the code in Listing 15 (p. 34) and Listing 16 (p. 36) in fragments, switching back and
forth between the code from the program named PointLine02 and the library class named GM2D01
to show how they work together.
Beginning of the class named PointLine02
Listing 8 (p. 22) shows the beginning of the class named PointLine02 including the beginning of the
main method.

Listing 8: Beginning of the class named PointLine02.

class PointLine02{
public static void main(String[] args){

System.out.println(
"Instantiate and display the contents\n"
+ "of a new ColMatrix object");

GM2D01.ColMatrix colMatrix =
new GM2D01.ColMatrix(2.5,6.8);

System.out.println(colMatrix);
try{
System.out.println(colMatrix.getData(0));
System.out.println(colMatrix.getData(1));

//This statement will throw an exception on purpose

System.out.println(colMatrix.getData(2));
}catch(Exception e){
System.out.println("Bad index");
}//end catch

1.13

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 23

The GM2D01.ColMatrix class

You learned about a column matrix in the Kjell tutorial. The GM2D01 class contains a class named
ColMatrix . (You will see the code for that class denition later.) An object of the ColMatrix class
is intended to represent a column matrix as described by Kjell.
The code in Listing 8 (p. 22) instantiates and displays the contents of a new object of the ColMatrix
class. (Note the syntax required to instantiate an object of a static top-level class belonging to another
class as shown in Listing 8 (p. 22) .)
After instantiating the object, the remaining statements in Listing 8 (p. 22) display the numeric contents
of the ColMatrix object using two dierent approaches.
The overridden toString method
The rst approach causes the overridden toString method belonging to the ColMatrix class to be
executed.
(The overridden toString method is executed automatically by the call to the System.out.println
method, passing the object's reference as a parameter to the println method.)
The overridden toString method returns a string that is displayed on the standard output device.
That string contains the values of the two real numbers stored in the column matrix.
The getData method
The second approach used to display the data in Listing 8 (p. 22) calls the getData method on the
ColMatrix object twice in succession to get the two numeric values stored in the object and to display
those two values on the standard output device.
As you will see shortly, the getData method requires an incoming index value of either 0 or 1 to
identify the numeric value that is to be returned.
Listing 8 (p. 22) purposely calls the getData method with an index value of 2 to demonstrate that
this will cause the method to throw an IndexOutOfBoundsException .
(The text output produced by the code in Listing 8 (p. 22) is shown near the top of Image 5 (p. 21) .)
Beginning of the class named GM2D01
Listing 9 (p. 24) shows the beginning of the library class named GM2D01 , including the entire static
top-level class named ColMatrix .

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24 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 9: Beginning of the class named GM2D01.

public class GM2D01{

public static class ColMatrix{
double[] data = new double[2];

ColMatrix(double data0,double data1){//constructor

data[0] = data0;
data[1] = data1;
}//end constructor

public String toString(){

return data[0] + "," + data[1];
}//end overridden toString method

public double getData(int index){

if((index < 0) || (index > 1))
throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException();
return data[index];
}//end getData

}//end class ColMatrix

1.14

1.3.4.5.1 The GM2D01.ColMatrix class

As mentioned earlier, an object of the ColMatrix class represents a 2D column matrix as described by
Kjell. Furthermore, an object of this class is the fundamental building block for several of the other classes
in the library.
(The static ColMatrix class will be expanded in future modules to provide various matrix arithmetic
capabilities.)
Constructor for the ColMatrix class
The constructor for the class requires two incoming parameters of type double .
(For this example, the code in Listing 8 (p. 22) passes the values 2.5 and 6.8 to the constructor for the
class.)
The two incoming parameter values are stored in the rst two elements of a two-element array of type
double where they can be easily accessed later for whatever purpose they may be needed.
Overridden toString method
Listing 9 (p. 24) also overrides the toString method to construct and return a reference to a String
object containing the two values stored in the array.
When the println method is called for the second time, (near the middle of Listing 8 (p. 22) ),
the overridden toString method is called automatically and the output shown in the third line of text in
Image 5 (p. 21) is produced.
The getData method
Finally, Listing 9 (p. 24) denes a method named getData . The purpose of this method is to retrieve
and to return the individual values stored in the array.

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 25

The method requires an incoming parameter value of 0 or 1. This value is used as an index to iden-
tify the specic data value that is to be returned. If the method receives any other value, it throws an
IndexOutOfBoundsException .
As mentioned earlier, the code in Listing 8 (p. 22) calls this method three times in succession. The rst
two calls get and display the two data values shown at the top of Image 5 (p. 21) . The third call causes
the method to throw an exception producing the rst "Bad index" message shown in Image 5 (p. 21) .
The Point class
The GM2D01 class contains a static top-level class named Point . Recall that Kjell tells us that a
point is simply a location in space. A point can be represented by a pair of coordinate values in a specic
coordinate frame. A convenient way to handle the pair of coordinate values in a program is to store them
in a column matrix. An object of the GM2D01.Point class is intended to represent a point in 2D space.
Instantiating a Point object
As you will see shortly, the constructor for the Point class requires a single incoming parameter, which
is a reference to an object of the class ColMatrix .
Listing 10 (p. 25) , (which is a fragment from the PointLine02 program) , instantiates a new
ColMatrix object and populates it with the values 3.4 and 9.7. Then it instantiates a new Point object,
passing the aforementioned ColMatrix object's reference as a parameter to the Point constructor.

Listing 10: Exercising the Point class.

//A fragment from the PointLine02 program

System.out.println(/*blank line*/);
System.out.println(
"Instantiate and display the contents\n"
+ "of a new Point object");

colMatrix = new GM2D01.ColMatrix(3.4,9.7);

GM2D01.Point point = new GM2D01.Point(colMatrix);

System.out.println(point);
try{
System.out.println(point.getData(0));
System.out.println(point.getData(1));
//This statement will throw an exception on purpose
System.out.println(point.getData(-1));
}catch(Exception e){
System.out.println("Bad index");
}//end catch

1.15

Coding for clarity

note: Coding for clarity: Ordinarily I would compress those two statements into a single
statement by instantiating an anonymous object of the ColMatrix class in the call to the constructor
for the Point class, and I recommend that you do the same if you know how. However, I elected to

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26 CHAPTER 1. MATH

separate the code into two statements in this case to provide clarity and make it somewhat easier
for you to understand.
Display the values
Following that, the code in Listing 10 (p. 25) displays the coordinate values that represent the point in
the same two ways described earlier for the ColMatrix object. The screen output is shown in Image 5 (p.
21) .

1.3.4.5.2 The GM2D01.Point class

The complete denition of the static top-level class named Point is shown in Listing 11 (p. 26) .

Listing 11: The static top-level class named Point.

//A fragment from the GM2D01 class

public static class Point{

GM2D01.ColMatrix point;

Point(GM2D01.ColMatrix point){
this.point = point;
}//end constructor

public String toString(){

return point.getData(0) + "," + point.getData(1);
}//end toString

public double getData(int index){

if((index < 0) || (index > 1))
throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException();
return point.getData(index);
}//end getData

}//end class Point

1.16

Less detail in the discussions

By now, you may be getting a little bored with the detail in which I have been discussing and explaining
the code so I will be more brief in my explanations from here on.
The code in Listing 11 (p. 26) is straightforward and shouldn't require a lot of explanation. Perhaps
the most signicant thing to note about Listing 11 (p. 26) is that the coordinate values that represent the
point are actually stored internally in an object of the type ColMatrix . That approach will prove to be
convenient for certain mathematical operations that will be explained in future modules.

1.3.4.5.3 The GM2D01.Vector class

The static top-level class named Vector is shown in Listing 12 (p. 27) .

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 27

(Note that this is a dierent class from the class named java.util.Vector in the standard Java library.)
You will nd the code that exercises this class and produces the output shown in Image 5 (p. 21) in the
complete listing of the program named PointLine02 in Listing 15 (p. 34) . That code is straightforward
and shouldn't require an explanation.

Listing 12: The static top-level class named Vector.

//A fragment from the GM2D01 class

public static class Vector{

GM2D01.ColMatrix vector;

Vector(GM2D01.ColMatrix vector){
this.vector = vector;
}//end constructor

public String toString(){

return vector.getData(0) + "," + vector.getData(1);
}//end toString

public double getData(int index){

if((index < 0) || (index > 1))
throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException();
return vector.getData(index);
}//end getData

}//end class Vector

1.17

Storing a vector in a column matrix

Recall that Kjell tells us that both points and vectors can be conveniently stored in a column matrix. As
a result, the code in Listing 12 (p. 27) , (at this stage in the development of the library) , is essentially the
same as the code for the Point class in Listing 11 (p. 26) . The only dierences are a few dierences in
names.
You may be wondering why I didn't simply dene a single class that can serve both purposes. I probably
could have done that. Recall however that this library is being designed for clarity. I believe that such clarity
is best served by having consistent names for the kinds of items represented by objects of the classes. Also,
it is likely that the denitions of the two classes will be dierent later when I expand the library to provide
additional capabilities.

1.3.4.5.4 The GM2D01.Line class

Kjell tells us that a line segment is the straight path between two points, and that it has no thickness. The
class named GM2D01 contains a class named Line that is intended to represent a mathematical line
segment as described by Kjell.

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28 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 13 (p. 28) is a complete listing of the class named Line . As before, you will nd the code
that exercises this class and produces the output shown in Image 5 (p. 21) in the complete listing for the
program named PointLine02 in Listing 15 (p. 34) . That code is straightforward and shouldn't require
an explanation.

Listing 13: The static top-level class named Line.

//A fragment from the GM2D01 class

//A line is defined by two points. One is called the

// tail and the other is called the head.
public static class Line{
GM2D01.Point[] line = new GM2D01.Point[2];

Line(GM2D01.Point tail,GM2D01.Point head){

this.line[0] = tail;
this.line[1] = head;
}//end constructor

public String toString(){

return "Tail = " + line[0].getData(0) + ","
+ line[0].getData(1) + "\nHead = "
+ line[1].getData(0) + ","
+ line[1].getData(1);
}//end toString

public GM2D01.Point getTail(){

return line[0];
}//end getTail

public GM2D01.Point getHead(){

return line[1];
}//end getTail

}//end class Line

1.18

Represent a line segment by two points

Since a line segment is the straight path between two points, a line segment in this library is represented
by an object that encapsulates two Point objects. One of those points is referred to as the tail and the
other is referred to as the head , simply as a means of distinguishing between the two ends of the line
segment.
The constructor for the Line class requires two points as incoming parameters and stores them in a
two-element array of type GM2D01.Point . Beyond that, the code in Listing 13 (p. 28) is straightforward
and shouldn't require further explanation.

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 29

1.3.5 The GM2D01 library is purely mathematical

The library named GM2D01 is purely mathematical. By that, I mean that the library doesn't provide
any mechanism for rendering objects of the ColMatrix , Line , Point , or Vector classes in a visual
graphics context. That capability will be added to the next version of the library in the next module.

1.3.6 Documentation for the GM2D01 library

Click here 34 to download a zip le containing standard javadoc documentation for the library named
GM2D01 . Extract the contents of the zip le into an empty folder and open the le named index.html
in your browser to view the documentation.
Although the documentation doesn't provide much in the way of explanatory text (see Listing 16 (p.
36) and the explanations given above) , the documentation does provide a good overview of the organization
and structure of the library. You may nd it helpful in that regard.

1.3.7 Homework assignment

Your homework assignment for this module was to study Kjell's CHAPTER 0  Points and Lines plus
CHAPTER 1  Vectors, Points, and Column Matrices down through the topic titled Variables as Elements
.
The homework assignment for the next module is to make certain that you have carefully studied that
material, and to mentally reect on how it correlates with what you have learned in this module.
In addition to studying the Kjell material, you should read at least the next two modules in this collection
and bring your questions about that material to the next classroom session.
Finally, you should have begun studying the physics material 35 at the beginning of the semester and you
should continue studying one physics module per week thereafter. You should also feel free to bring your
questions about that material to the classroom for discussion.

1.3.8 Run the programs

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 14 (p. 32) , Listing 15 (p. 34) , and Listing 16 (p. 36)
into your text editor. Compile the code and execute it. Experiment with the code, making changes, and
observing the results of your changes. Make sure you understand why your changes produce the results that
they do.

1.3.9 Summary

In this and the previous module, I introduced you to an excellent interactive tutorial titled Vector Math
for 3D Computer Graphics 36 written by Dr. Bradley P. Kjell. Then I presented and explained two sample
programs and a sample game-programming math library intended to represents concepts from Dr. Kjell's
tutorial in Java code.

1.3.10 What's next?

While you probably won't have a frequent need to present points, lines, and vectors in graphical form in
computer games that you write, it is often very useful to provide graphical representations of these items
during the testing and debugging of the program. I will update the programming-math library to make it
easy to provide graphical representations of points, lines, and vectors in the next module in this collection.
34 http://cnx.org/content/m44990/latest/GM2D01docs.zip
35 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/
36 http://chortle.ccsu.edu/vectorlessons/vectorindex.html

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30 CHAPTER 1. MATH

An example of such graphical output is shown in Image 6 (p. 30) . The image on the left consists of
graphical objects that represent points and lines. The image on the right consists of graphical objects that
represent vectors. (The head of each vector is represented by a small circle.)

Image 6: Sample output from updated programming-math library.

1.19

1.3.11 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0105: Getting Started
• File: Game0105.htm
• Published: 10/13/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such

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 31

a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.3.12 Complete program listings

Complete listings of the programs discussed above are provided in Listing 14 (p. 32) , Listing 15 (p. 34) ,
and Listing 16 (p. 36) below.

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32 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 14: Source code for the program named PointLine01.

/*PointLine01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin

This program illustrates the implementation of the concept

of a point and a line segment in Java.

Four points (locations in space) are defined by using the

coordinates of the four points as the x and y parameters
to the constructor for the Point2D.Double class. This
results in four objects of the Point2D.Double class.

Two line segments are defined by using pairs of points

as parameters to the Line2D.Double class. This results
in two objects of the Line2D.Double class.

The draw method belonging to an object of the Graphics2D

class is used to draw the two line segments on a Canvas
object for which the origin has been translated to the
center of the Canvas.

The coordinate values of the points and the selection of

point-pairs to specify the ends of the line segments is
such that the final rendering is a pair of orthogonal
lines that intersect at the origin.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;

class PointLine01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class PointLine01
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 200;
int vSize = 200;

GUI(){//constructor

//Set JFrame size and title

setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("R.G.Baldwin");

//Create a new Available

drawingforcanvas
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and add <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
it to the
// center of the JFrame.
MyCanvas myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);
 33

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34 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 15: Source code for the program named PointLine02.

/*PointLine02.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin

The purpose of this program is to introduce the use of a

game-math class library named GM2D01. The class name
GM2D01 is an abbreviation for GameMath2D01.

The program instantiates objects from the following static

top-level classes belonging to the class named GM2D01 and
then displays the contents of those objects in two
different ways on the standard output device.

ColMatrix
Point
Vector
Line

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
class PointLine02{
public static void main(String[] args){

System.out.println(
"Instantiate and display the contents\n"
+ "of a new ColMatrix object");
GM2D01.ColMatrix colMatrix =
new GM2D01.ColMatrix(2.5,6.8);
System.out.println(colMatrix);
try{
System.out.println(colMatrix.getData(0));
System.out.println(colMatrix.getData(1));
//This statement will throw an exception on purpose
System.out.println(colMatrix.getData(2));
}catch(Exception e){
System.out.println("Bad index");
}//end catch

System.out.println(/*blank line*/);
System.out.println(
"Instantiate and display the contents\n"
+ "of a new Point object");
colMatrix = new GM2D01.ColMatrix(3.4,9.7);
GM2D01.Point point = new GM2D01.Point(colMatrix);
System.out.println(point);
try{
System.out.println(point.getData(0));
System.out.println(point.getData(1));
//This statement will throw an exception on purpose
System.out.println(point.getData(-1));
}catch(Exception e){
Available for freeindex");
System.out.println("Bad at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
}//end catch

System.out.println(/*blank line*/);
 35

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36 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 16: Source code for the game-programming math library named GM2D01.

/*GM2D01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin

The name GM2D01 is an abbreviation for GameMath2D01.

This is a game-math class, which will be expanded over

time. The class is provided solely for educational
purposes. No effort has been expended to optimize it in
any way. Rather, it was designed and implemented for
maximum clarity in order to help students understand
the programming details of various mathematical operations
commonly used in game programming.

Each time the class is expanded or modified, it will be

given a new name by incrementing the two digits at the
end of the name. No attempt will be made to maintain
backward compatibility from one version of the class to
the next.

This class contains a number of static top-level classes.

This organizational approach was used primarily for the
purpose of gathering such classes under a single naming
umbrella while avoiding name conflicts within a single
package. For example, as time passes, and this library is
expanded, my default package may contain class files with
the following names:

GM2D01$Point.class
GM2D02$Point.class
GM2D03$Point.class

All real-number values used in this class are maintained

as type double.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/

public class GM2D01{

//An object of this class represents a 2D column matrix.

// An object of this class is the fundamental building
// block for several of the other classes in the
// library.
public static class ColMatrix{
double[] data = new double[2];

ColMatrix(double data0,double data1){

data[0] = data0;
data[1] = data1;
}//end constructor
Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
public String toString(){
return data[0] + "," + data[1];
}//end overridden toString method
 37

1.3.13 Exercises

1.3.13.1 Exercise 1
Without using the game math library, use the programming environment of your choice to write a program
that draws a diagonal line from the upper-left to the lower-right corner of a window as shown in Image 7 (p.
37) .

Image 7: Graphic output from Exercise 1.

1.23

1.3.13.2 Exercise 2
Using Java and the game math library named GM2D01 , write a program that:

• Creates a new GM2D01.Point object with coordinate values of 3.4 and 9.7.
• Uses the overridden toString method to get and display the location of the point in 2D space in the
format shown by the rst line of text in Image 8 (p. 38) .
• Uses the getData method to get and display the location of the point in 2D space in the format
shown by the last two lines of text in Image 8 (p. 38) .

Your screen output should display numeric values in the format shown in Image 8 (p. 38) where each ?
character represents a single digit.

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38 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 8: Text output from Exercise 2.

?.?,?.?
?.?
?.?

1.24

1.3.13.3 Exercise 3
Using Java and the game math library named GM2D01 , write a program that:

• Represents a line segment using a GM2D01.Line object with the ends of the line segment being
located at the following coordinates:
· x=2.2, y=5.3
· x=5.2, y=9.3
• Displays the information shown in Image 9 (p. 38) to describe the line segment.

Your screen output should display numeric values in the format shown in Image 9 (p. 38) where each ?
character represents a single digit. (Note that the number of digits to the right of the decimal point in the
last line of text may be greater or less than that shown in Image 9 (p. 38) .)

Image 9: Text output from Exercise 3.

Tail = ?.?,?.?
Head = ?.?,?.?
Length = ?.???

1.25

-end-

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 39

1.4 Game0105r Review37

1.4.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 39)

• Questions (p. 39)
· 1 (p. 39) , 2 (p. 39) , 3 (p. 39) , 4 (p. 39) , 5 (p. 40) , 6 (p. 40) , 7 (p. 40) , 8 (p. 40) , 9 (p. 40)
, 10 (p. 40) , 11 (p. 40) , 12 (p. 50) , 13 (p. 41) , 14 (p. 41) , 15 (p. 41) , 16 (p. 41) , 17 (p. 41)
, 18 (p. 42) , 19 (p. 42) , 20 (p. 42) , 21 (p. 42) , 22 (p. 42) , 23 (p. 42) , 24 (p. 42) , 25 (p. 42)
, 26 (p. 43) , 27 (p. 43) , 28 (p. 43) , 29 (p. 43) , 30 (p. 43) , 31 (p. 43) , 32 (p. 43) , 33 (p. 43)
, 34 (p. 44) , 35 (p. 44) , 36 (p. 44) , 37 (p. 44) , 38 (p. 44) , 39 (p. 44) , 40 (p. 44) , 41 (p. 45)
, 42 (p. 45) , 43 (p. 45) , 44 (p. 45) , 45 (p. 45) , 46 (p. 45) , 47 (p. 45)
• Answers (p. 47)
• Miscellaneous (p. 52)

1.4.2 Preface

This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled GAME 2302-0105: Getting
Started 38 .
The questions and the answers are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to navigate from the
question to the answer and back again.

1.4.3 Questions

1.4.3.1 Question 1 .
Successful game programmers don't need good math skills.
True or False?
Answer 1 (p. 52)

1.4.3.2 Question 2
This set of modules relies strictly on procedural programming.
Answer 2 (p. 52)

1.4.3.3 Question 3
You will need skills in the mathematical areas that are required for success in 2D and 3D graphics program-
ming.
True or False?
Answer 3 (p. 51)

1.4.3.4 Question 4
As a minimum, you will need skills in:
Select the correct answers

1. Geometry
2. Trigonometry
3. Vectors
37 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45585/1.3/>.
38 http://cnx.org/content/m44990

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40 CHAPTER 1. MATH

4. Matrices
5. 2D and 3D transforms
6. Transformations between coordinate systems
7. Projections
8. All of the above
Answer 4 (p. 51)

1.4.3.5 Question 5
A column matrix can be used to represent a point in a given coordinate frame.
True or False?
Answer 5 (p. 51)

1.4.3.6 Question 6
When representing a point with a column matrix, the same point will have the same representation in
dierent coordinate frames.
True or False?
Answer 6 (p. 51)

1.4.3.7 Question 7
You must use an IDE such as Eclipse or NetBeans to create Java source code.
True or False?
Answer 7 (p. 51)

1.4.3.8 Question 8
There is no relationship between the name of the source code le and the name of the class dened in the
le.
True or False?
Answer 8 (p. 51)

1.4.3.9 Question 9
The name of the Java compiler program is java.exe.
True or False?
Answer 9 (p. 51)

1.4.3.10 Question 10
The class named Point2D.Double is a class in the standard Java library.
True or False?
Answer 10 (p. 51)

1.4.3.11 Question 11
The following is the correct syntax for the main method in a Java application.
note:

public static void main(){

GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main

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 41

True or False?
Answer 11 (p. 51)

1.4.3.12 Question 12
The following Java code instantiates a new object of a class named GUI and saves that object's reference
in the variable named guiObj.

note:

class PointLine01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class PointLine01

Answer 12 (p. 50)

1.4.3.13 Question 13
The class named GUI is a class in the Java 7 Standard Edition library.
True or False?
Answer 13 (p. 50)

1.4.3.14 Question 14
The name of the constructor for a Java class must match the name of the class.
True or False?
Answer 14 (p. 50)

1.4.3.15 Question 15
The method named setDefaultCloseOperation can be called on a Java JFrame object to establish
the behavior of the button with the X in the upper-right corner of the visual manifestation of the JFrame
object.
True or False?
Answer 15 (p. 50)

1.4.3.16 Question 16
A Canvas object's overridden paint method will be executed whenever the JFrame containing the
Canvas is displayed on the computer screen, whenever that portion of the screen needs to be repainted, or
whenever the repaint method is called on the canvas.
True or False?
Answer 16 (p. 50)

1.4.3.17 Question 17
A Canvas object's overridden paint method always receives an incoming parameter as type Button .
True or False?
Answer 17 (p. 50)

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42 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.4.3.18 Question 18
The class named Graphics2D is a superclass of the class named Graphics .
True or False?
Answer 18 (p. 50)

1.4.3.19 Question 19
Translating the origin from the default position at the upper-left corner of a Canvas object to the center
of the Canvas object is equivalent to creating a new coordinate frame as explained by Kjell.
True or False?
Answer 19 (p. 50)

1.4.3.20 Question 20
The default direction for increasing vertical coordinate values in a Canvas object is down the screen.
True or False?
Answer 20 (p. 50)

1.4.3.21 Question 21
The default direction for increasing horizontal coordinate values in a Canvas object is from right to left
across the screen.
True or False?
Answer 21 (p. 50)

1.4.3.22 Question 22
According to Kjell, a line drawn on the screen using an object of the Line2D.Double class is a true line
segment.
True or False?
Answer 22 (p. 49)

1.4.3.23 Question 23
Objects instantiated from the classes named Point2D.Double and Line2D.Double are well suited for
inclusion in mathematical operations.
True or False?
Answer 23 (p. 49)

1.4.3.24 Question 24
Creation of 2D and 3D graphics requires that you always display the points.
True or False?
Answer 24 (p. 49)

1.4.3.25 Question 25
A vector is a geometrical object that has two properties: length and direction." He also tells us, "A vector
does not have a position.
True or False?
Answer 25 (p. 49)

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1.4.3.26 Question 26
A vector must always specify a position.
True or False?
Answer 26 (p. 49)

1.4.3.27 Question 27
Three real numbers are required to represent a vector in a 2D system.
True or False?
Answer 27 (p. 49)

1.4.3.28 Question 28
A column matrix can be used to represent a point and can also be used to represent a vector.
True or False?
Answer 28 (p. 49)

1.4.3.29 Question 29
Dierent column matrices can be used to represent the same vector in dierent reference frames, in which
case, the contents of the matrices will be dierent.
True or False?
Answer 29 (p. 49)

1.4.3.30 Question 30
The two (or three) real number values contained in a column matrix to represent a point specify an absolute
location in space relative to the current coordinate frame.
True or False?
Answer 30 (p. 49)

1.4.3.31 Question 31
The two (or three) real number values contained in a column matrix to represent a vector (in 2D or 3D)
specify a displacement of a specic distance from an arbitrary point in an arbitrary direction.
True or False?
Answer 31 (p. 48)

1.4.3.32 Question 32
With regard to a vector, in 2D, the two values contained in a column matrix represent the displacements
along three orthogonal axes.
True or False?
Answer 32 (p. 48)

1.4.3.33 Question 33
In the case of 2D, the length of the vector is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle formed by the
x and y displacement values.
True or False?
Answer 33 (p. 48)

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1.4.3.34 Question 34
In 2D, the direction of a vector can be determined from the angle formed by the x-displacement and the line
segment that represents the hypotenuse of a right triangle formed by the x, y, and z displacements.
True or False?
Answer 34 (p. 48)

1.4.3.35 Question 35
A point is an absolute location , but a vector is a displacement .
True or False?
Answer 35 (p. 48)

1.4.3.36 Question 36
This program instantiates objects from the following non-static top-level classes belonging to the class named
GM2D01 :
• GM2D01.ColMatrix
• GM2D01.Line
• GM2D01.Point
• GM2D01.Vector

True or False?
Answer 36 (p. 48)

1.4.3.37 Question 37
Type int is the default representation for literal real numbers in Java.
True or False?
Answer 37 (p. 48)

1.4.3.38 Question 38
When an object's reference is passed as a parameter to the System.out.println method, the getClass
method belonging to the object is executed automatically.
True or False?
Answer 38 (p. 48)

1.4.3.39 Question 39
The toString method is overloaded in the ColMatrix class.
True or False?
Answer 39 (p. 47)

1.4.3.40 Question 40
If you call the getData method belonging to an object of the GM2D01.ColMatrix class and pass a
parameter value of 2, the program will throw an IndexOutOfBoundsException .
True or False?
Answer 40 (p. 47)

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1.4.3.41 Question 41
The constructor for the GM2D01.ColMatrix class requires three incoming parameters of type double
.
True or False?
Answer 41 (p. 47)

1.4.3.42 Question 42
The constructor for the GM2D01.Point class requires a single incoming parameter, which is a reference
to an object of the class GM2D01.ColMatrix .
True or False?
Answer 42 (p. 47)

1.4.3.43 Question 43
GM2D01.Vector and java.util.Vector are simply dierent names for the same class.
True or False?
Answer 43 (p. 47)

1.4.3.44 Question 44
The constructor for the GM2D01.Vector class requires two incoming parameters, which are references
to objects of the class GM2D01.ColMatrix .
True or False?
Answer 44 (p. 47)

1.4.3.45 Question 45
A line segment is the straight path between two points. It has no thickness and therefore cannot be seen by
the human eye.
True or False?
Answer 45 (p. 47)

1.4.3.46 Question 46
The constructor for the GM2D01.Line class requires two incoming parameters, which are references to
objects of the class GM2D01.ColMatrix .
True or False?
Answer 46 (p. 47)

1.4.3.47 Question 47
The GM2D01 library provides methods for rendering objects of the ColMatrix , Line , Point , or
Vector classes in a visual graphics context.
True or False?
Answer 47 (p. 47)
What is the meaning of the following two images?
This image was inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to keep
them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

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1.4.4 Answers

1.4.4.1 Answer 47
False. The library named GM2D01 is purely mathematical. The library doesn't provide any mechanism
for rendering objects of the ColMatrix , Line , Point , or Vector classes in a visual graphics
context.
Back to Question 47 (p. 45)

1.4.4.2 Answer 46
False. The constructor for the GM2D01.Line class requires two incoming parameters, which are references
to objects of the class GM2D01.Point .
Back to Question 46 (p. 45)

1.4.4.3 Answer 45
True
Back to Question 45 (p. 45)

1.4.4.4 Answer 44
False. The constructor for the GM2D01.Vector class requires a single incoming parameter, which is a
reference to an object of the class GM2D01.ColMatrix .
Back to Question 44 (p. 45)

1.4.4.5 Answer 43
False. GM2D01.Vector is a dierent class from the class named java.util.Vector in the standard
Java library.
Back to Question 43 (p. 45)

1.4.4.6 Answer 42
True
Back to Question 42 (p. 45)

1.4.4.7 Answer 41
False. The constructor for the GM2D01.ColMatrix class requires two incoming parameters of type
double .
Back to Question 41 (p. 45)

1.4.4.8 Answer 40
True
Back to Question 40 (p. 44)

1.4.4.9 Answer 39
False. The toString method is overridden in the ColMatrix class.
Back to Question 39 (p. 44)

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48 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.4.4.10 Answer 38
False. When an object's reference is passed as a parameter to the System.out.println method, the
toString method belonging to the object is executed automatically.
Back to Question 38 (p. 44)

1.4.4.11 Answer 37
False. Type double is the default representation for literal real numbers in Java.
Back to Question 37 (p. 44)

1.4.4.12 Answer 36
False.
This program instantiates objects from the following static top-level classes belonging to the class
named GM2D01 :

• GM2D01.ColMatrix
• GM2D01.Line
• GM2D01.Point
• GM2D01.Vector

Back to Question 36 (p. 44)

1.4.4.13 Answer 35
True
Back to Question 35 (p. 44)

1.4.4.14 Answer 34
False. In 2D, the direction of a vector can be determined from the angle formed by the x-displacement and
the line segment that represents the hypotenuse of a right triangle formed by the x and y displacements.
Back to Question 34 (p. 44)

1.4.4.15 Answer 33
True
Back to Question 33 (p. 43)

1.4.4.16 Answer 32
False. With regard to a vector, in 2D, the two values contained in a column matrix represent the displace-
ments along a pair of orthogonal axes.
Back to Question 32 (p. 43)

1.4.4.17 Answer 31
False. Kjell tells us that the two (or three) real number values contained in the matrix to represent a
vector (in 2D or 3D) specify a displacement of a specic distance from an arbitrary point in a specic
direction.
Back to Question 31 (p. 43)

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1.4.4.18 Answer 30
True
Back to Question 30 (p. 43)

1.4.4.19 Answer 29
True
Back to Question 29 (p. 43)

1.4.4.20 Answer 28
True
Back to Question 28 (p. 43)

1.4.4.21 Answer 27
False. Kjell tells us that we can represent a vector with two real numbers in a 2D system and with three
real numbers in a 3D system.
Back to Question 27 (p. 43)

1.4.4.22 Answer 26
False. According to Kjell, "A vector does not have a position."
Back to Question 26 (p. 43)

1.4.4.23 Answer 25
True. According to Kjell, "A vector is a geometrical object that has two properties: length and direction."
He also tells us, "A vector does not have a position."
Back to Question 25 (p. 42)

1.4.4.24 Answer 24
False. There will be many occasions when you, as a game programmer, will need to dene the coordinate
values for a point (or a set of points) that you have no intention of displaying on the screen. Instead, you
will use those points for various mathematical operations to produce something else that may or may not
be displayed on the screen.
Back to Question 24 (p. 42)

1.4.4.25 Answer 23
False. Objects instantiated from the classes named Point2D.Double and Line2D.Double are intended
primarily for rendering graphics on the screen and are not well suited for inclusion in mathematical
operations. That is part of the rationale behind the development of the game-math library: separation of
data objects that are suitable for mathematical operations from graphics objects .
Back to Question 23 (p. 42)

1.4.4.26 Answer 22
False. According to Kjell, the true line segment has no width, and therefore is not visible to the human eye.
This is typically not the case with a line drawn on the screen using an object of the Line2D.Double class.
Back to Question 22 (p. 42)

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50 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.4.4.27 Answer 21
False. The default direction for increasing horizontal coordinate values in a Canvas object is from left to
right across the screen.
Back to Question 21 (p. 42)

1.4.4.28 Answer 20
True
Back to Question 20 (p. 42)

1.4.4.29 Answer 19
True
Back to Question 19 (p. 42)

1.4.4.30 Answer 18
False. The class named Graphics2D is a subclass of (inherits from or is derived from) the class named
Graphics .
Back to Question 18 (p. 42)

1.4.4.31 Answer 17
False. A Canvas object's overridden paint method always receives an incoming parameter as type
Graphics .
Back to Question 17 (p. 41)

1.4.4.32 Answer 16
True
Back to Question 16 (p. 41)

1.4.4.33 Answer 15
True
Back to Question 15 (p. 41)

1.4.4.34 Answer 14
True
Back to Question 14 (p. 41)

1.4.4.35 Answer 13
False. There is no class named GUI in the Java 7 Standard Edition library. It is a name that I often use
for custom classes that present a Graphical User Interface.
Back to Question 13 (p. 41)

1.4.4.36 Answer 12
True
Back to Question 12 (p. 41)

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1.4.4.37 Answer 11
False. The correct syntax is shown below. Note the formal argument list of the main method.

note:

public static void main(String[] args){

GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main

Back to Question 11 (p. 40)

1.4.4.38 Answer 10
True
Back to Question 10 (p. 40)

1.4.4.39 Answer 9
False. The name of the Java compiler program is javac.exe . The le named java.exe is the Java virtual
machine.
Back to Question 9 (p. 40)

1.4.4.40 Answer 8
False. The class having the main method must be contained in a le having the same name as the class
with an extension of .java. Good programming practice dictates that even for other classes, the name of
each source code le should match the name of the Java class dened in the le.
Back to Question 8 (p. 40)

1.4.4.41 Answer 7
False. You can use just about any text editor to create your Java source code les as text les with an
extension of .java.
Back to Question 7 (p. 40)

1.4.4.42 Answer 6
False. The same point will have dierent representations in dierent coordinate frames.
Back to Question 6 (p. 40)

1.4.4.43 Answer 5
True
Back to Question 5 (p. 40)

1.4.4.44 Answer 4
8. All of the above
Back to Question 4 (p. 39)

1.4.4.45 Answer 3
True
Back to Question 3 (p. 39)

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52 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.4.4.46 Answer 2
False. In addition to helping you with your math skills, I will also teach you how to incorporate those skills
into object-oriented programming using Java.
Back to Question 2 (p. 39)

1.4.4.47 Answer 1
False. In order to be a successful game programmer you must be skilled in technologies other than simply
programming. Those technologies include mathematics.
Back to Question 1 (p. 39)

1.4.5 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: Game0105r Review: Getting Started
• File: Game0105r.htm
• Published: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

1.5 Game0105s Slides39

1.5.1 Table of Contents

• Instructions for viewing slides (p. 53)

• Miscellaneous (p. 53)

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1.5.2 Instructions for viewing slides

This module contains lecture slides keyed to the module titled GAME 2302-0105: Getting Started 40 .
Click here 41 to open an index to the slides.
Then use the links beginning with the label "aa" to open the rst slide that you want to view in a new
window in your browser.
Then use the [Next] and [Prev] links on the individual slides to navigate back and forth through the
slides.
You can also use the links on the index page to jump to a particular slide to avoid having to cycle through
the slides in sequence.

1.5.3 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: Game0105s Slides: Getting Started
• File: Game0105s.htm
• Published: 01/05/13

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

1.6 GAME 2302-0110: Updating the Game Math Library for

Graphics42
1.6.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 54)

· Viewing tip (p. 54)
* Images (p. 54)
* Listings (p. 55)
• General background information (p. 55)
40 http://cnx.org/content/m44990
41 http://cnx.org/content/m45610/latest/a0-Index.htm
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54 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• Preview (p. 57)

• General background information (p. 55)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 57)
· The game-programming library named GM2D02 (p. 58)
· The program named PointLine03 (p. 58)
· The program named PointLine04 (p. 73)
• Documentation for the GM2D02 library (p. 78)
• Homework assignment (p. 78)
• Run the programs (p. 78)
• Summary (p. 78)
• What's next? (p. 78)
• Miscellaneous (p. 78)
• Complete program listings (p. 79)
• Exercises (p. 85)
· Exercise 1 (p. 85)
· Exercise 2 (p. 85)
· Exercise 3 (p. 86)
· Exercise 4 (p. 88)
· Exercise 5 (p. 89)
· Exercise 6 (p. 90)
· Exercise 7 (p. 91)

1.6.2 Preface

This module is one in a collection of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications
for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
What you have learned
In the previous module, I presented and explained two sample programs and a sample game-programming
math library named GM2D01 , which were intended to implement concepts from Kjell's tutorial in Java
code.
The library named GM2D01 is purely mathematical. By that, I mean that the library doesn't provide
any mechanism for rendering objects of the ColMatrix , Line , Point , or Vector classes in a visual
graphics context. That capability will be added to the version that I will present in this module.
What you will learn
In this module, you will learn how to update the math library to provide a number of new capabilities
including the addition of graphics and various set methods. You will also learn that the addition of
set methods exposes certain vulnerabilities, and you will learn how to protect against those vulnerabilities.
Finally, you will learn how to draw on o-screen images.

1.6.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

1.6.2.1.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 56) . Screen output from both sample programs.
• Image 2 (p. 85) . Graphic output from Exercise 1.
• Image 3 (p. 86) . Graphic output from Exercise 2.
• Image 4 (p. 87) . Graphic output from Exercise 3.
• Image 5 (p. 88) . Text output from Exercise 3.

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• Image 6 (p. 89) . Graphic output from Exercise 4.

• Image 7 (p. 90) . Graphic output from Exercise 5.
• Image 8 (p. 91) . Graphic output from Exercise 6.
• Image 9 (p. 92) . Graphic output from Exercise 7.

1.6.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 59) . Beginning of the class named PointLine03 and the class named GUI.
• Listing 2 (p. 60) . Beginning of the constructor for the GUI class.
• Listing 3 (p. 60) . Create two o-screen images.
• Listing 4 (p. 61) . Remaining code in the constructor.
• Listing 5 (p. 62) . Beginning of the drawOscreen method.
• Listing 6 (p. 63) . Dene four lines that will be used to draw borders.
• Listing 7 (p. 64) . Draw a visual manifestation of each line.
• Listing 8 (p. 65) . The draw method of the GM2D02.Line class.
• Listing 9 (p. 66) . Draw a visual manifestation of a GM2D02.Point object.
• Listing 10 (p. 66) . The draw method of the GM2D02.Point class.
• Listing 11 (p. 67) . Draw the vertices of a hexagon.
• Listing 12 (p. 68) . Draw six lines connecting the vertices of the hexagon.
• Listing 13 (p. 69) . Instantiate three objects of type GM2D02.Vector.
• Listing 14 (p. 69) . Call the draw method to draw the vector.
• Listing 15 (p. 70) . The draw method of the GM2D02.Vector class.
• Listing 16 (p. 71) . Three visual manifestations of the same vector.
• Listing 17 (p. 72) . Draw the blue vector.
• Listing 18 (p. 72) . The MyCanvas class and the overridden paint method.
• Listing 19 (p. 73) . The setData method of the ColMatrix class.
• Listing 20 (p. 74) . Updated constructor for the Point class in GM2D02.
• Listing 21 (p. 75) . The drawOscreen method of the program named PointLine04.
• Listing 22 (p. 75) . Instantiate a point at the upper-left corner.
• Listing 23 (p. 76) . Instantiate a moveable Point object.
• Listing 24 (p. 76) . Instantiate a moveable Line object.
• Listing 25 (p. 77) . Relocate the Line to three more locations.
• Listing 26 (p. 80) . Source code for the game-math library class named GM2D02.
• Listing 27 (p. 82) . Source code for the program named PointLine03.
• Listing 28 (p. 84) . Source code for the program named PointLine04.
• Listing 29 (p. 88) . Code for generating random values in Java.

1.6.3 General background information

So far, we have been dealing with column matrices, points, vectors, and lines. (We will get to other topics
in future modules.)
What is a point?
According to Kjell, a point is simply a location in space. It has no width, depth, or height. Therefore, it
cannot be seen by the human eye, which means that we can't draw a point on the computer screen. However,
it is possible to draw an object on the computer screen that indicates the location of the point.
What do I mean by this?
Suppose you go out onto your driveway and establish that one corner of the driveway represents the
origin in a rectangular Cartesian coordinate framework. Then you use measuring devices to identify a
specic location on the driveway. You can point to that location with your nger, and others can see your
nger, but they can't see the point. Once again, the point has no width, height, or depth, and therefore
cannot be seen by the human eye.

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Mark the point

What you can do, however, is to take a piece of chalk and draw a small circle around your nger. Then
others can see the mark that you have drawn as an estimate of the location of the point. It is very important
however to remember that the chalk mark is not the point. It is simply a visual object that indicates the
location of the point to some degree of accuracy. The actual location of the point is a piece of underlying
data . The chalk mark is a graphic object that you have invented to represent that underlying data in a
visual way to a human observer.
Program output
Both of the sample programs that I will explain in this module will produce the same graphic screen
output, which is shown in Image 1 (p. 56) .

Image 1: Screen output from both sample programs.

1.26

The left image in Image 1 (p. 56) contains seven small circles. Each of those seven circles marks the
location of a point in the 2D space of the image. However, those circles are not the points. The seven points
consist solely of coordinate values and are not visible to the human eye. The seven circles are graphics
objects that were placed there to mark the locations in space of the seven points. The points existed in
the 2D space before the graphics objects were created, and would have existed even if I had not caused the
circles to be drawn to mark the locations of the points.
What is a line segment?
This can be even more confusing. Kjell tells us that a line segment is the straight path between two
points, and that it has no thickness. Since it has no thickness, a line cannot be seen by the human eye.
The left image in Image 1 (p. 56) contains six graphic objects that we are likely to call lines or line
segments. True enough, those graphic objects mark the path taken by the lines that represent straight
paths between the pairs of points whose locations are indicated by the circles. However, those graphic objects
are not lines in the context of this discussion. Rather, they are simply graphic objects that were used to
mark the paths of the lines in a visual way for the benet of a human observer.
Why am I emphasizing this so heavily?

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Shortly, you will see the changes that I made to the game-math library in preparation for this module.
That library makes it possible for you to easily create and manipulate underlying data objects for column
matrices, points, vectors, and lines. Those changes include the ability for points, lines, and vectors to create
graphical objects that represent themselves and to display those graphical objects on a specied graphics
context upon request.
The left image in Image 1 (p. 56) shows the manner in which GM2D02.Point objects and
GM2D02.Line objects represent themselves on a graphics context.
The right image in Image 1 (p. 56) shows the manner in which GM2D02.Vector objects represent
themselves on a graphics context.
It is very important to understand the dierence between the objects that encapsulate the underlying
data and the graphic objects that represent those objects for visible human consumption. Later on, we will
be doing math using the underlying data objects. However, it is generally not possible to do math using the
graphic objects shown in Image 1 (p. 56) .
Additional modications that I made to the library for this module makes it is easy to modify the values
encapsulated in one of the underlying data objects. However, once the graphical representation of one of
those data objects is drawn on the graphics context, it is fairly dicult to modify, particularly if it overlaps
another graphic object that you don't want to modify. The library does not provide that capability.
All Java parameters are passed to methods by value
Moving to a completely dierent topic, when you call out the name of a variable as a parameter to be
passed to a method in Java, a copy of the contents of that variable is made and the copy is passed to the
method. Code in the method can modify the copy but it cannot modify the contents of the original variable.
This is typically referred to as passing parameters by value . (Despite what you may have read elsewhere,
unlike C and C++, Java parameters are never passed by reference.)
However, Java supports both primitive variables and reference variables. Passing reference variables by
value exposes some vulnerabilities in the original version of the library when set methods are added to the
library. A complete explanation of this topic is beyond the scope of this module. However, I will show you
how I modied the code in the library to protect against such vulnerabilities.

1.6.4 Preview

I will explain the changes to the library in this module in conjunction with two programs that illustrate the
impact of those changes. Both programs produce the screen output shown in Image 1 (p. 56) , but they do
so in signicantly dierent ways.
The primary topics to be discussed have to do with:

• Making it possible for the underlying data objects to represent themselves by drawing graphical objects
on a specied 2D graphics context upon request.
• Making it possible to call set methods to modify the data encapsulated in the underlying data
objects.
• Protecting the data from corruption due to certain vulnerabilities exposed by adding set methods to
the library.

I will also provide exercises for you to complete on your own at the end of the module. The exercises will
concentrate on the material that you have learned in this module and previous modules.

1.6.5 Discussion and sample code

Much of the code in the library remains unchanged. I explained that code in the previous module and I
won't repeat that explanation in this module. Rather, in this module, I will concentrate on explaining the
modications that I made to the library.

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1.6.5.1 The game-programming library named GM2D02

A complete listing of the modied game-programming library named GM2D02 is provided in Listing 26
(p. 80) .
This library is an update of the earlier game-math library named GM2D01 . This update added the
following new capabilities:

• Draw circles to represent GM2D02.Point objects.

• Draw visible lines to represent GM2D02.Line objects.
• Draw visible lines and circles to represent GM2D02.Vector objects.
• Call a setData method to change the values in a GM2D02.ColMatrix object.
• Call a setData method to change the values in a GM2D02.Point object.
• Call a setData method to change the values in a GM2D02.Vector object.
• Call a setHead method or a setTail method to change one of the points that denes a
GM2D02.Line object.
Constructors were updated to ensure that existing points, vectors, and lines are not corrupted by using the
new set methods to change the values in the ColMatrix and/or Point objects originally used to
construct the points, vectors, and lines. The updated constructors create and save clones of the ColMatrix
and/or Point objects originally used to dene the Point , Vector , and/or Line objects.
I will explain the new code in the library in conjunction with the explanations of the programs named
PointLine03 and PointLine04 .

1.6.5.2 The program named PointLine03

A complete listing of the program named PointLine03 is provided in Listing 27 (p. 82) .
This program illustrates the use of draw methods that were added to the GM2D02 game-math
library to produce visual manifestations of Point , Line , and Vector objects instantiated from classes
in the game-math library. The program also illustrates drawing on o-screen images and then copying those
images to a Canvas object in an overridden paint method.
As mentioned earlier, this program produces the screen output shown in Image 1 (p. 56) .
Beginning of the class named PointLine03 and the class named GUI
Listing 1 (p. 59) shows the beginning of the class named PointLine03 (including the main method)
and the beginning of the class named GUI .

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Listing 1: Beginning of the class named PointLine03 and the class named GUI.

class PointLine03{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class PointLine03
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 200;
Image osiA;//one off-screen image
Image osiB;//another off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

1.27

The code in the main method instantiates an object of the GUI class. The code showing in the
GUI class denition declares several instance variables, initializing some of them.
Beginning of the constructor for the GUI class
Listing 2 (p. 60) shows the beginning of the constructor for the GUI class.

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Listing 2: Beginning of the constructor for the GUI class.

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
// you can compute the size of the canvas.
setVisible(true);
osiWidth = myCanvas.getWidth()/2;
osiHeight = myCanvas.getHeight();

1.28

The code in Listing 2 (p. 60) is straightforward and shouldn't require an explanation beyond the embed-
ded comments.
Create two o-screen images
Here is where things begin to get interesting. Listing 3 (p. 60) creates two o-screen images and gets a
graphics context on each of them.

Listing 3: Create two o-screen images.

osiA = createImage(osiWidth,osiHeight);
Graphics2D g2Da = (Graphics2D)(osiA.getGraphics());

osiB = createImage(osiWidth,osiHeight);
Graphics2D g2Db = (Graphics2D)(osiB.getGraphics());

1.29

Java programs are not constrained to simply draw on the screen. It is possible to create an o-screen
image, get a graphics context on it, and use methods of the Graphics and/or Graphics2D classes to
draw on the o-screen image.
The o-screen image can then be used for a variety of purposes including:

• writing the image into a disk le.

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• copying the image to a Canvas object for display on the screen.

Will copy o-screen images to the screen

In this program, we will copy each of the o-screen images to a Canvas object in a side-by-side format
(see Image 1 (p. 56) ) and display the Canvas object on the content pane in a JFrame object.
While animation is not the purpose of using o-screen images in this program, such o-screen images
are often used to produce clean animation. Code is executed to produce an o-screen image and then the
entire image is copied to the screen in a single blast. This prevents the user from seeing the development of
the image that might otherwise be visible if the code was executed to produce the image directly onto the
screen.
The createImage method
There are seven dierent versions of the createImage method in the JDK 1.7 standard library. The
version of the method used in this program is dened in the Component class and inherited into the
JFrame class. According to the Sun documentation, this method creates an o-screen drawable image to
be used for double buering.
The two required parameters are width and height. If the image is later displayed on the screen, the
units of width and height are measured in pixels. The values contained in the width and height parameters
in Listing 3 (p. 60) were computed in Listing 2 (p. 60) . The width of each o-screen image is set to half the
width of the canvas. The height of each o-screen image is set to the height of the canvas. This facilitates
the display of the two images in the side-by-side format shown in Image 1 (p. 56) .
Also, according to the Sun documentation, the method returns "an o-screen drawable image, which
can be used for double buering. The return value may be null if the component is not displayable." The
returned value is type Image .
The getGraphics method
There are eleven dierent versions of the getGraphics method in the JDK 1.7 standard library. The
version of the method used in this program is dened in the Image class. This method is called on the
Image object returned by the createImage method in Listing 3 (p. 60) .
According to the Sun documentation, this method creates a graphics context for drawing to an o-screen
image. You will note that the reference to the graphics context was cast to type Graphics2D and saved in
a reference variable of the type Graphics2D . I explained the relationship between the Graphics class
and the Graphics2D class in an earlier module.
At this point, we have two o-screen image objects of type Image and we have a graphics context on
each of them. This makes it possible to use the methods of the Graphics class and/or the methods of the
Graphics2D class to draw on either of the o-screen images.
Remaining code in the constructor
Listing 4 (p. 61) shows the remainder of the constructor for the GUI class.

Listing 4: Remaining code in the constructor.

drawOffscreen(g2Da,g2Db);

myCanvas.repaint();

}//end constructor

1.30

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62 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 4 (p. 61) begins by calling the method named drawOscreen to draw some points, lines, and
vectors on the two o-screen images. Note that references to each of the two graphics contexts are passed
as parameters to the drawOscreen method.
Then Listing 4 (p. 61) calls the repaint method belonging to the MyCanvas object to cause the
overridden paint method belonging to that object to be executed. Later, we will see that the overridden
paint method copies the two o-screen images to the canvas in the side-by-side format shown in Image 1
(p. 56) causing the contents of those o-screen images to be displayed in a JFrame object.
Beginning of the drawOscreen method
The beginning of the drawOscreen method is shown in Listing 5 (p. 62) . The purpose of this method
is to dene points, lines, and vectors as underlying data objects and then to cause a visual manifestation of
some of the points, lines, and vectors to be drawn onto the two o-screen images.

Listing 5: Beginning of the drawOscreen method.

void drawOffscreen(Graphics2D g2Da,Graphics2D g2Db){

//Draw a label on each off-screen image.

g2Da.drawString("Off-screen image A",
osiWidth/8,
osiHeight/8);
g2Db.drawString("Off-screen image B",
osiWidth/8,
osiHeight/8);

1.31

Before getting into the underlying data objects, however, Listing 5 (p. 62) calls the drawString method
belonging to the Graphics class to draw the two text strings shown in Image 1 (p. 56) on the two o-screen
images.
Instantiate four Line objects that will be used to draw borders
Listing 6 (p. 63) instantiates four GM2D02.Line objects that will ultimately be used to draw the
borders around the left and right images shown in Image 1 (p. 56) .

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Listing 6: Dene four lines that will be used to draw borders.

//First define four points that will be used to define

// the ends of the four lines.
GM2D02.Point upperLeftPoint = new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(1.0,1.0));
GM2D02.Point upperRightPoint = new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(osiWidth-1,1.0));
GM2D02.Point lowerRightPoint = new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(osiWidth-1,osiHeight-1));
GM2D02.Point lowerLeftPoint = new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(1.0,osiHeight-1));

//Now define the four lines based on the endpoints.

GM2D02.Line top = new GM2D02.Line(upperLeftPoint,
upperRightPoint);
GM2D02.Line rightSide = new GM2D02.Line(
upperRightPoint,
lowerRightPoint);
GM2D02.Line bottom = new GM2D02.Line(lowerLeftPoint,
lowerRightPoint);
GM2D02.Line leftSide = new GM2D02.Line(upperLeftPoint,
lowerLeftPoint);

1.32

Nothing new here

There is nothing in Listing 6 (p. 63) that is new relative to what you learned in the previous module.
Listing 6 (p. 63) starts by dening four GM2D02.Point objects that will be used to dene the ends of the
line segments. References to these Point objects are passed to the constructor for the GM2D02.Line
class to instantiate the four Line objects.
Note that the locations of the points, and hence the positions of the lines were one pixel away from the
edges of the canvas towards the center of the canvas. These locations were chosen to ensure that the resulting
visual manifestations of the lines would be visible on the canvas.
It is also extremely important to understand that the GM2D02.Point and GM2D02.Line objects
instantiated in Listing 6 (p. 63) are not graphical objects. Rather, they are underlying data objects, which
are suitable for use in mathematical operations.
Draw a visual manifestation of each line
Listing 7 (p. 64) calls the draw method of the GM2D02.Line class four times in succession for
each o-screen image. Note that a reference to the o-screen image is passed as a parameter to the draw
method each time the method is called on one of the GM2D02.Line objects.

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64 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 7: Draw a visual manifestation of each line.

//Now draw a visual manifestation of each line

// on g2Da.
top.draw(g2Da);
rightSide.draw(g2Da);
bottom.draw(g2Da);
leftSide.draw(g2Da);

//Now draw a visual manifestation of each of the same

// four lines on g2Db
top.draw(g2Db);
rightSide.draw(g2Db);
bottom.draw(g2Db);
leftSide.draw(g2Db);

1.33

As you will see shortly, each of these calls to the draw method causes an object of the standard Java
Line2D.Double class to be rendered onto the specied o-screen image. When the o-screen image is
ultimately copied to the canvas object by the overridden paint method, this produces a visual manifestation
of the GM2D02.Line object.
Once again, however, it is very important to understand that the Line2D.Double object is a graphical
object and the GM2D02.Line is an underlying data object. They are completely independent objects.
Also, it is important to understand that the Line2D.Double class is a member of the standard Java
library, whereas the GM2D02.Line class is a member of my special game math library named GM2D02
.
The draw method of the GM2D02.Line class
Now it's time to explain one of the methods that was added to the original game-math library named
GM2D01 to produce the new library named GM2D02 . At this point, I will start switching back and
forth between code in the GM2D02 library and code in the program named PointLine03 .
Listing 8 (p. 65) shows the draw method that was called repeatedly on the GM2D02.Line objects
in Listing 7 (p. 64) . This code belongs to the GM2D02 library.

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Listing 8: The draw method of the GM2D02.Line class.

public void draw(Graphics2D g2D){

Line2D.Double line = new Line2D.Double(
getTail().getData(0),
getTail().getData(1),
getHead().getData(0),
getHead().getData(1));
g2D.draw(line);
}//end draw

1.34

Construct and render a Line2D.Double object on the graphics context

Listing 8 (p. 65) calls the getTail and getHead methods to get the x and y coordinate values
(relative to the current coordinate frame) that dene the ends of the line segment represented by the
GM2D02.Line object on which the draw method was called.
These four values are passed as parameters to the constructor for the Java standard Line2D.Double
class to dene the endpoints of a Line2D.Double object.
Then the draw method of the Graphics2D class is called on the reference to the incoming graphics
context parameter to cause the Line2D.Double object to be rendered onto that graphics context.
In this case, that graphics context is an o-screen graphics context. However, it could just as easily be
an on-screen graphics context such as the graphics context that is received as a parameter to an overridden
paint method.
note: Two dierent draw methods are involved: The code in my custom draw method,
which is a member of my custom GM2D02.Line class, turns around and calls a completely
dierent method named draw , which is a member of the standard Java Graphics2D class.

Hallmarks of object-oriented programming

An object of the GM2D02.Line class knows how to produce a visual manifestation of itself onto a
specied graphics context as illustrated by the borders surrounding the left and right images in Image 1 (p.
56) .
This is one of the hallmarks of object-oriented programming. Objects know how to do useful things for
themselves. Later on, we will see other hallmarks such as the ability of an object of the GM2D02.Vector
class to add itself to another object of the same class and return a new vector object that is the sum of the
two vectors.
Draw a visual manifestation of a GM2D02.Point object
Returning to the drawOScreen method of the program named PointLine03 , Listing 9 (p. 66)
begins by calling the translate method of the Graphics class on the o-screen image shown in the left
side of Image 1 (p. 56) for the purpose of changing the origin from the upper-left corner of the graphics
context to the center of the graphics context.

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66 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 9: Draw a visual manifestation of a GM2D02.Point object.

g2Da.translate(osiWidth/2.0,osiHeight/2.0);

GM2D02.Point origin = new GM2D02.Point(

new GM2D02.ColMatrix(0.0,0.0));
origin.draw(g2Da);

1.35

This is equivalent to changing the coordinate frame described by Kjell and discussed in the previous
module.
Then the code in Listing 9 (p. 66) denes a GM2D02.Point object located at the origin of the new
coordinate frame and calls the draw method on that object to produce the visual manifestation of the
object in the center of the left image in Image 1 (p. 56) .
Once again, the GM2D02.Point object is an underlying data object. The visual manifestation will be
produced by an object of the Java standard class named Ellipse2D.Double , which will be a completely
independent object.
The draw method of the GM2D02.Point class
Listing 10 (p. 66) shows the draw method that was added to the GM2D02.Point class to produce
the updated game-math library. This method draws a small circle around the location of the point on the
specied graphics context.

Listing 10: The draw method of the GM2D02.Point class.

public void draw(Graphics2D g2D){

Ellipse2D.Double circle =
new Ellipse2D.Double(getData(0)-3,
getData(1)-3,
6,
6);
g2D.draw(circle);
}//end draw

1.36

The logic behind this method is very similar to the logic that I explained relative to Listing 8 (p. 65) .
The constructor for the Java standard Ellipse2D.Double class requires four incoming parameters that
specify the coordinates of the upper-left corner of a rectangle followed by the width and the height of the
rectangle. The new object of type Ellipse2D.Double represents an ellipse that is bounded by the four
sides of the rectangle. If the rectangle is square, the ellipse becomes a circle.
(In this case, the rectangle is a 6x6 square, thus producing a circle with a diameter of six pixels.)
Listing 10 (p. 66) calls the draw method of the Graphics2D class to render the ellipse (circle) at
the specied location on the graphics context specied by the incoming parameter. Thus the code in Listing

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9 (p. 66) produces a visual manifestation of a point at the origin of the current coordinate frame. The visual
manifestation consists of a small circle centered on the location of the point, resulting in the small circle at
the center of the left image in Image 1 (p. 56) .
Draw the vertices of a hexagon
Returning once more to the drawOScreen method of the program named PointLine03 , Listing
11 (p. 67) instantiates six GM2D02.Point objects that represent the vertices of a hexagon that is
symmetrically located relative to the origin in the current coordinate frame

Listing 11: Draw the vertices of a hexagon.

//First define three constants to make it easier to

// write the code.
final double aVal = osiWidth/4.0*0.5;
final double bVal = osiWidth/4.0*0.866;
final double cVal = osiWidth/4.0;
//Now define the points.
GM2D02.Point point0 = new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(cVal,0.0));
GM2D02.Point point1 = new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(aVal,bVal));
GM2D02.Point point2 = new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(-aVal,bVal));
GM2D02.Point point3 = new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(-cVal,0.0));
GM2D02.Point point4 = new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(-aVal,-bVal));
GM2D02.Point point5 = new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(aVal,-bVal));

//Now draw a visual manifestation of each of the six

// points on g2Da.
point0.draw(g2Da);
point1.draw(g2Da);
point2.draw(g2Da);
point3.draw(g2Da);
point4.draw(g2Da);
point5.draw(g2Da);

1.37

Then Listing 11 (p. 67) calls the draw method of the GM2D02.Point class six times in succession
to cause small circles that represent the six points to be rendered on the specied o-screen image. You can
see those six circles in the left image in Image 1 (p. 56) .
Draw six lines connecting the vertices of the hexagon
Listing 12 (p. 68) instantiates six objects of the GM2D02.Line class whose endpoints are specied
by the six GM2D02.Point objects from Listing 11 (p. 67) , taken in pairs.

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Listing 12: Draw six lines connecting the vertices of the hexagon.

GM2D02.Line line01 = new GM2D02.Line(point0,point1);

GM2D02.Line line12 = new GM2D02.Line(point1,point2);
GM2D02.Line line23 = new GM2D02.Line(point2,point3);
GM2D02.Line line34 = new GM2D02.Line(point3,point4);
GM2D02.Line line45 = new GM2D02.Line(point4,point5);
GM2D02.Line line50 = new GM2D02.Line(point5,point0);

//Now draw a visual manifestation of each line

// on g2Da.
line01.draw(g2Da);
line12.draw(g2Da);
line23.draw(g2Da);
line34.draw(g2Da);
line45.draw(g2Da);
line50.draw(g2Da);

1.38

Then Listing 12 (p. 68) calls the draw method belonging to the GM2D02.Line class six times in
succession to cause visible lines to be rendered on the specied o-screen image. You can see those six lines
in the left image in Image 1 (p. 56) .
That completes the drawing that is performed on the o-screen image shown in the left image in Image
1 (p. 56) . Next I will explain the drawing that is performed on the o-screen image that is shown as the
right image in Image 1 (p. 56) .
Instantiate three objects of type GM2D02.Vector
According to Kjell, "A vector is a geometrical object that has two properties: length and direction
." He also tells us, "A vector does not have a position."
The right image in Image 1 (p. 56) shows visual manifestations of three dierent objects of the
GM2D02.Vector class. One vector is represented as a red line with a small red circle at its head. A
second vector is represented as a blue line with a small blue circle at its head. The third vector is shown in
three dierent positions represented by green lines with small green circles at their heads.
Listing 13 (p. 69) instantiates three objects of the GM2D02.Vector class, which are visually repre-
sented by the red, green, and blue lines in Image 1 (p. 56) . References to these three objects are saved in
the variables named vecA , vecB , and vecC in Listing 13 (p. 69) .

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Listing 13: Instantiate three objects of type GM2D02.Vector.

GM2D02.Vector vecA = new GM2D02.Vector(

new GM2D02.ColMatrix(50,100));
GM2D02.Vector vecB = new GM2D02.Vector(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(75,25));
GM2D02.Vector vecC = new GM2D02.Vector(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(125,125));

1.39

Note that each vector is described by two values in a GM2D02.ColMatrix object.

Call the draw method to draw the vector
Listing 14 (p. 69) begins by setting the drawing color to red for the o-screen image on which the visual
manifestation of the rst Vector object will be drawn. Then Listing 14 (p. 69) calls the draw method
of the GM2D02.Vector class to cause the object referred to by vecA to be represented as a (red) line
with its tail at the origin. (Unlike the image on the left side of Image 1 (p. 56) , the origin for the image
on the right was not translated to the center.)

Listing 14: Call the draw method to draw the vector.

g2Db.setColor(Color.RED);

vecA.draw(g2Db,new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(0,0)));

1.40

Note that two parameter are passed to the draw method in Listing 14:

• A reference to the o-screen graphics context on which the visual manifestation of the vector will be
drawn.
• A new object of the class GM2D02.Point that will be used to determine the position on the
o-screen image in which the visual manifestation will appear.

Remember that according to Kjell, a vector doesn't have a position. Hence, there is nothing in the underlying
data for a GM2D02.Vector object that species a position. In other words, the visual manifestation of
a vector can be placed anywhere in space, and one placement is just as correct as the next. However, if you
become heavily involved in the use of vectors, you will learn that certain placements may be preferable to
others in some cases so as to better represent the problem being modeled by the use of vectors.
The draw method of the GM2D02.Vector class
Switching once again to the GM2D02 library, Listing 15 (p. 70) shows the draw method that was
added to the GM2D02.Vector class. This method is a little longer than the draw methods that I
explained earlier for points and lines. This is mainly because:

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70 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• it is necessary to deal with the issue of positioning the visual manifestation of the GM2D02.Vector
object, and
• it is necessary to embellish the drawing to make it possible to visually determine which end is the tail
and which end is the head.

This method renders a visual manifestation of a GM2D02.Vector on the specied graphics context, with
the tail of the vector located at a point specied by the contents of a GM2D02.Point object. A small
circle is drawn to visually identify the head of the vector.

Listing 15: The draw method of the GM2D02.Vector class.

public void draw(Graphics2D g2D,GM2D02.Point tail){

Line2D.Double line = new Line2D.Double(
tail.getData(0),
tail.getData(1),
tail.getData(0)+vector.getData(0),
tail.getData(1)+vector.getData(1));

//Draw a small circle to identify the head.

Ellipse2D.Double circle = new Ellipse2D.Double(
tail.getData(0)+vector.getData(0)-2,
tail.getData(1)+vector.getData(1)-2,
4,
4);
g2D.draw(circle);
g2D.draw(line);
}//end draw

1.41

Why a circle and not an arrowhead?

When we draw vectors, (particularly when drawing by hand) , we often draw a small arrowhead at the
head of the vector. Remember, a vector has only two properties: length and direction (p. 68) . The
arrowhead normally points in the direction indicated by the direction property. However, there is nothing
magic about an arrowhead. Circles are much easier to draw with a computer than arrowheads. As long as
you can identify the head of the vector, you can always determine the direction. Although I didn't give a
lot of thought to optimization when developing this library, this is one case where I took the approach that
is likely to consume the minimum amount of computational resources.
In Image 1 (p. 56) , the length of each of the lines in the right image indicates the length property of the
respective vector, and the small circle indicates the head. The orientation relative to the current coordinate
frame represents the direction .
Beyond that, further explanation of the code in Listing 15 (p. 70) should not be required.
Three visual manifestations of the same vector
Returning again to the drawOScreen method of the program named PointLine03 , Listing 16 (p.
71) produces three visual manifestations at three dierent positions for the same Vector object referred
to by the reference variable named vecB . All three of the visual manifestations are colored green in Image
1 (p. 56) .

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 71

Listing 16: Three visual manifestations of the same vector.

g2Db.setColor(Color.GREEN);
vecB.draw(g2Db,new GM2D02.Point(new GM2D02.ColMatrix(
vecA.getData(0),vecA.getData(1))));
vecB.draw(g2Db,new GM2D02.Point(new GM2D02.ColMatrix(
vecA.getData(0)-10,vecA.getData(1)+15)));
vecB.draw(g2Db,new GM2D02.Point(new GM2D02.ColMatrix(
vecA.getData(0)+10,vecA.getData(1)-60)));

1.42

This is a perfectly legitimate thing to do since the underlying data encapsulated in the Vector object
does not contain any information relating to the position of the visual manifestation.
In one visual manifestation, Listing 16 (p. 71) causes the tail of vecB to coincide with the head of
vecA . This is one of those cases where drawing the vector in one position is preferable to drawing it in
a dierent position. Later on when we get into the topic of vector addition, I will explain that one way to
perform graphical addition of vectors is to position the vectors in a tail-to-head relationship as indicated by
the red and green vectors in Image 1 (p. 56) . The sum of the vectors can then be determined graphically
by drawing a line from the tail of the rst vector to the head of the last vector as indicated by the blue line
in Image 1 (p. 56) . The length of the sum (or resultant) vector is indicated by the length of that line, and
the direction of the resultant vector is indicated by the orientation of that line.
A practical example
This is the solution to a classical problem in a freshman engineering class. Assume that a boat is traveling
diagonally across a river with a strong current. Assume that the green vector in Image 1 (p. 56) represents
the speed and direction of the current in the river. Assume that the red vector represents the speed and
direction that the boat would travel if there were no current. Because of the eect of the current on the
boat, the actual speed and direction of the boat will be given by the blue vector, which is dierent from the
speed and direction indicated by the red vector. If the blue vector is pointing at the desired landing point
on the other side of the river, everything is okay. Otherwise, the captain needs to change the speed and/or
the direction of the boat to compensate for the eect of the current on the boat.
Draw the blue vector
Listing 17 (p. 72) produces the blue visual manifestation of the Vector object referred to by vecC
as shown in Image 1 (p. 56) .

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72 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 17: Draw the blue vector.

g2Db.setColor(Color.BLUE);
vecC.draw(g2Db,new GM2D02.Point(
new GM2D02.ColMatrix(0,0)));

}//end drawOffscreen

1.43

Listing 17 (p. 72) also signals the end of the method named drawOscreen .
The MyCanvas class and the overridden paint method
Listing 18 (p. 72) shows the entire inner class named MyCanvas including the overridden paint
method belonging to that class.

Listing 18: The MyCanvas class and the overridden paint method.

//This is an inner class of the GUI class.

class MyCanvas extends Canvas{
public void paint(Graphics g){
g.drawImage(osiA,0,0,this);
g.drawImage(osiB,this.getWidth()/2,0,this);
}//end overridden paint()

}//end inner class MyCanvas

}//end class GUI

1.44

The overridden paint method will be called when the JFrame and the Canvas appear on the
screen or when the repaint method is called on the Canvas object.
The method is also called when some screen activity requires the JFrame to be redrawn (such as
minimizing and then restoring the JFrame ) .
The purpose of the paint method in this program is to call the drawImage method twice in succession
to draw the two o-screen images on the screen in the side-by-side format shown in Image 1 (p. 56) .
The rst parameter to the drawImage method is the o-screen image that is to be drawn on the
canvas. The second and third parameters specify the location where the upper-left corner of the image will
be drawn.
The fourth parameter is a reference to an ImageObserver object, which is essentially a dummy image
observer in this case, because an actual image observer isn't needed. (To learn more about image observers,
see The AWT Package, Graphics- Introduction to Images 43 .)
43 http://www.dickbaldwin.com/java/Java170.htm

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End of the program

Listing 18 (p. 72) also signals the end of the GUI class and the end of the program named PointLine03
..

1.6.5.3 The program named PointLine04

A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 28 (p. 84) . Just like the previous program named
PointLine03 , this program produces the screen output shown in Image 1 (p. 56) . However, it produces
that output in a signicantly dierent way.
This program emphasizes the dierences between graphics objects and underlying data objects. It also
illustrates the use of the new setData methods of the Point class and the Vector class, along with the
new setTail and setHead methods of the Line class. These methods were added to the game-math
library when it was updated to the GM2D02 version.
Dealing with some vulnerabilities
The addition of the new set methods exposed some vulnerabilities in the original version of the game-
math library. I will explain how the code in the library was modied to deal with that issue. In particular,
constructors were updated to ensure that existing points, vectors, and lines are not corrupted by using the
new set methods to change the values in the ColMatrix and/or Point objects originally used to
construct the points, vectors, and lines. The updated constructors create and save clones of the ColMatrix
and/or Point objects originally used to dene the Point , Vector , and/or Line objects.
Will explain the code in fragments
As before, I will explain the code in fragments. Some of the code in this program is identical to or very
similar to code that I have already explained in the program named PointLine03 . I won't repeat that
explanation. Instead, I will concentrate on the dierences between the two programs.
The setData method of the ColMatrix class
The new setData method of the ColMatrix class is shown in Listing 19 (p. 73) . Note that this
code is part of the GM2D02 library. At this point, I will begin switching back and forth between the
library and the program named PointLine04 .

Listing 19: The setData method of the ColMatrix class.

public void setData(int index,double data){

if((index < 0) || (index > 1)){
throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException();
}else{
this.data[index] = data;
}//end else
}//end setData method

1.45

This is a very simple method, which should not require further explanation. I am presenting it here
mainly for the purpose of leading into a discussion of the vulnerabilities that this method could expose on
Point and Vector objects instantiated from the original math class named GM2D01 ,
You may recall from the module titled Getting Started that the constructor for the Point class in the
original library received and saved a reference to an object of the ColMatrix class that contained the two
values required to dene the Point . Now that it is possible to change the values stored in an object of
the ColMatrix class, if such an object is used to instantiate an object of the Point class and then the

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74 CHAPTER 1. MATH

values stored in the ColMatrix object are changed, the values that dene the Point object will change
accordingly. That is not good.
Updated constructor for the Point class in GM2D02
Continuing with code in the GM2D02 library, Listing 20 (p. 74) shows the updated constructor in
the new version of the library.

Listing 20: Updated constructor for the Point class in GM2D02.

public static class Point{

GM2D02.ColMatrix point;

Point(GM2D02.ColMatrix point){//constructor
this.point =
new ColMatrix(point.getData(0),point.getData(1));
}//end constructor

1.46

The new version of the constructor for the Point class creates and saves a clone of the ColMatrix
object used to dene the point to prevent the point from being corrupted by a later change in the values
stored in the original ColMatrix object through the use of its new setData method.
Updated constructor for the Vector class in GM2D02
Because the constructor for the Vector class in the original library was essentially the same as the
constructor for the Point class, the addition of the setData method to the ColMatrix class created
the same vulnerability for objects instantiated from the Vector class. Essentially the same correction was
made for the constructor for the Vector class. You can view the new code in Listing 26 (p. 80) .
Additional changes to the library
In addition to the changes described above, the following changes were made to the game-math library to
update it from version GM2D01 to GM2D02 . All of the changes were straightforward and shouldn't
require an explanation beyond the embedded comments. You can view the new code for all of these changes
in Listing 26 (p. 80) .

• Added a setData method for the Point class.

• Updated the constructor for the Line class to deal with the same kind of vulnerability described
above.
• Added a setTail method for the Line class.
• Added a setHead method for the Line class.
The drawOscreen method of the program named PointLine04
Most of the dierences between the programs named PointLine03 and PointLine04 occur in the
method named drawOscreen . I will concentrate my discussion there.
Switching now to code in the program named PointLine04 , the drawOscreen method begins in
Listing 21 (p. 75) .

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 75

Listing 21: The drawOscreen method of the program named PointLine04.

void drawOffscreen(Graphics2D g2Da,Graphics2D g2Db){

//Draw a label on each off-screen image.

g2Da.drawString("Off-screen image A",
osiWidth/8,
osiHeight/8);
g2Db.drawString("Off-screen image B",
osiWidth/8,
osiHeight/8);

1.47

As before, the purpose of the drawOscreen method is to dene points, lines, and vectors and then
to cause a visual manifestation of some of the points, lines, and vectors to be drawn onto two separate o-
screen images. Unlike before, however, this version of the method uses a minimum number of underlying data
objects to produce the output, thereby emphasizing the dierences between graphics objects and underlying
data objects.
The code in Listing 21 (p. 75) is essentially the same as before and doesn't require any explanation.
Borders
As before, and as shown in Image 1 (p. 56) , this method draws borders on each of the o-screen images
by drawing lines parallel to the edges of the o-screen images. Each line is oset by one pixel toward the
center of the o-screen image.
Instantiate a point at the upper-left corner
Listing 22 (p. 75) instantiates and saves an underlying data object of type Point containing coordinate
values for the upper left corner. This object will be used as one endpoint for a moveable Line object
from which the top and left borders will be drawn.

Listing 22: Instantiate a point at the upper-left corner.

GM2D02.Point upperLeftPoint = new GM2D02.Point(

new GM2D02.ColMatrix(1.0,1.0));

1.48

Instantiate a moveable Point object

Listing 23 (p. 76) instantiates a Point object that will be used as an endpoint for a moveable line in
all four locations.

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76 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 23: Instantiate a moveable Point object.

GM2D02.Point aPoint = new GM2D02.Point(

new GM2D02.ColMatrix(osiWidth-1,
upperLeftPoint.getData(1)));

1.49

The location of this point will be modied several times during the drawing of the border by calling the
setData method on the point. The initial location of this point is the upper-right corner. (Recall that
the origin is at the upper-left corner of both o-screen images at this point in the program.) The call to
the Point constructor causes the y-coordinate to be the same as the y-coordinate for the Point object
instantiated in Listing 22 (p. 75) .
Instantiate a moveable Line object
Listing 24 (p. 76) instantiates a Line object that will be modied several times in succession by calling
its setHead and setTail methods to place it in four dierent locations.

Listing 24: Instantiate a moveable Line object.

GM2D02.Line theLine = new GM2D02.Line(

upperLeftPoint,aPoint);
theLine.draw(g2Da);
theLine.draw(g2Db);

1.50

This Line object will be used to draw the top, right, bottom, and left lines that make up the border. It
is used in Listing 24 (p. 76) to cause a graphical Line2D.Double object to be instantiated and rendered
as the line at the top of both of the o-screen images.
Relocate the Line to three more locations
Listing 25 (p. 77) calls various methods of the Point and Line classes (including setData ,
setTail , and setHead ) to relocate the GM2D02.Line object to three more locations, each parallel
to an edge of an o-screen image.

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 77

Listing 25: Relocate the Line to three more locations.

//Draw right border.

//Save the previous head as the new tail.
theLine.setTail(theLine.getHead());
//Modify the location of aPoint. There's no need to
// change the x-coordinate. Just change the
// y-coordinate to move the point down the screen in
// the positive y direction to the lower-right corner.
aPoint.setData(1,osiHeight-1);
//Use the new location of aPoint as the new head.
theLine.setHead(aPoint);
theLine.draw(g2Da);
theLine.draw(g2Db);

//Draw bottom border. There's no need to change the

// y-coordinate in the new point, which is located
// at the lower-left corner.
theLine.setTail(theLine.getHead());
aPoint.setData(0,1.0);
theLine.setHead(aPoint);
theLine.draw(g2Da);
theLine.draw(g2Db);

//Draw left border to close the rectangular border.

theLine.setTail(theLine.getHead());
theLine.setHead(upperLeftPoint);
theLine.draw(g2Da);
theLine.draw(g2Db);

1.51

Draw the border

While the single GM2D02.Line object is at each location, draw methods are called to cause a
Line2D.Double object to be instantiated and rendered on each of the o-screen images. This results in
four dierent visual manifestations of the single GM2D02.Line object, producing visible lines at the edges
of each o-screen image. Although this code is not particularly straightforward, the embedded comments
should suce to explain it.
Draw the hexagon
Essentially the same process is used to draw the hexagon shown in the left image in Image 1 (p. 56) .
You can view the code that does that in Listing 28 (p. 84) . Once you understand the code that I explained
above, you should have no diculty understanding the code that draws the hexagon.
Draw the vectors
A very similar process is used to draw the vectors shown in the right image in Image 1 (p. 56) . You can
view the code in Listing 28 (p. 84) . Once again, if you understand the code that I explained above, you
should have no diculty understanding the code that draws the vectors.
That ends the explanation of the program named PointLine04 .

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78 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.6.6 Documentation for the GM2D02 library

Click here 44 to download a zip le containing standard javadoc documentation for the library named
GM2D02 . Extract the contents of the zip le into an empty folder and open the le named index.html
in your browser to view the documentation.
Although the documentation doesn't provide much in the way of explanatory text (see Listing (p. 80)
26 (p. 80) and the explanations given above) , the documentation does provide a good overview of the
organization and structure of the library. You may nd it helpful in that regard.

1.6.7 Homework assignment

Your homework assignment for this module was to study Kjell's CHAPTER 0  Points and Lines plus
CHAPTER 1  Vectors, Points, and Column Matrices down through the topic titled Variables as Elements
.
The homework assignment for the next module is to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 2  Column
and Row Matrix Addition .
In addition to studying the Kjell material, you should read at least the next two modules in this collection
and bring your questions about that material to the next classroom session.
Finally, you should have begun studying the physics material 45 at the beginning of the semester and you
should continue studying one physics module per week thereafter. You should also feel free to bring your
questions about that material to the classroom for discussion.

1.6.8 Run the programs

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 26 (p. 80) , Listing 27 (p. 82) , and Listing 28 (p. 84) ,
compile it, and execute it. Experiment with it, making changes, and observing the results of your changes.
Make certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

1.6.9 Summary

In this module, you learned how to update the game-math library to provide a number of new capabilities
including the addition of graphics to the library and the addition of set methods for column matrices,
points, vectors, and lines.
You also saw sample programs that illustrate the use of those new capabilities and you learned how to
draw on o-screen images.

1.6.10 What's next?

In the next module, you will learn how to compare column matrices for equality, how to compare two points
for equality, how to compare two vectors for equality, how to add one column matrix to another, how to
subtract one column matrix from another, and how to get a displacement vector from one point to another.

1.6.11 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME2302-0110: Updating the Game Math Library for Graphics
• File: Game0110.htm
• Published: 10/14/12
44 http://cnx.org/content/m45009/latest/GM2D02docs.zip
45 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/

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 79

• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.6.12 Complete program listings

Complete listings of the programs discussed in this module are shown in Listing 26 (p. 80) through Listing
28 (p. 84) below.

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80 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 26: Source code for the game-math library class named GM2D02.

/*GM2D02.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/03/08

The name GM2Dnn is an abbreviation for GameMath1Dnn.

See the file named GM2D01.java for a general description

of this game-math library file. This file is an update of
GM2D01.

This update added the following new capabilities:

Draw circles around points

Draw lines
Draw vectors
Call a set method to change the values in a
ColMatrix object.
Call a set method to change the values in a
Point object.
Call a set method to change the values in a
Vector object.
Call a set method to change one of the points
that defines a line.

Constructors were updated to ensure that existing points,

vectors, and lines are not corrupted by using the new
set methods to change the values in the ColMatrix and/or
Point objects originally used to construct the points,
vectors, and lines.

The updated constructors create and save clones of the

ColMatrix and/or Point objects originally used to define
the Point, Vector, and/or Line objects.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.*;

public class GM2D02{

//An object of this class represents a 2D column matrix.

// An object of this class is the fundamental building
// block for several of the other classes in the
// library.
public static class ColMatrix{
double[] data = new double[2];

ColMatrix(double data0,double data1){//constructor

data[0] = data0;
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data[1] = data1;
}//end constructor
//--------------------------------------------------//
 81

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82 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 27: Source code for the program named PointLine03.

/*PointLine03.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/03/08

This program illustrates the use of draw methods that

were added to the GM2D02 game-math library to produce
visual manifestations of point, line, and vector objects
instantiated from classes in the game-math library
named GM2D02.

The program also illustrates drawing on off-screen images

and then copying those images to a Canvas object in an
overridden paint method.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;

class PointLine03{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class PointLine03
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 200;
Image osiA;//one off-screen image
Image osiB;//another off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
Available
// you can compute theforsize
free atof
Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
the canvas.
setVisible(true);
osiWidth = myCanvas.getWidth()/2;
osiHeight = myCanvas.getHeight();
 83

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84 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 28: Source code for the program named PointLine04.

/*PointLine04.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/03/08

This program emphasizes the differences between graphics

objects and underlying data objects. It also illustrates
the use of the new setData methods of the Point class and
the Vector class, along with the new setTail and setHead
methods of the Line class. The methods were added to the
game-math library when it was updated to the GM2D02
version.

This program produces the same graphic output as that

produced by PointLine03, but it produces that output in
a significantly different way.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;

class PointLine04{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class PointLine04
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 200;
Image osiA;//one off-screen image
Image osiB;//another off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

Available
//This object must be for free at Connexions
visible before you<http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
can get an
// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
// you can compute the size of the canvas.
setVisible(true);
 85

1.6.13 Exercises

1.6.13.1 Exercise 1
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D02 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that draws a horizontal line segment and a vertical line segment representing
the x and y axes in a 2D Cartesian coordinate system as shown in Image 2 (p. 85) .
Cause the origin of your reference frame be at the center of your drawing.
Cause the positive x direction be to the right.
Cause the positive y direction be either up or down according to your choice.
Cause the program to display your name in some manner.

Image 2: Graphic output from Exercise 1.

1.55

1.6.13.2 Exercise 2
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D02 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that draws x and y axes in a 2D Cartesian coordinate system as shown in
Image 3 (p. 86) .

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86 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Cause the origin of your reference frame be at the center of your drawing.
Cause the positive x direction be to the right.
Cause the positive y direction be either up or down according to your choice.
Then draw small circles that represent the locations of points at the following coordinates in the reference
frame as shown in Image 3 (p. 86) .

• x = -30, y = -40
• x = 30, y = -40
• x = 30, y = 40

Cause the program to display your name in some manner.

Image 3: Graphic output from Exercise 2.

1.56

1.6.13.3 Exercise 3
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D02 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that draws x and y axes in a 2D Cartesian coordinate system as shown in
Image 4 (p. 87) .

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 87

Cause the origin of your reference frame be at the center of your drawing.
Cause the positive x direction be to the right.
Cause the positive y direction be either up or down according to your choice.
Create six random values in the range from -128 to +127. Use those values as the x and y coordinates
for three points in the 2D reference frame. (The code fragment in Listing 29 (p. 88) shows how to generate
random values in the required range in Java.)
Display the six values on a text screen labeled in such a way that it is possible to associate the values
with the points as shown in Image 5 (p. 88) .
Draw three small circles that represent the locations of the points.
Draw three line segments that connect the three points in pairs creating the shape of a triangle.
Cause the program to display your name in some manner.

Image 4: Graphic output from Exercise 3.

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88 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 5: Text output from Exercise 3.

point0X: -55
point0Y: 17
point1X: 9
point1Y: -37
point2X: 14
point2Y: 62

1.58

Listing 29: Code for generating random values in Java.

//Define three randomly located points.

Random generator = new Random(new Date().getTime());
point0X = (byte)generator.nextInt();
point0Y = (byte)generator.nextInt();
point1X = (byte)generator.nextInt();
point1Y = (byte)generator.nextInt();
point2X = (byte)generator.nextInt();
point2Y = (byte)generator.nextInt();

1.59

1.6.13.4 Exercise 4
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D02 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that draws three small circles that represent the locations of points at the
following coordinates in a 2D reference frame.

• point0X = -30
• point0Y = 0
• point1X = 30
• point1Y = 40
• point2X = 30
• point2Y = -40

Then draw three line segments that extend from edge-to-edge of your drawing and intersect the three points
in pairs as shown in Image 6 (p. 89) .

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 89

Cause the origin of your reference frame be at the center of your drawing.
Cause the positive x direction to be to the right.
Cause the positive y direction be either up or down according to your choice.
Cause the program to display your name in some manner.

Image 6: Graphic output from Exercise 4.

1.60

1.6.13.5 Exercise 5
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D02 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that draws 24 vectors tail-to-tail in alternating colors of red, green, and blue
as shown in Image 7 (p. 90) .
The rst vector is red.
The length of each vector is 100 pixels.
The direction of the rst vector is +7.5 degrees relative to the horizontal.
The direction of each successive vector is increased by 15 degrees.
For example, the directions of the rst four vectors are:

• 7.5

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90 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• 22.5
• 37.5
• 52.5

Draw the symbol of your choice to identify the head of each vector.
Draw the axes for a Cartesian coordinate system in the reference frame.
Cause the positive x direction to be to the right.
Cause the positive y direction be either up or down according to your choice.
Cause positive angles to be either clockwise or counter-clockwise according to your choice.
Cause the program to display your name in some manner.

Image 7: Graphic output from Exercise 5.

1.61

1.6.13.6 Exercise 6
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D02 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that draws 24 vectors tail-to-head in alternating colors of red, green, and
blue as shown in Image 8 (p. 91) .
The rst vector is red.

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 91

The length of each vector is approximately 17 pixels.

Draw the symbol of your choice to identify the head of each vector.
Draw the axes for a Cartesian coordinate system in the reference frame.
Cause the positive x direction to be to the right.
Cause the positive y direction be either up or down according to your choice.
Cause positive angles to be either clockwise or counter-clockwise according to your choice.
Cause the program to display your name in some manner.

Image 8: Graphic output from Exercise 6.

1.62

1.6.13.7 Exercise 7
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D02 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that draws 24 vectors tail-to-head in alternating colors of red, green, and
blue as shown in Image 9 (p. 92) .
The rst vector is red.
Begin with a length of 24 pixels for the rst vector and reduce the length of each successive vector by
one pixel.
Draw the symbol of your choice to identify the head of each vector.

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92 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Draw the axes for a Cartesian coordinate system in the reference frame.
Cause the positive x direction to be to the right.
Cause the positive y direction be either up or down according to your choice.
Cause positive angles to be either clockwise or counter-clockwise according to your choice.
Cause the program to display your name in some manner.

Image 9: Graphic output from Exercise 7.

1.63

-end-

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 93

1.7 Game0110r Review46

1.7.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 93)

• Questions (p. 93)
· 1 (p. 93) , 2 (p. 93) , 3 (p. 93) , 4 (p. 93) , 5 (p. 94) , 6 (p. 94) , 7 (p. 94) , 8 (p. 94) , 9 (p. 94)
, 10 (p. 94) , 11 (p. 95) , 12 (p. 100) , 13 (p. 95) , 14 (p. 95) , 15 (p. 95) , 16 (p. 95) , 17 (p.
95) , 18 (p. 95) , 19 (p. 96) , 20 (p. 96) , 21 (p. 96) , 22 (p. 96) , 23 (p. 96) , 24 (p. 96) , 25 (p.
96) , 26 (p. 97) , 27 (p. 97) , 28 (p. 97) , 29 (p. 97)
• Answers (p. 99)
• Miscellaneous (p. 102)

1.7.2 Preface

This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled GAME 2302-0110: Updating
the Game Math Library for Graphics 47 .
The questions and the answers are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to navigate from the
question to the answer and back again.

1.7.3 Questions

1.7.3.1 Question 1 .
A point is simply a location in space. It has no width, depth, or height. Therefore, it cannot be seen by the
human eye, which means that we can't draw a point on the computer screen. However, it is possible to draw
an object on the computer screen that indicates the location of the point.
True or False?
Answer 1 (p. 102)

1.7.3.2 Question 2
A point in space exists only after a visual object is created to mark the location of the point.
Answer 2 (p. 101)

1.7.3.3 Question 3
A point is a small black circle.
True or False?
Answer 3 (p. 101)

1.7.3.4 Question 4
Kjell tells us that a line segment is the straight path between two points, and that it has no thickness. Since
it has no thickness, a line cannot be seen by the human eye.
True or False?
Answer 4 (p. 101)
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94 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.7.3.5 Question 5
GM2D02.Point objects represent themselves as small black squares in a graphics context for the benet
of human observers.
True or False?
Answer 5 (p. 101)

1.7.3.6 Question 6
GM2D02.Vector objects represent themselves as lines with arrow-heads at their heads in a graphics
context for the benet of human observers.
True or False?
Answer 6 (p. 101)

1.7.3.7 Question 7
A GM2D02.Vector object is:
Select the correct answer
• A. An underlying data object
• B. A graphics object
• C. Both of the above
• D. None of the above
Answer 7 (p. 101)

1.7.3.8 Question 8
All Java parameters are passed to methods by reference.
True or False?
Answer 8 (p. 101)

1.7.3.9 Question 9
Java supports both primitive variables and reference variables.
True or False?
Answer 9 (p. 101)

1.7.3.10 Question 10
The GM2D02 library is an update of the earlier game-math library named GM2D01 . This update
added the following new capabilities:
Select the correct answer.
• A. Draw circles to represent GM2D02.Point objects.
• B. Draw visible lines to represent GM2D02.Line objects.
• C. Draw visible lines and circles to represent GM2D02.Vector objects.
• D. Call a setData method to change the values in a GM2D02.ColMatrix object.
• E. Call a setData method to change the values in a GM2D02.Point object.
• F. Call a setData method to change the values in a GM2D02.Vector object.
• G. Call a setHead method or a setTail method to change one of the points that denes a
GM2D02.Line object.
• H. All of the above
• I. None of the above
Answer 10 (p. 101)

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1.7.3.11 Question 11
The updated constructors in the GM2D02 library create and save clones of the ColMatrix and/or
Point objects originally used to dene the Point , Vector , and/or Line objects.
True or False?
Answer 11 (p. 101)

1.7.3.12 Question 12
The createImage method belonging to a JFrame object can be used to create an o-screen image.
True or False?
Answer 12 (p. 100)

1.7.3.13 Question 13
If the contents of an o-screen image are displayed on the screen, the units of width and height are measured
in pixels.
True or False?
Answer 13 (p. 100)

1.7.3.14 Question 14
The returned value of the createImage method is type JFrame .
True or False?
Answer 14 (p. 100)

1.7.3.15 Question 15
The return type of the getGraphics methods is Graphics .
True or False?
Answer 15 (p. 100)

1.7.3.16 Question 16
Objects instantiated from the GM2D02.Point and GM2D02.Line classes are not graphical objects.
True or False?
Answer 16 (p. 100)

1.7.3.17 Question 17
Objects instantiated from the GM2D02.Point and GM2D02.Line classes are underlying data objects
that are suitable for use in mathematical operations.
True or False?
Answer 17 (p. 100)

1.7.3.18 Question 18
draw method of the GM2D02.Line class causes an object of the standard Java
A call to the
Point2D.Double class to be rendered onto the specied graphics context.
True or False?
Answer 18 (p. 100)

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96 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.7.3.19 Question 19
The Line2D.Double object is a graphical object and the GM2D02.Line is an underlying data object.
True or False?
Answer 19 (p. 100)

1.7.3.20 Question 20
The GM2D02.Line class is a member of the standard Java library, whereas the Line2D.Double class
is a member of the special game math library named GM2D02 .
True or False?
Answer 20 (p. 100)

1.7.3.21 Question 21
One of the problems with object-oriented programming is that objects don't know how to do useful things
for themselves.
True or False?
Answer 21 (p. 100)

1.7.3.22 Question 22
A call to the draw method of the GM2D02.Point class causes an object of the standard Java
Ellipse2D.Double class to be rendered onto the specied graphics context.
True or False?
Answer 22 (p. 99)

1.7.3.23 Question 23
The constructor for the Java standard Ellipse2D.Double class requires four incoming parameters that
specify the coordinates of the upper-left corner of a rectangle followed by the width and the height of the
rectangle.
True or False?
Answer 23 (p. 99)

1.7.3.24 Question 24
An object of type Ellipse2D.Double represents an ellipse that is bounded by the four sides of a rectangle.
If the rectangle is square, the ellipse becomes a square.
True or False?
Answer 24 (p. 99)

1.7.3.25 Question 25
Kjell tells us that a vector is a geometrical object that has two properties: length and direction. He also
tells us that a vector does not have a position.
True or False?
Answer 25 (p. 99)

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 97

1.7.3.26 Question 26
The draw method of the GM2D02.Vector class requires three parameters:

• A reference to an object of the GM2D02.Vector class.

• A reference to the o-screen graphics context
· on which the visual manifestation of the vector will be drawn.
• A reference to an object of the class GM2D02.Point
· that will be used to determine the position on the o-screen image in which the visual manifesta-
tion will appear.

True or False?
Answer 26 (p. 99)

1.7.3.27 Question 27
The visual manifestation of a vector can be placed anywhere in space, and one placement is just as correct
as the next
True or False?
Answer 27 (p. 99)

1.7.3.28 Question 28
Although the visual manifestation of a vector can be placed anywhere in space, and one placement is just as
correct as the next, certain placements may be preferable to others in some cases so as to better represent
the problem being modeled by the use of vectors.
True or False?
Answer 28 (p. 99)

1.7.3.29 Question 29
The rendering of a GM2D02.Vector object by the draw method of the GM2D02.Vector class draws
a small circle to visually identify the head of the vector.
True or False?
Answer 29 (p. 99)
What is the meaning of the following two images?
This image was inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to keep
them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

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98 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 99

1.7.4 Answers

1.7.4.1 Answer 29
True
Back to Question 29 (p. 97)

1.7.4.2 Answer 28
True. One example is the graphical addition of vectors using the tail-to-head placement.
Back to Question 28 (p. 97)

1.7.4.3 Answer 27
True, because according to Kjell, a vector doesn't have a position. Hence, there is nothing in the underlying
data for a GM2D02.Vector object that species a position.
Back to Question 27 (p. 97)

1.7.4.4 Answer 26
False. The draw method of the GM2D02.Vector class requires two parameters:

• A reference to the o-screen graphics context

· on which the visual manifestation of the vector will be drawn.
• A reference to an object of the class GM2D02.Point
· that will be used to determine the position on the o-screen image in which the visual manifesta-
tion will appear.

Back to Question 26 (p. 97)

1.7.4.5 Answer 25
True
Back to Question 25 (p. 96)

1.7.4.6 Answer 24
False. An object of type Ellipse2D.Double represents an ellipse that is bounded by the four sides of a
rectangle. If the rectangle is square, the ellipse becomes a circle .
Back to Question 24 (p. 96)

1.7.4.7 Answer 23
True
Back to Question 23 (p. 96)

1.7.4.8 Answer 22
True
Back to Question 22 (p. 96)

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100 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.7.4.9 Answer 21
False. One of the hallmarks of object-oriented programming is that objects do know how to do useful things
for themselves.
Back to Question 21 (p. 96)

1.7.4.10 Answer 20
False. The Line2D.Double class is a member of the standard Java library, whereas the GM2D02.Line
class is a member of the special game math library named GM2D02 .
Back to Question 20 (p. 96)

1.7.4.11 Answer 19
True
Back to Question 19 (p. 96)

1.7.4.12 Answer 18
False. A call to the draw method of the GM2D02.Line class causes an object of the standard Java
Line2D.Double class to be rendered onto the specied graphics context.
Back to Question 18 (p. 95)

1.7.4.13 Answer 17
True
Back to Question 17 (p. 95)

1.7.4.14 Answer 16
True
Back to Question 16 (p. 95)

1.7.4.15 Answer 15
True
Back to Question 15 (p. 95)

1.7.4.16 Answer 14
False. The returned value of the createImage method is type Image .
Back to Question 14 (p. 95)

1.7.4.17 Answer 13
True
Back to Question 13 (p. 95)

1.7.4.18 Answer 12
True
Back to Question 12 (p. 95)

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 101

1.7.4.19 Answer 11
True
Back to Question 11 (p. 95)

1.7.4.20 Answer 10
H. All of the above
Back to Question 10 (p. 94)

1.7.4.21 Answer 9
True
Back to Question 9 (p. 94)

1.7.4.22 Answer 8
False. All Java parameters are passed to methods by value.
Back to Question 8 (p. 94)

1.7.4.23 Answer 7
A. An underlying data object
Back to Question 7 (p. 94)

1.7.4.24 Answer 6
False. GM2D02.Vector objects represent themselves as lines with small circles at their heads in a
graphics context for the benet of human observers.
Back to Question 6 (p. 94)

1.7.4.25 Answer 5
False. GM2D02.Point objects represent themselves as small black circles in a graphics context for the
benet of human observers.
Back to Question 5 (p. 94)

1.7.4.26 Answer 4
True
Back to Question 4 (p. 93)

1.7.4.27 Answer 3
False. A point is simply a location in space. It has no width, depth, or height. Therefore, it cannot be seen
by the human eye, which means that we can't draw a point on the computer screen. However, it is possible
to draw an object on the computer screen that indicates the location of the point.
Back to Question 3 (p. 93)

1.7.4.28 Answer 2
False. Points in space exist regardless of whether or not visual objects are created to mark the locations of
the points.
Back to Question 2 (p. 93)

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102 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.7.4.29 Answer 1
True
Back to Question 1 (p. 93)

1.7.5 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material
• Module name: Game0110r Review: Updating the Game Math Library for Graphics
• File: Game0110r.htm
• Published: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.
-end-

1.8 Game0110s Slides48

1.8.1 Table of Contents

• Instructions for viewing slides (p. 102)

• Miscellaneous (p. 103)

1.8.2 Instructions for viewing slides

This module contains lecture slides keyed to the module titled GAME 2302-0110: Updating the Game Math
Library for Graphics 49 .
Click here 50 to open an index to the slides.
Then use the links beginning with the label "aa" to open the rst slide that you want to view in a new
window in your browser.
Then use the [Next] and [Prev] links on the individual slides to navigate back and forth through the
slides.
You can also use the links on the index page to jump to a particular slide to avoid having to cycle through
the slides in sequence.
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49 http://cnx.org/content/m45009
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 103

1.8.3 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: Game0110s Slides: Updating the Game Math Library for Graphics
• File: Game0110s.htm
• Published: 01/05/13

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

1.9 GAME 2302-0115: Working with Column Matrices, Points, and

Vectors51
1.9.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 104)

· Viewing tip (p. 104)
* Images (p. 104)
* Listings (p. 104)
• Preview (p. 105)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 105)
· The game-math library named GM2D03 (p. 105)
· The sample program named ColMatrixEquals01 (p. 105)
· The sample program named DisplacementVector01 (p. 110)
· The sample program named ColMatrixAddSubtract01 (p. 112)
• Documentation for the GM2D03 library (p. 114)
• Homework assignment (p. 115)
• Run the programs (p. 115)
• Summary (p. 115)
• What's next? (p. 115)
• Miscellaneous (p. 115)
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104 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• Complete program listings (p. 116)

• Exercises (p. 121)
· Exercise 1 (p. 121)
· Exercise 2 (p. 122)
· Exercise 3 (p. 122)

1.9.2 Preface

This module is one in a series of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications for
Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
What you have learned
In the previous module, you learned how to update the game-math library to provide new capabilities
including the addition of graphics and set methods for column matrices, points, vectors, and lines. You
also learned how to draw on o-screen images.
What you will learn
In this module, you will learn how to compare column matrices for equality, compare two points for
equality, compare two vectors for equality, add one column matrix to another, subtract one column matrix
from another, and get a displacement vector from one point to another.

1.9.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

1.9.2.1.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 109) . Screen output from the program named ColMatrixEquals01.
• Image 2 (p. 112) . Screen output from the program named DisplacementVector01.
• Image 3 (p. 114) . Screen output from the program named ColMatrixAddSubtract01.
• Image 4 (p. 122) . Text output from Exercise 1.
• Image 5 (p. 122) . Text output from Exercise 2.
• Image 6 (p. 123) . Text output from Exercise 3.

1.9.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 106) . Overridden equals method of the GM2D03.ColMatrix class.
• Listing 2 (p. 107) . Overridden equals method of the GM2D03.Point class.
• Listing 3 (p. 107) . The getColMatrix method of the GM2D03.Point class.
• Listing 4 (p. 108) . Beginning of the ColMatrixEquals01 class.
• Listing 5 (p. 110) . Remainder of the ColMatrixEquals01 class.
• Listing 6 (p. 111) . The getDisplacementVector method of the GM2D03.Point class.
• Listing 7 (p. 112) . The program named DisplacementVector01.
• Listing 8 (p. 113) . Source code for the program named ColMatrixAddSubtract01.
• Listing 9 (p. 113) . Source code for the add method of the GM2D03.ColMatrix class.
• Listing 10 (p. 114) . Source code for the subtract method of the GM2D03.ColMatrix class.
• Listing 11 (p. 117) . Source code for game-math library named GM2D03.
• Listing 12 (p. 119) . Source code for the program named ColMatrixEquals01.
• Listing 13 (p. 120) . Source code for the program named DisplacementVector01.
• Listing 14 (p. 121) . Source code for the program named ColMatrixAddSubtract01.

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1.9.3 Preview

As mentioned earlier, in this module you will learn how to:

• Compare two column matrices for equality.

• Compare two points for equality.
• Compare two vectors for equality.
• Add one column matrix to another.
• Subtract one column matrix from another.
• Get a displacement vector from one point to another.

To assist you in this quest, I will present and explain modications that were made to update the game-math
library that you learned about in the previous two modules. In addition, I will present and explain three
sample programs that illustrate the new features of the game-math library.
I will also provide exercises for you to complete on your own at the end of the module. The exercises will
concentrate on the material that you have learned in this module and previous modules.

1.9.4 Discussion and sample code

Much of the code in the library remains unchanged. I explained that code in previous modules and I
won't repeat that explanation in this module. Rather, in this module, I will concentrate on explaining the
modications that I made to the library.

1.9.4.1 The game-math library named GM2D03

A complete listing of the library program is provided in Listing 11 (p. 117) near the end of the module.
This update added the following new capabilities:

• Compare two ColMatrix objects for equality by implementing Kjell's rules for equality given in his
Chapter 1, topic "Column Matrix Equality." The equality test does not test for absolute equality.
Rather, It compares the values stored in two matrices and returns true if the values are equal or almost
equal and returns false otherwise.
• Get a reference to the ColMatrix object that denes a Point object.
• Compare two Point objects for equality based on a comparison of the ColMatrix objects that
dene them.
• Get a reference to the ColMatrix object that denes a Vector object.
• Compare two Vector objects for equality based on a comparison of the ColMatrix objects that
dene them.
• Add one ColMatrix object to a second ColMatrix object, returning a ColMatrix object.
• Subtract one ColMatrix object from a second ColMatrix object, returning a ColMatrix object.

• Get a displacement vector from one Point object to a second Point object. The vector points
from the object on which the getDisplacementVector method is called to the object passed as a
parameter to the method.

I will explain these updates in conjunction with the discussions of the programs that follow.

1.9.4.2 The sample program named ColMatrixEquals01

A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 12 (p. 119) near the end of the module. I will
explain the program in fragments. In selecting the portions of the program that I will explain, I will skip
over material that is very similar to code that I have previously explained.
The purpose of this program is to conrm the behavior of the equals methods of the
GM2D03.ColMatrix , Point , and Vector classes.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

106 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Overridden equals method of the GM2D03.ColMatrix class

I will begin by explaining some of the equals methods in the updated GM2D03 game-math library.
The rst fragment in Listing 1 (p. 106) shows the new equals method of the ColMatrix class.

Listing 1: Overridden equals method of the GM2D03.ColMatrix class.

public boolean equals(Object obj){

if(obj instanceof GM2D03.ColMatrix &&
Math.abs(((GM2D03.ColMatrix)obj).getData(0) -
getData(0)) <= 0.00001 &&
Math.abs(((GM2D03.ColMatrix)obj).getData(1) -
getData(1)) <= 0.00001){
return true;
}else{
return false;
}//end else

}//end overridden equals method

1.64

This method overrides the equals method inherited from the Object class. It compares the double
values stored in two matrices and returns true if the values are equal or almost equal and returns false
otherwise.
An inherent problem when comparing doubles and oats
There is always a problem when comparing two double or oat values for equality. If you perform
a series of computations twice, using a dierent computational order for each set of computations, you are
likely to end up with two values that are not absolutely equal even if they should be equal. Arithmetic
inaccuracies along the way may cause the two results to dier ever so slightly. However, they may be equal
from a practical viewpoint.

note: An example of the problem: See Image 3 (p. 114) where the a value that should be
0.0 is actually given by -1.7763568394002505E-15

Therefore, when comparing two double or oat values for equality, it is customary to subtract one from
the other, convert the dierence to an absolute value, and compare that absolute value with an arbitrarily
small positive value. If the dierence is less than that the test value, the two original values are declared to
be equal. Otherwise, they are declared to be unequal.
This is the logic that is implemented in Listing 1 (p. 106) , which shouldn't require further explanation.
Overridden equals method of the GM2D03.Point class
Listing 2 (p. 107) presents the overridden equals method of the GM2D03.Point class.

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 107

Listing 2: Overridden equals method of the GM2D03.Point class.

public boolean equals(Object obj){

if(point.equals(((GM2D03.Point)obj).
getColMatrix())){
return true;
}else{
return false;
}//end else

}//end overridden equals method

1.65

This method also overrides the equals method inherited from the Object class. It compares the
values stored in the ColMatrix objects that dene two Point objects and returns true if they are equal
and false otherwise.
One possible point of confusion
The one thing that can be confusing in Listing 2 (p. 107) has to do with the variable named point .
This is a reference to an object of type ColMatrix that denes the location of the Point object. Listing
2 (p. 107) calls another new method named getColMatrix to get access to the ColMatrix object
that denes the incoming Point object, and uses that object for the comparison. In eect, this method
actually compares two objects of the ColMatrix class by calling the method that I explained in Listing 1
(p. 106) . This illustrates the advantages of building up the library classes using objects of the fundamental
ColMatrix class.
The getColMatrix method of the GM2D03.Point class
This extremely simple new method, which is called by the code in Listing 2 (p. 107) , is presented in
Listing 3 (p. 107) .

Listing 3: The getColMatrix method of the GM2D03.Point class.

//Returns a reference to the ColMatrix object that

// defines this Point object.
public GM2D03.ColMatrix getColMatrix(){
return point;
}//end getColMatrix

1.66

Listing 3 (p. 107) shouldn't require any explanation beyond the embedded comments.
Overridden equals method of the GM2D03.Vector class
The overridden equals method of the GM2D03.Vector class is essentially the same as the code
shown for the Point class in Listing 2 (p. 107) so I won't bother to show and explain it. You van view
this new method in Listing 11 (p. 117) .

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108 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Beginning of the ColMatrixEquals01 program class

At this point, I will put the discussion of the updated GM2D03 library on hold and explain the
ColMatrixEquals01 program.
Listing 4 (p. 108) presents the beginning of the ColMatrixEquals01 program class including the
beginning of the main method.

Listing 4: Beginning of the ColMatrixEquals01 class.

public class ColMatrixEquals01{

public static void main(String[] args){
GM2D03.ColMatrix matA =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(1.5,-2.6);
GM2D03.ColMatrix matB =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(1.5,-2.6);
GM2D03.ColMatrix matC =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(1.500001,-2.600001);
GM2D03.ColMatrix matD =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(1.50001,-2.60001);
System.out.println(matA.equals(matA));
System.out.println(matA.equals(matB));
System.out.println(matA.equals(matC));
System.out.println(matA.equals(matD));

1.67

Listing 4 (p. 108) instantiates four dierent ColMatrix objects and then compares them in dierent
ways, displaying the results of the comparisons on the command-line screen.
Screen output from the program named ColMatrixEquals01
The rst four lines of text in Image 1 (p. 109) were produced by the code in Listing 4. (The remaining
output shown in Image 1 (p. 109) was produced by the code in Listing 5 (p. 110) , which I will explain
shortly.)

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 109

Image 1: Screen output from the program named ColMatrixEquals01.

true
true
true
false

true
true
false

true
true
false

1.68

Because of the simplicity of the code in Listing 4 (p. 108) , you shouldn't need any help in understanding
why the code in Listing 4 (p. 108) produced the rst four lines of output in Image 1 (p. 109) .
The third and fourth lines of output in Image 1 (p. 109) are the result of comparing two matrices whose
values are almost equal but not absolutely equal.
Remainder of the ColMatrixEquals01 class
The remainder of the program named ColMatrixEquals01 is shown in Listing 5 (p. 110) . The
output produced by this code is shown in the last six lines of text in Image 1 (p. 109) .

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110 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 5: Remainder of the ColMatrixEquals01 class.

GM2D03.Point pointA = new GM2D03.Point(

new GM2D03.ColMatrix(15.6,-10.11));
GM2D03.Point pointB = new GM2D03.Point(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(15.6,-10.11));
GM2D03.Point pointC = new GM2D03.Point(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(-15.6,10.11));
System.out.println(/*Blank line*/);
System.out.println(pointA.equals(pointA));
System.out.println(pointA.equals(pointB));
System.out.println(pointA.equals(pointC));

GM2D03.Vector vecA = new GM2D03.Vector(

new GM2D03.ColMatrix(15.6,-10.11));
GM2D03.Vector vecB = new GM2D03.Vector(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(15.6,-10.11));
GM2D03.Vector vecC = new GM2D03.Vector(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(-15.6,10.11));
System.out.println(/*Blank line*/);
System.out.println(vecA.equals(vecA));
System.out.println(vecA.equals(vecB));
System.out.println(vecA.equals(vecC));

}//end main
}//end ColMatrixEquals01 class

1.69

Once again, the code in Listing 5 (p. 110) is very straightforward and shouldn't require further explana-
tion. The screen output shown in Image 1 (p. 109) veries that the library methods called by this program
behave appropriately.

1.9.4.3 The sample program named DisplacementVector01

A displacement vector describes the distance and direction that you would have to move to get from one
point in space to another point in space.
The getDisplacementVector method of the GM2D03.Point class
Returning to the discussion of the updated GM2D03 library, Listing 6 (p. 111) presents the new
getDisplacementVector method of the GM2D03.Point class

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 111

Listing 6: The getDisplacementVector method of the GM2D03.Point class.

public GM2D03.Vector getDisplacementVector(

GM2D03.Point point){
return new GM2D03.Vector(new GM2D03.ColMatrix(
point.getData(0)-getData(0),
point.getData(1)-getData(1)));
}//end getDisplacementVector

1.70

This method gets and returns a displacement vector from one Point object to a second Point object
and returns the result as a reference to a new object of the class GM2D03.Vector .
The direction of the vector
The displacement vector points from the Point object on which the method is called to the Point
object passed as a parameter to the method. Kjell describes the component parts of the new vector as the
distance you would have to walk, rst along the x-axis and then along the y-axis to get from the rst point
to the second point. Of course, you could take the short cut and walk directly from the rst point to the
second point but that's often not how we do it in programming.
The code in Listing 6 (p. 111) is straightforward and shouldn't require further explanation.
The program named DisplacementVector01
Once again, I will put the discussion of the updated GM2D03 library on hold and explain the program
named DisplacementVector01 .
Listing 7 (p. 112) shows the program named DisplacementVector01 in its entirety.
(For convenience, a second copy of this program is provided in Listing 13 (p. 120) near the end of the
module along with the other three programs discussed in this module.)

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112 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 7: The program named DisplacementVector01.

public class DisplacementVector01{

public static void main(String[] args){
GM2D03.Point pointA = new GM2D03.Point(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(6.5,-9.7));
GM2D03.Point pointB = new GM2D03.Point(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(-6.0,9.0));

System.out.println(pointA.getDisplacementVector(
pointB));
System.out.println(pointB.getDisplacementVector(
pointA));

}//end main
}//end DisplacementVector01 class

1.71

The purpose of this program is to conrm the behavior of the getDisplacementVector method of
the GM2D03.Point class. The screen output shown in Image 2 (p. 112) provides that conrmation.
Screen output from the program named DisplacementVector01
The screen output from the program named DisplacementVector01 is shown in Image 2 (p. 112) .

Image 2: Screen output from the program named DisplacementVector01.

-12.5,18.7
12.5,-18.7

1.72

You should be able to correlate the results shown in Image 2 (p. 112) with the code in Listing 6 (p. 111)
and Listing 7 (p. 112) without further explanation.
Very simple methods
By now you may be thinking that the code in the game-math library is very simple and easy to understand.
I hope that is the case. I went to great lengths to modularize the library into a set of simple and easily
understood methods. Taken as a whole, however, the library is becoming quite powerful, and will become
even more powerful as we progress through additional modules in this collection.

1.9.4.4 The sample program named ColMatrixAddSubtract01

The source code for this program is shown in its entirety in Listing 8 (p. 113) .
(The source code is also provided in Listing 14 (p. 121) near the end of the module for convenience.)

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 113

Listing 8: Source code for the program named ColMatrixAddSubtract01.

public class ColMatrixAddSubtract01{

public static void main(String[] args){

GM2D03.ColMatrix matrixA =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(3.14,-6.01);
GM2D03.ColMatrix matrixB =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(-14.0,-12.2);

GM2D03.ColMatrix matrixC = matrixA.add(matrixB);

GM2D03.ColMatrix matrixD = matrixC.subtract(matrixA);
GM2D03.ColMatrix matrixE = matrixD.subtract(matrixB);

System.out.println(matrixC);
System.out.println(matrixD);
System.out.println(matrixE);
}//end main

}//end class ColMatrixAddSubtract01

1.73

The purpose of this program is to conrm the behavior of the new add and subtract methods of the
GM2D03.ColMatrix class.
Source code for the add method of the GM2D03.ColMatrix class
Returning once more to a discussion of the updated GM2D03 library, the source code for this method
is shown in Listing 9 (p. 113) . The method adds one ColMatrix object to another ColMatrix object,
returning a ColMatrix object. As you should have learned from your studies of the Kjell tutorial, the
order in which the two objects are added doesn't matter. The result is the same either way.

Listing 9: Source code for the add method of the GM2D03.ColMatrix class.

public GM2D03.ColMatrix add(GM2D03.ColMatrix matrix){

return new GM2D03.ColMatrix(
getData(0)+matrix.getData(0),
getData(1)+matrix.getData(1));
}//end add

1.74

The code in the method is straightforward and shouldn't require an explanation.

Source code for the subtract method of the GM2D03.ColMatrix class

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114 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Continuing with the discussion of the updated GM2D03 library, the source code for this method is
shown in Listing 10 (p. 114) . This method subtracts one ColMatrix object from another ColMatrix
object, returning a ColMatrix object. Also as you should have learned from the Kjell tutorial, in this case,
the order of the operation does matter. The object that is received as an incoming parameter is subtracted
from the object on which the method is called. Reversing the order of operations produces dierent results.

Listing 10: Source code for the subtract method of the GM2D03.ColMatrix class.

public GM2D03.ColMatrix subtract(

GM2D03.ColMatrix matrix){
return new GM2D03.ColMatrix(
getData(0)-matrix.getData(0),
getData(1)-matrix.getData(1));
}//end subtract

1.75

Once again, the code in the method is straightforward and shouldn't require an explanation.
Program output for program named ColMatrixAddSubtract01
Now, lets get back to the program named ColMatrixAddSubtract01 that is shown in Listing 8 (p.
113) . This program produces the output shown in Image 3 (p. 114) .

Image 3: Screen output from the program named ColMatrixAddSubtract01.

-10.86,-18.21
-14.0,-12.200000000000001
0.0,-1.7763568394002505E-15

1.76

By now, you should have no diculty understanding how the output shown in Image 3 (p. 114) was
produced by the code shown in Listing 8 (p. 113) . Note, however, that the last value on the third row
should be 0.0 instead of the extremely small value shown. This is an example of an inherent 52 problem
having to do with comparing double or oat values with other double or oat values for absolute
equality.

1.9.5 Documentation for the GM2D03 library

Click here 53 to download a zip le containing standard javadoc documentation for the library named
GM2D03 . Extract the contents of the zip le into an empty folder and open the le named index.html
in your browser to view the documentation.
52 http://cnx.org/content/m45010/latest/Java1704.htm#inherent
53 http://cnx.org/content/m45010/latest/GM2D03docs.zip

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 115

Although the documentation doesn't provide much in the way of explanatory text (see Listing 11
(p. 117) and the explanations given above) , the documentation does provide a good overview of the
organization and structure of the library. You may nd it helpful in that regard.

1.9.6 Homework assignment

Your homework assignment for this module was to study Kjell's tutorial through Chapter 2 - Column and
Row Matrix Addition .
The homework assignment for the next module is to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 3 - Vector
Addition .
In addition to studying the Kjell material, you should read at least the next two modules in this collection
and bring your questions about that material to the next classroom session.
Finally, you should have begun studying the physics material 54 at the beginning of the semester and you
should continue studying one physics module per week thereafter. You should also feel free to bring your
questions about that material to the classroom for discussion.

1.9.7 Run the programs

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 12 (p. 119) , Listing 13 (p. 120) , and Listing 14 (p. 121) .
Compile the code and execute it in conjunction with the game-math library provided in Listing 11 (p. 117)
. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make certain that
you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

1.9.8 Summary

In this module, you learned how to compare column matrices for equality, compare two points for equality,
compare two vectors for equality, add one column matrix to another, subtract one column matrix from
another, and get a displacement vector from one point to another.

1.9.9 What's next?

The next module in the collection will show one way for you to visualize column matrices in graphical form.
In the module following that one, you will learn:

• How to add two or more vectors.

• About the head-to-tail rule in vector addition.
• About the vector addition parallelogram.
• About the relationship between the length of the sum of vectors and the sum of the lengths of the
vectors.
• How to add a vector to a point.
• How to get the length of a vector.
• How to represent an object in dierent coordinate frames.

1.9.10 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME2302-0115: Working with Column Matrices, Points, and Vectors
• File: Game0115.htm
54 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

116 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• Published: 10/14/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.9.11 Complete program listings

Complete listings of the programs discussed in this module are shown in Listing 11 (p. 117) through Listing
14 (p. 121) below.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 117

Listing 11: Source code for game-math library named GM2D03.

/*GM2D03.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/10/08

The name GM2Dnn is an abbreviation for GameMath2Dnn.

See the file named GM2D01.java for a general description

of this game-math library file. This file is an update of
GM2D02.

This update added the following new capabilities:

Compare two ColMatrix objects for equality by implementing

Kjell's rules for equality given in his Chapter 1, topic
"Column Matrix Equality." The equality test does not test
for absolute equality. Rather, It compares the values
stored in two matrices and returns true if the values are
equal or almost equal and returns false otherwise.

Get a reference to the ColMatrix object that defines

a Point object.

Compare two Point objects for equality based on a

comparison of the ColMatrix objects that define them.

Get a reference to the ColMatrix object that defines

a Vector object.

Compare two Vector objects for equality based on a

comparison of the ColMatrix objects that define them.

Add one ColMatrix object to a second ColMatrix object,

returning a ColMatrix object.

Subtract one ColMatrix object from a second ColMatrix

object, returning a ColMatrix object.

Get a displacement vector from one Point object to a

second Point object. The vector points from the object
on which the getDisplacementVector method is called to the
object passed as a parameter to the method.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.*;

public class GM2D03{

//An object of this class represents a 2D column matrix.

Available
// An object of this for free
class isatthe
Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
fundamental building
// block for several of the other classes in the
// library.
public static class ColMatrix{
118 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 119

Listing 12: Source code for the program named ColMatrixEquals01.

/*ColMatrixEquals01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/08/08

The purpose of this program is to confirm the behavior of

the equals methods of the GM2D03.ColMatrix, Point, and
Vector classes.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/

public class ColMatrixEquals01{

public static void main(String[] args){
GM2D03.ColMatrix matA =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(1.5,-2.6);
GM2D03.ColMatrix matB =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(1.5,-2.6);
GM2D03.ColMatrix matC =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(1.500001,-2.600001);
GM2D03.ColMatrix matD =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(1.50001,-2.60001);
System.out.println(matA.equals(matA));
System.out.println(matA.equals(matB));
System.out.println(matA.equals(matC));
System.out.println(matA.equals(matD));

GM2D03.Point pointA = new GM2D03.Point(

new GM2D03.ColMatrix(15.6,-10.11));
GM2D03.Point pointB = new GM2D03.Point(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(15.6,-10.11));
GM2D03.Point pointC = new GM2D03.Point(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(-15.6,10.11));
System.out.println(/*Blank line*/);
System.out.println(pointA.equals(pointA));
System.out.println(pointA.equals(pointB));
System.out.println(pointA.equals(pointC));

GM2D03.Vector vecA = new GM2D03.Vector(

new GM2D03.ColMatrix(15.6,-10.11));
GM2D03.Vector vecB = new GM2D03.Vector(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(15.6,-10.11));
GM2D03.Vector vecC = new GM2D03.Vector(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(-15.6,10.11));
System.out.println(/*Blank line*/);
System.out.println(vecA.equals(vecA));
System.out.println(vecA.equals(vecB));
System.out.println(vecA.equals(vecC));

}//end main
}//end ColMatrixEquals01 class
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1.78
120 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 13: Source code for the program named DisplacementVector01.

/*DisplacementVector01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/08/08

The purpose of this program is to confirm the behavior of

the getDisplacementVector method of the GM2D03.Point
class.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/

public class DisplacementVector01{

public static void main(String[] args){
GM2D03.Point pointA = new GM2D03.Point(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(6.5,-9.7));
GM2D03.Point pointB = new GM2D03.Point(
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(-6.0,9.0));

System.out.println(pointA.getDisplacementVector(
pointB));
System.out.println(pointB.getDisplacementVector(
pointA));

}//end main
}//end DisplacementVector01 class

1.79

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 121

Listing 14: Source code for the program named ColMatrixAddSubtract01.

/*ColMatrixAddSubtract01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/08/08

The purpose of this program is to confirm the behavior of

the add and subtract methods of the GM2D03.ColMatrix
class.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/

public class ColMatrixAddSubtract01{

public static void main(String[] args){

GM2D03.ColMatrix matrixA =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(3.14,-6.01);
GM2D03.ColMatrix matrixB =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(-14.0,-12.2);

GM2D03.ColMatrix matrixC = matrixA.add(matrixB);

GM2D03.ColMatrix matrixD = matrixC.subtract(matrixA);
GM2D03.ColMatrix matrixE = matrixD.subtract(matrixB);

System.out.println(matrixC);
System.out.println(matrixD);
System.out.println(matrixE);
}//end main

}//end class ColMatrixAddSubtract01

1.80

1.9.12 Exercises

1.9.12.1 Exercise 1
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D03 , or using a dierent programming environment of
your choice, write a program that creates four column matrix objects using the following names and values:

• matA = (1.5,-2.6)
• matB = (1.5,-2.6)
• matC = (8.5,-13.4)
• matD = (5.5,-8.2)

Then use matrix addition and subtraction to compute and display the values of the following matrices:

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122 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• matE = matA + matB

• matF = matC - matD
Finally, test matE and matF for equality and display the result, replacing the question mark with either
true or false..
Cause the program to display your name in some manner.
My version of the program produces the text output shown in Image 4 (p. 122) , and you should use
that as a display template.

Prof. Baldwin
matE = 3.0,-5.2
matF = 3.0,-5.200000000000001
matE equals matF: ?

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1.9.12.2 Exercise 2
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D03 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that creates and displays (in text form) three vectors having the names
and values shown in Image 5 (p. 122) .
Cause your program to test vecA for equality, rst against vecB , and then against vecC , and
display the results of the tests in place of the question marks shown in Image 5 (p. 122) .

Image 5: Text output from Exercise 2.

Prof. Baldwin
vecA = -1.5,2.6
vecB = -1.5,2.6
vecC = 8.5,-13.4
vecA equals vecB: ?
vecA equals vecC: ?

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1.9.12.3 Exercise 3
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D03 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that creates and displays four column matrices having the names and values

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 123

shown in Image 6 (p. 123) .

Use the rst two matrices to create a displacement vector named dispVecE and display its value in
place of the question marks in Image 6 (p. 123) .
Use the last two matrices to create another displacement vector named dispVecF and display its value
in place of the question marks in Image 6 (p. 123) .
Test dispVecE and dispVecF for equality and display the result of the test in place of the nal
question mark in Image 6 (p. 123) .

Image 6: Text output from Exercise 3.

Prof. Baldwin
matA = 1.5,-2.6
matB = -1.5,2.6
dispVecE = ?,?
matC = 8.5,-13.4
matD = 5.5,-8.2
dispVecF = ?,?
dispVecE equals dispVecF: ?

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-end-

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124 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.10 Game0115r Review55

1.10.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 124)

• Questions (p. 124)
· 1 (p. 124) , 2 (p. 124) , 3 (p. 124) , 4 (p. 124) , 5 (p. 124) , 6 (p. 125) , 7 (p. 125) , 8 (p. 125) ,
9 (p. 125) , 10 (p. 125) , 11 (p. 125) , 12 (p. 125)
• Answers (p. 127)
• Miscellaneous (p. 128)

1.10.2 Preface

This module contains review questions and answers keyed to the module titled GAME 2302-0115: Working
with Column Matrices, Points, and Vectors 56 .
The questions and the answers are connected by hyperlinks to make it easy for you to navigate from the
question to the answer and back again.

1.10.3 Questions

1.10.3.1 Question 1 .
A method named equals is inherited from the Object class and overridden in several classes in the
GM2D03 game-math library.
True or False?
Answer 1 (p. 128)

1.10.3.2 Question 2
The overridden equals method in the GM2D03.Point class returns a value of type double .
True or False?
Answer 2 (p. 128)

1.10.3.3 Question 3
It is not dicult to compare double and oat values for absolute equality.
True or False?
Answer 3 (p. 128)

1.10.3.4 Question 4
The overridden equals method of the GM2D03.Point class compares two objects of type
GM2D03.ColMatrix for equality.
True or False?
Answer 4 (p. 128)

1.10.3.5 Question 5
The dierence between two points is a displacement vector.
True or False?
Answer 5 (p. 128)
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1.10.3.6 Question 6
The getDisplacementVector method of the GM2D03.Point class computes the sums of the x and y
components of the points that are stored in two column matrix objects.
True or False?
Answer 6 (p. 128)

1.10.3.7 Question 7
ThegetDisplacementVector method of the GM2D03.Point class returns a value of type
GM2D03.ColMatrix .
True or False?
Answer 7 (p. 128)

1.10.3.8 Question 8
The displacement vector that is returned by the getDisplacementVector method of the GM2D03.Point
class points from the Point object on which the method is called to the Point object passed as a parameter
to the method.
True or False?
Answer 8 (p. 128)

1.10.3.9 Question 9
Kjell describes the component parts of the a displacement vector

• as the distance you would have to walk,

• rst along the x-axis and
• then along the y-axis
• to get from the rst point to the second point.

True or False?
Answer 9 (p. 127)

1.10.3.10 Question 10
The add method of the GM2D03.ColMatrix class adds one ColMatrix object to another ColMatrix
object, returning a ColMatrix object.
True or False?
Answer 10 (p. 127)

1.10.3.11 Question 11
The order in which you add column matrix objects has a signicant impact on the result.
True or False?
Answer 11 (p. 127)

1.10.3.12 Question 12
The order in which two column matrix objects are subtracted doesn't matter. The result is the same either
way.
True or False?
Answer 12 (p. 127)
What is the meaning of the following two images?

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126 CHAPTER 1. MATH

This image was inserted here simply to insert some space between the questions and the answers to keep
them from being visible on the screen at the same time.

This image was also inserted for the purpose of inserting space between the questions and the answers.

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1.10.4 Answers

1.10.4.1 Answer 12
False. As you should have learned from your studies of the Kjell tutorial, the order in which the two column
matrix objects are subtracted has a signicant impact on the result.
Back to Question 12 (p. 125)

1.10.4.2 Answer 11
False. As you should have learned from your studies of the Kjell tutorial, the order in which the two column
matrix objects are added doesn't matter. The result is the same either way.
Back to Question 11 (p. 125)

1.10.4.3 Answer 10
True
Back to Question 10 (p. 125)

1.10.4.4 Answer 9
True
Back to Question 9 (p. 125)

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128 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.10.4.5 Answer 8
True
Back to Question 8 (p. 125)

1.10.4.6 Answer 7
False. The getDisplacementVector method of the GM2D03.Point class returns a value of type
GM2D03.Vector .
Back to Question 7 (p. 125)

1.10.4.7 Answer 6
False. The getDisplacementVector method of the GM2D03.Point class computes the dierences
(subtraction) of the x and y components of the points that are stored in two column matrix objects.
Back to Question 6 (p. 125)

1.10.4.8 Answer 5
True
Back to Question 5 (p. 124)

1.10.4.9 Answer 4
True. In eect, this method actually compares two objects of the ColMatrix class by calling the equals
method dened in the GM2D03.ColMatrix class. This is because the values that dene a point are
actually stored in a column matrix.
Back to Question 4 (p. 124)

1.10.4.10 Answer 3
False. There is an inherent problem when comparing two double or oat values for equality. If you
perform a series of computations twice, using a dierent computational order for each set of computations,
you are likely to end up with two values that are not absolutely equal even if they should be equal. Arithmetic
inaccuracies along the way may cause the two results to dier ever so slightly. However, they may be equal
from a practical viewpoint.
Back to Question 3 (p. 124)

1.10.4.11 Answer 2
False. The overridden equals method in the GM2D03.Point class returns a value of type boolean .
Back to Question 2 (p. 124)

1.10.4.12 Answer 1
True
Back to Question 1 (p. 124)

1.10.5 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: Game0115r Review: Working with Column Matrices, Points, and Vectors

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 129

• File: Game0115r.htm
• Published: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

1.11 Game0115s Slides57

1.11.1 Table of Contents

• Instructions for viewing slides (p. 129)

• Miscellaneous (p. 129)

1.11.2 Instructions for viewing slides

This module contains lecture slides keyed to the module titled GAME 2302-0115: Working with Column
Matrices, Points, and Vectors 58 .
Click here 59 to open an index to the slides.
Then use the links beginning with the label "aa" to open the rst slide that you want to view in a new
window in your browser.
Then use the [Next] and [Prev] links on the individual slides to navigate back and forth through the
slides.
You can also use the links on the index page to jump to a particular slide to avoid having to cycle through
the slides in sequence.

1.11.3 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: Game0115s Slides: Working with Column Matrices, Points, and Vectors
• File: Game0115s.htm
• Published: 01/05/13
57 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45619/1.3/>.
58 http://cnx.org/content/m45010
59 http://cnx.org/content/m45619/latest/a0-Index.htm

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130 CHAPTER 1. MATH

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

1.12 GAME 2302-0120: Visualizing Column Matrices60

1.12.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 130)

· Viewing tip (p. 131)
* Images (p. 131)
* Listings (p. 131)
• Preview (p. 131)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 135)
• Homework assignment (p. 141)
• Run the program (p. 141)
• Summary (p. 141)
• What's next? (p. 141)
• Miscellaneous (p. 141)
• Complete program listing (p. 142)
• Exercises (p. 144)
· Exercise 1 (p. 144)

1.12.2 Preface

This module is one in a collection of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications
for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
What you have learned
In the previous module, you learned:

• How to compare column matrices for equality

• How to compare two points for equality
• How to compare two vectors for equality
• How to add one column matrix to another
• How to subtract one column matrix from another
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 131

• How to get a displacement vector from one point to another.

What you will learn

In this module, you will learn how to display column matrices in a graphical format. This may help you
to get a better grasp of the nature of column matrices and the results of adding, subtracting, and comparing
them.

1.12.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

1.12.2.1.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 132) . Sample graphical program output.
• Image 2 (p. 133) . Text output from the program.
• Image 3 (p. 134) . Graphical output for equal vectors.
• Image 4 (p. 135) . Text output for equal vectors.
• Image 5 (p. 144) . Graphic output from Exercise 01.

1.12.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 136) . Beginning of the method named displayColumnMatrices.
• Listing 2 (p. 136) . Use the slider values to create the two matrices.
• Listing 3 (p. 137) . Add and subtract the matrices.
• Listing 4 (p. 137) . Display text information about the matrices.
• Listing 5 (p. 138) . Create mathematical points.
• Listing 6 (p. 139) . Create mathematical displacement vectors.
• Listing 7 (p. 140) . Produce a graphical representation of the displacement vectors.
• Listing 8 (p. 143) . Source code for the program named ColMatrixVis01.

1.12.3 Preview

Abstract mathematical concepts are often easier to grasp if you can visualize them in graphical format. For
example, the nature of the following equation often becomes more apparent once you learn that it is the
equation of a straight line.
y = m*x + b
Similarly, the nature of the following equation often becomes more apparent once you learn that it is the
equation of a parabola and you learn the general shape of a parabola.
y = x^2 + k
where x^2 indicates x raised to the second power.
As mentioned earlier, in this module, you will learn how to display column matrices in a graphical
format. This may help you to get a better grasp of the nature of column matrices and the results of adding,
subtracting, and comparing them.
I will present and explain an interactive program that behaves as follows:
Two column matrices are created using values obtained from the sliders shown at the bottom of Image 1
(p. 132) . One matrix is named redMatrix and the other matrix is named greenMatrix .

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132 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 1: Sample graphical program output.

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 133

Two additional column matrices are created by adding and subtracting the original matrices. The matrix
created by adding the red and green matrices is named blueMatrix . The matrix created by subtracting
the green matrix from the red matrix is named orangeMatrix .
Mathematical points are created to represent the values in the four matrices in a 2D reference frame.
Then, mathematical displacement vectors are created for each of the points relative to the origin.
Graphical objects are created for each of the four displacement vectors and those objects are drawn along
with Cartesian coordinate axes in the 2D reference frame.
The vectors are shown in the top portion of Image 1 (p. 132) . The red and green vectors represent the
red and green matrices. The blue and orange vectors represent the sum and the dierence of the red and
green matrices.
Text output is displayed to show the matrix values as well as whether the two original matrices are equal.
The text values corresponding to the vectors in Image 1 (p. 132) are shown in Image 2 (p. 133) .

Image 2: Text output from the program.

redMatrix = 53.0,53.0
greenMatrix = 79.0,-66.0
redMatrix equals greenMatrix: false
blueMatrix = redMatrix + greenMatrix = 132.0,-13.0
orangeMatrix = redMatrix - greenMatrix = -26.0,119.0

1.85

If you carefully adjust the sliders so that the two values contained in the redMatrix are the same as
the two values contained in the greenMatrix , the red and green vectors will overlay as shown in Image 3
(p. 134) and the third line of output text will show true as shown in Image 4 (p. 135) . In this case, only the
green vector and part of the blue (sum) vector are visible. The red vector is covered by the green vector,
and the orange (dierence) vector has a zero length.

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134 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 3: Graphical output for equal vectors.

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 135

Image 4: Text output for equal vectors.

redMatrix = 100.0,100.0
greenMatrix = 100.0,100.0
redMatrix equals greenMatrix: true
blueMatrix = redMatrix + greenMatrix = 200.0,200.0
orangeMatrix = redMatrix - greenMatrix = 0.0,0.0

1.87

There are many other interesting combinations that I could show. However, I will leave it as an exercise
for the student to copy, compile, and run the program and use the sliders to experiment with dierent matrix
values.
I will also provide an exercise for you to complete on your own at the end of the module. The exercise
will concentrate on the material that you have learned in this module and previous modules.

1.12.4 Discussion and sample code

Because of its interactive nature, much of the code in this program is at a complexity level that is beyond
the scope of this course. However, most of the interesting work is done in the method named display-
ColumnMatrices and I will concentrate on explaining that method.
You can view a complete listing of the program named ColMatrixVis01 in Listing 8 (p. 143) near
the end of the module.
Note that the program requires access to the game library named GM2D03 . The source code for that
library was provided in the earlier module titled GAME2302-0115: Working with Column Matrices, Points,
and Vectors 61 and you can copy it from there.
The method named displayColumnMatrices
The purpose of this method is to:

1. Create two column matrices named redMatrix and greenMatrix using values obtained from
sliders.
2. Create two more column matrices named blueMatrix and orangeMatrix by adding and sub-
tracting the red and green matrices.
3. Display text information about the matrices including whether or not the red and green matrices are
equal.
4. Create mathematical points in a 2D coordinate frame that represent the values in the matrices.
5. Create mathematical displacement vectors that represent the displacements of each of the points rela-
tive to the origin.
6. Create and draw graphics objects that represent each of the mathematical displacement vectors along
with Cartesian coordinate axes for the 2D reference frame.

Beginning of the method named displayColumnMatrices

I will explain the method named displayColumnMatrices in fragments. You can view the entire
method in Listing 8 (p. 143) . The rst fragment is shown in Listing 1 (p. 136) .
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136 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 1: Beginning of the method named displayColumnMatrices.

void displayColumnMatrices(Graphics2D g2D){

//Get two values for each matrix from the sliders.

red0 = redSlider0.getValue();
red1 = redSlider1.getValue();
green0 = greenSlider0.getValue();
green1 = greenSlider1.getValue();

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Get two values for each matrix from the sliders

The little things with the pointed bottoms on the sliders in Image 1 (p. 132) are often called the thumbs
of the sliders. Each thumb points down to a numeric scale that ranges from -100 on the left to +100 on the
right.
Each time you move a thumb on a slider, the method named displayColumnMatrices , including
the code in Listing 1 (p. 136) , is executed. The code in Listing 1 (p. 136) gets the value corresponding to
the position of each thumb and saves those four values in the variables named red0 , red1 , green0 ,
and green1 .
The two sliders in the top row represent red. The two sliders in the bottom row represent green.
The values of the two sliders on the left correspond to red0 and green0 . The two on the right
correspond to red1 and green1 .
Use the slider values to create the two matrices
Listing 2 (p. 136) uses the slider values to create the two matrices named redMatrix and greenMatrix
.
(More properly, the code uses the values to create two ColMatrix objects and to store references to
those objects in the variables named redMatrix and greenMatrix .)

Listing 2: Use the slider values to create the two matrices.

//Use the slider values to create the two matrices

// named redMatrix and greenMatrix.
GM2D03.ColMatrix redMatrix =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(red0,red1);
GM2D03.ColMatrix greenMatrix =
new GM2D03.ColMatrix(green0,green1);

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 137

There is nothing new in Listing 2 (p. 136) that you haven't seen before so further explanation should
not be necessary.
Add and subtract the matrices
Listing 3 (p. 137) creates two additional matrices by adding and subtracting the red and green matrices.
References to the new matrices are stored in the variables named blueMatrix and orangeMatrix .

Listing 3: Add and subtract the matrices.

//Create two additional matrices by adding and

// subtracting the red and green matrices.
GM2D03.ColMatrix blueMatrix =
redMatrix.add(greenMatrix);
GM2D03.ColMatrix orangeMatrix =
redMatrix.subtract(greenMatrix);

1.90

Once again, there is nothing new in Listing 3 (p. 137) , so further explanation should not be necessary.
Display text information about the matrices
Listing 4 (p. 137) displays text information about the four matrices, including whether or not the red
and green matrices are equal.

Listing 4: Display text information about the matrices.

//Display text information about the matrices.

System.out.println();//blank line
System.out.println("redMatrix = " + redMatrix);
System.out.println("greenMatrix = " + greenMatrix);
System.out.println("redMatrix equals greenMatrix: " +
redMatrix.equals(greenMatrix));
System.out.println(
"blueMatrix = redMatrix + greenMatrix = " +
blueMatrix);
System.out.println(
"orangeMatrix = redMatrix - greenMatrix = " +
orangeMatrix);

1.91

The code in Listing 4 (p. 137) produced the text in Image 2 (p. 133) and Image 4 (p. 135) .
Displaying information about the matrices

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138 CHAPTER 1. MATH

There are many ways to display information about matrices, including the simple text displays shown
in Image 2 (p. 133) and Image 4 (p. 135) . The problem with text displays is that you have to study the
numbers in detail to get a feel for an individual matrix and a feel for the relationships among two or more
matrices.
A graphical display can often convey that sort of information at rst glance. Then you are faced with a
decision as to how you should construct the graphical display.
For the case of a column matrix with two elements, a good approach is to let the two matrix values
represent the x and y coordinate values of a mathematical point in a 2D reference frame and then to display
information about the point. That is the approach taken by this program.
Create mathematical points
Listing 5 (p. 138) creates mathematical points in a 2D coordinate frame that represent the values in the
matrices. Listing 5 (p. 138) also creates a point that represents the origin.

Listing 5: Create mathematical points.

//Create mathematical points in a 2D coordinate

// frame that represent the values in the matrices.
// Also create a point that represents the origin.
GM2D03.Point origin =
new GM2D03.Point(new GM2D03.ColMatrix(0,0));
GM2D03.Point redPoint =
new GM2D03.Point(redMatrix);
GM2D03.Point greenPoint =
new GM2D03.Point(greenMatrix);
GM2D03.Point bluePoint = new GM2D03.Point(blueMatrix);
GM2D03.Point orangePoint =
new GM2D03.Point(orangeMatrix);

1.92

Displaying the points

Once you have the points, you then need to decide what might be the best format in which to display
them. One obvious approach would simply be to draw small symbols in the 2D coordinate frame that
represent the locations of the points.
However, in most real-world situations, we tend to evaluate the value of something relative to a value of
zero.
(There are, however, exceptions to this rule. For example, when considering the temperature in Celsius,
we tend to evaluate the temperature relative to zero degrees Celsius, which is the freezing point of water. On
a Fahrenheit scale, however, we tend to evaluate temperature relative to 32-degrees F, which is the freezing
point of water. )
Displacement vectors
A good way to get a feel for the location of a mathematical point in a 2D reference frame is to compare
the location of that point with the location of a dierent point through the use of a displacement vector.
That is the approach taken by this program with the anchor point being the point at the origin against
which all other points are compared.

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 139

Listing 6 (p. 139) creates mathematical displacement vectors that represent the displacements of each of
the four points created earlier relative to the origin.

Listing 6: Create mathematical displacement vectors.

//Create mathematical displacement vectors that

// represent the displacements of each of the points
// relative to the origin.
GM2D03.Vector redVec =
origin.getDisplacementVector(redPoint);
GM2D03.Vector greenVec =
origin.getDisplacementVector(greenPoint);
GM2D03.Vector blueVec =
origin.getDisplacementVector(bluePoint);
GM2D03.Vector orangeVec =
origin.getDisplacementVector(orangePoint);

1.93

Produce a graphical representation of the displacement vectors

Listing 7 (p. 140) produces and displays a graphical representation of each of the four displacement
vectors as shown in Image 1 (p. 132) .

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140 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 7: Produce a graphical representation of the displacement vectors.

//The remaining code is used to create and draw

// graphical objects.
//Erase the off-screen image
g2D.setColor(Color.WHITE);
g2D.fill(rect);

//Set the line thickness so that the vectors will be

// drawn with a heavy line.
g2D.setStroke(new BasicStroke(3));

//Draw the four vectors with their tails at the

// origin.
g2D.setColor(Color.BLUE);
blueVec.draw(g2D,origin);

g2D.setColor(Color.ORANGE);
orangeVec.draw(g2D,origin);

g2D.setColor(Color.RED);
redVec.draw(g2D,origin);

g2D.setColor(Color.GREEN);
greenVec.draw(g2D,origin);

//Draw the axes with thinner lines.

g2D.setStroke(new BasicStroke(1));
g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
drawAxes(g2D);

}//end displayColumnMatrices

1.94

There is very little new code in Listing 7 (p. 140) , and the new code that is there should be easy to
understand.
Analysis of results
The head of the red vector in Image 1 (p. 132) represents the two values in the column matrix known as
redMatrix . The length and direction of that vector shows how it relates to a column vector having two
elements, each with a value of zero.
Similarly, the head of the green vector in Image 1 (p. 132) represents the two values in the column matrix
known as greenMatrix .
The head of the blue vector represents the two values in the column matrix known as blueMatrix ,
which was created by adding the red and green matrices. In case you haven't noticed, a line drawn from the
head of the red vector to the head of the blue vector would have the same length and direction as the green

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 141

vector. This will come up again in a future module when we discuss the vector addition parallelogram.
The head of the orange vector represents the two values in the column matrix know as orangeMatrix
, which was created by subtracting the green matrix from the red matrix. Again, a line drawn from the head
of the red vector to the head of the orange vector would have the same length and opposite direction as the
green vector.

1.12.5 Homework assignment

The homework assignment for this module was to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 3 - Vector
Addition . That is also the homework assignment for the next module.
In addition to studying the Kjell material, you should read at least the next two modules in this collection
and bring your questions about that material to the next classroom session.
Finally, you should have begun studying the physics material 62 at the beginning of the semester and you
should continue studying one physics module per week thereafter. You should also feel free to bring your
questions about that material to the classroom for discussion.

1.12.6 Run the program

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 8 (p. 143) . Compile the code and execute it in conjunction
with the game-math library named GM2D03 . The source code for that library was provided in the
earlier module titled GAME2302-0115: Working with Column Matrices, Points, and Vectors 63 and you can
copy it from there.. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes.
Make certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

1.12.7 Summary

In this module, you learned how to create column matrices using values obtained from sliders. You learned
how to create additional column matrices by adding and subtracting the original matrices.
You learned how to display text information about the matrices including whether or not they are equal.
You learned how to display the matrices in a graphical format where each matrix is represented by a
displacement vector in a 2D reference frame.

1.12.8 What's next?

In the next module, you will learn:

• How to add two or more vectors.

• About the head-to-tail rule in vector addition.
• About the vector addition parallelogram.
• About the relationship between the length of the sum of vectors and the sum of the lengths of vectors.

• How to add a vector to a point.

• How to get the length of a vector.
• How to represent an object in dierent coordinate frames.

1.12.9 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

62 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/
63 http://cnx.org/content/m45010

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142 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• Module name: GAME2302-0120: Visualizing Column Matrices

• File: Game0120.htm
• Published: 10/15/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation :: I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.12.10 Complete program listing

A complete listing of the program named ColMatrixVis01 is provided in Listing 8 (p. 143) . The game
library named GM2D03 , which is required for compiling and executing this program, was provided in
the earlier module titled GAME2302-0115: Working with Column Matrices, Points, and Vectors 64 . You
can copy it from there.
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 143

Listing 8: Source code for the program named ColMatrixVis01.

/*ColMatrixVis01.java
Copyright 2012, R.G.Baldwin

The purpose of this program is to help the student

visualize column matrices. Two column matrices are created
using values obtained from sliders.

Two additional column matrices are created by adding and

subtracting the original matrices.

Mathematical points are created to represent the values

in the matrices in a 2D reference frame.

Displacement vectors are created for each of the points

relative to the origin.

The vectors are drawn along with Cartesian coordinate axes

in the 2D reference frame.

Text output is displayed to show the matrix values as well

as whether the two original matrices are equal.

Tested using JDK 1.7 under WinXP and Windows 7

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JSlider;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeListener;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeEvent;
import java.lang.Math;
import java.util.*;

class ColMatrixVis01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class ColMatrixVis01
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 450;
int vSize = 600;
Image osi;//off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
Availablesubclass
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a for free at Connexions
of Canvas<http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

//Panel to contain the sliders and associated labels.

private JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel();
144 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.12.11 Exercises

1.12.11.1 Exercise 1
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D03 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that uses random values to generate two column matrix objects.
Generate two more column matrix objects as the sum and dierence of the two original column matrix
objects.
Display the two original column matrix objects in red and green and display the sum and dierence
matrix objects in blue and orange as shown in Image 5 (p. 144) .

Image 5: Graphic output from Exercise 01.

1.96

-end-

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 145

1.13 Game0120s Slides65

1.13.1 Table of Contents

• Instructions for viewing slides (p. 145)

• Miscellaneous (p. 145)

1.13.2 Instructions for viewing slides

This module contains lecture slides keyed to the module titled GAME 2302-0120: Visualizing Column
Matrices 66 .
Click here 67 to open an index to the slides.
Then use the links beginning with the label "aa" to open the rst slide that you want to view in a new
window in your browser.
Then use the [Next] and [Prev] links on the individual slides to navigate back and forth through the
slides.
You can also use the links on the index page to jump to a particular slide to avoid having to cycle through
the slides in sequence.

1.13.3 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: Game0120s Slides: Visualizing Column Matrices
• File: Game0120s.htm
• Published: 01/05/13

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-
65 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45615/1.2/>.
66 http://cnx.org/content/m45011
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146 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.14 GAME 2302-0125: Vector Addition68

1.14.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 146)

· Viewing tip (p. 147)
* Images (p. 147)
* Listings (p. 147)
• Preview (p. 148)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 148)
· The game-math library named GM2D04 (p. 148)
· The program named VectorAdd01 (p. 149)
· The program named CoordinateFrame01 (p. 156)
· The program named VectorAdd02 (p. 164)
· The program named VectorAdd03 (p. 167)
· The program named VectorAdd04 (p. 168)
• Documentation for the GM2D04 library (p. 169)
• Homework assignment (p. 169)
• Run the programs (p. 169)
• Summary (p. 169)
• What's next? (p. 169)
• Miscellaneous (p. 170)
• Complete program listings (p. 170)
• Exercises (p. 182)
· Exercise 1 (p. 182)
· Exercise 2 (p. 183)

1.14.2 Preface

This module is one in a collection of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications
for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
What you have learned
In the previous couple of modules, you learned:

• How to compare column matrices for equality

• How to compare two points for equality
• How to compare two vectors for equality
• How to add one column matrix to another
• How to subtract one column matrix from another
• How to get a displacement vector from one point to another

What you will learn

In this module you will learn:

• How to add two or more vectors

• About the head-to-tail rule in vector addition
• About the vector addition parallelogram
• About the relationship between the length of the sum of vectors and the lengths of the individual
vectors in the sum
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 147

• How to add a vector to a point

• How to get the length of a vector
• How to represent an object in dierent coordinate frames

1.14.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

1.14.2.1.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 150) . Screen output from the program named VectorAdd01.
• Image 2 (p. 157) . Screen output from CoordinateFrame01 at startup.
• Image 3 (p. 158) . Screen output from CoordinateFrame01 after changes to the coordinate frame.
• Image 4 (p. 164) . Screen output from the program named VectorAdd02.
• Image 5 (p. 167) . Graphic screen output from the program named VectorAdd03.
• Image 6 (p. 167) . Command-line output from the program named VectorAdd03.
• Image 7 (p. 168) . Screen output from the program named VectorAdd04.
• Image 8 (p. 183) . Screen output from Exercise 1.
• Image 9 (p. 185) . Screen output from Exercise 2.

1.14.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 148) . The add method of the GM2D04.Vector class.
• Listing 2 (p. 149) . The getLength method of the GM2D04.Vector class.
• Listing 3 (p. 149) . The addVectorToPoint method of the GM2D04 class.
• Listing 4 (p. 151) . Beginning of the program named VectorAdd01.
• Listing 5 (p. 152) . Beginning of the method named drawOScreen.
• Listing 6 (p. 152) . The method named setCoordinateFrame.
• Listing 7 (p. 153) . Adding two vectors.
• Listing 8 (p. 153) . Draw vecA in RED with its tail at the origin.
• Listing 9 (p. 154) . Draw vecB in GREEN head-to-tail with vecA.
• Listing 10 (p. 154) . Draw sumOf2 in MAGENTA with its tail at the origin.
• Listing 11 (p. 155) . Extending the example to three vectors.
• Listing 12 (p. 160) . The actionPerformed method.
• Listing 13 (p. 161) . The setCoordinateFrame method.
• Listing 14 (p. 162) . Beginning of the drawOScreen method.
• Listing 15 (p. 162) . Dene a point to position the vectors.
• Listing 16 (p. 163) . Remaining code in the drawOScreen method.
• Listing 17 (p. 165) . Beginning of the method named drawOScreen of the program named Vec-
torAdd02.
• Listing 18 (p. 166) . Do the same operations in a dierent order.
• Listing 19 (p. 171) . Source code for the game-math library named GM2D04.
• Listing 20 (p. 173) . Source code for the program named VectorAdd01.
• Listing 21 (p. 175) . Source code for the program named CoordinateFrame01.
• Listing 22 (p. 177) . Source code for the program named VectorAdd02.
• Listing 23 (p. 179) . Source code for the program named VectorAdd03.
• Listing 24 (p. 181) . Source code for the program named VectorAdd04.

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148 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.14.3 Preview

In this module, I will present and explain several updates to the game-math library. In addition, I will
present and explain ve sample programs that illustrate the use of the new features of the library.
I will also provide exercises for you to complete on your own at the end of the module. The exercises will
concentrate on the material that you have learned in this module and previous modules.

1.14.4 Discussion and sample code

The game-math library was updated and the name was changed to GM2D04 in preparation for this module.
Much of the code in the updated library remains unchanged. I explained that code in the previous modules
and I won't repeat that explanation in this module. I will concentrate on explaining the modications that
I made to the library in this module.

1.14.4.1 The game-math library named GM2D04

A complete listing of the library program is provided in Listing 19 (p. 171) near the end of the module.
This update added the following new capabilities to the library:

• GM2D04.Vector.add - Adds this Vector object to a Vector object received as an incoming

parameter and returns the sum as a new Vector object.
• GM2D04.Vector.getLength - Returns the length of a Vector as type double .
• GM2D04.Point.addVectorToPoint - Adds a Vector object to a Point object returning a
new Point object.

These three new methods are presented in Listing 1 (p. 148) , Listing 2 (p. 149) , and Listing 3 (p. 149)
below. These methods are so simple that no explanation should be required for you to understand them.

Listing 1: The add method of the GM2D04.Vector class.

//Adds this vector to a vector received as an incoming

// parameter and returns the sum as a vector.
public GM2D04.Vector add(GM2D04.Vector vec){
return new GM2D04.Vector(new ColMatrix(
vec.getData(0)+vector.getData(0),
vec.getData(1)+vector.getData(1)));
}//end add

1.97

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 149

Listing 2: The getLength method of the GM2D04.Vector class.

//Returns the length of a Vector object.

public double getLength(){
return Math.sqrt(
getData(0)*getData(0) + getData(1)*getData(1));
}//end getLength

1.98

Listing 3: The addVectorToPoint method of the GM2D04 class.

//Adds a Vector to a Point producing a new Point.

public GM2D04.Point addVectorToPoint(
GM2D04.Vector vec){
return new GM2D04.Point(new GM2D04.ColMatrix(
getData(0) + vec.getData(0),
getData(1) + vec.getData(1)));
}//end addVectorToPoint

1.99

Simple but powerful

Although these new methods are individually very simple, when combined with the other methods in the
library, they signicantly increase the power of the library. For example, in the next module I will show you
that the library in its current form supports translation and animation.
I will illustrate the use of these new methods in the sample programs that follow.

1.14.4.2 The program named VectorAdd01

This program illustrates the addition of two and then three vectors. It also illustrates the head-to-tail rule
described by Kjell. A complete listing of the program is provided in Listing 20 (p. 173) near the end of the
module.
Screen output from the program named VectorAdd01
The screen output from the program is shown in Image 1 (p. 150) .

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150 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 1: Screen output from the program named VectorAdd01.

1.100

You will recall that the game-math library represents a Vector object graphically as a straight line
with a small circle at the head. Thus, there are ve vectors drawn in Image 1 (p. 150) . I will explain the
meaning of the output in conjunction with the explanation of the program.
Beginning of the program named VectorAdd01
Listing 4 (p. 151) shows the entire class named VectorAdd01 along with the beginning of the class
named GUI including the constructor for the GUI class.

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 151

Listing 4: Beginning of the program named VectorAdd01.

class VectorAdd01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class VectorAdd01
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 275;
int vSize = 200;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
// you can compute the size of the canvas.
setVisible(true);
osiWidth = myCanvas.getWidth();
osiHeight = myCanvas.getHeight();

//Create an off-screen image and get a graphics

// context on it.
osi = createImage(osiWidth,osiHeight);
Graphics2D g2D = (Graphics2D)(osi.getGraphics());

//Draw some graphical objects on the off-screen

// image that represent underlying data objects in
// 2D space.
drawOffScreen(g2D);

//Cause the overridden paint method belonging to

// myCanvas to be executed.
myCanvas.repaint();

}//end constructor
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1.101
152 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Very familiar code

The code in Listing 4 (p. 151) is very similar to code that I explained in the earlier module titled GAME
2302-0110: Updating the Math Library for Graphics 69 . Therefore, I won't explain that code again in this
module.
This code is mainly needed to get everything set up for graphics.
Note that the code in Listing 4 (p. 151) makes a call to the method named drawOScreen near the
end of the listing. That is where we nd the interesting code.
Beginning of the method named drawOScreen
The beginning of the drawOScreen method is shown in Listing 5 (p. 152) .
The purpose of this method is to add some Vector objects and to cause visual manifestations of the
raw Vector objects and the resultant Vector objects to be drawn onto an o-screen image.

Listing 5: Beginning of the method named drawOScreen.

void drawOffScreen(Graphics2D g2D){

setCoordinateFrame(g2D);

1.102

Listing 5 (p. 152) begins by calling the method named setCoordinateFrame , which is shown in its
entirety in Listing 6 (p. 152) . I will put the discussion of the drawOScreen method on hold while I
explain the method named setCoordinateFrame .
The method named setCoordinateFrame
This method sets the origin to a point near the upper-left corner of the o-screen image (see Image 1
(p. 150) ) and draws orthogonal axes on the o-screen image intersecting at the origin.

Listing 6: The method named setCoordinateFrame.

private void setCoordinateFrame(Graphics2D g2D){

//Translate the origin.
g2D.translate(0.2*osiWidth,0.2*osiHeight);

//Draw new X and Y-axes in default BLACK

g2D.drawLine(-(int)(0.2*osiWidth),0,
(int)(0.8*osiWidth),0);

g2D.drawLine(0,-(int)(0.2*osiHeight),
0,(int)(0.8*osiHeight));

}//end setCoordinateFrame method

1.103

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 153

There is no intention to perform mathematical operations on the axes, so they are drawn independently
of the classes and methods in the game-math library using the simplest method available for drawing a line.
The name of that simple method is drawLine , and it is a method of the standard Java Graphics
class. The translate method is also a method of the Graphics class. Given that information, the code
in Listing 6 (p. 152) is straightforward and should not require further explanation.
Adding two vectors
Returning to the method named drawOScreen , Listing 7 (p. 153) begins by instantiating two
objects of the GM2D04.Vector class.

Listing 7: Adding two vectors.

GM2D04.Vector vecA = new GM2D04.Vector(

new GM2D04.ColMatrix(50,100));
GM2D04.Vector vecB = new GM2D04.Vector(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(75,25));

GM2D04.Vector sumOf2 = vecA.add(vecB);

1.104

Then Listing 7 (p. 153) calls the new add method (see Listing 1 (p. 148) ) on one of the vectors,
passing the other vector as a parameter to the method. The add method returns a third vector that is the
sum of the other two vectors. The new vector is referred to as sumOf2 in Listing 7 (p. 153) .
Draw vecA in RED with its tail at the origin
Recall that a vector has only two properties: length and direction. It does not have a position property.
Therefore, if you decide to draw a vector, you can draw it anywhere in space, and one position is equally as
valid as any other position.
Listing 8 (p. 153) sets the drawing color to RED and calls the draw method on vecA producing the
red visual manifestation of the Vector object shown in Image 1 (p. 150) .
(Note that there is also a magenta vector in Image 1 (p. 150) , and it may be dicult to distinguish
from the red vector, depending on the quality of the color on your monitor. The magenta vector is longer
than the red vector.)

Listing 8: Draw vecA in RED with its tail at the origin.

g2D.setColor(Color.RED);
vecA.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(0,0)));

1.105

Note that I elected to draw the vector with its tail at the origin, but that was an arbitrary decision that
I will discuss in more detail later.

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154 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Draw vecB in GREEN head-to-tail with vecA

While it's legal to draw a vector anywhere in space, certain positions may have advantages over other
positions in some cases. You will see what I mean shortly. In the meantime, Listing 9 (p. 154) creates a
visual manifestation of the vecB object with its tail at the head of the vecA object as shown by the
green vector in Image 1 (p. 150) .

Listing 9: Draw vecB in GREEN head-to-tail with vecA.

g2D.setColor(Color.GREEN);
vecB.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(new GM2D04.ColMatrix(
vecA.getData(0),vecA.getData(1))));

1.106

Draw sumOf2 in MAGENTA with its tail at the origin

Listing 10 (p. 154) creates a visual manifestation of the sumOf2 object with its tail at the origin as
shown by the magenta vector in Image 1 (p. 150) .
(In case you don't recognize the name of the color magenta, it looks similar to violet or purple. As
mentioned earlier, it is somewhat longer than the red vector)
More correctly, Listing 10 (p. 154) draws the sumOf2 object with its tail coinciding with the tail of
vecA . I elected to position the tails of the two vectors at the origin to keep the code a little simpler.

Listing 10: Draw sumOf2 in MAGENTA with its tail at the origin.

g2D.setColor(Color.MAGENTA);
sumOf2.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(new GM2D04.ColMatrix(
0.0,0.0)));

1.107

The head-to-tail rule

We have just illustrated a very important rule that can make it much easier to visualize the results of
vector addition. It is often called the head-to-tail rule.
If you add two or more vectors to produce a sum vector, and then draw the vectors that were included
in the sum with the tail of one vector coinciding with the head of another vector, (as illustrated by the red
and green vectors in Image 1 (p. 150) ) , the head of the last vector that you draw will be positioned at
some particular point in space.
If you then draw the vector that represents the sum vector with its tail coinciding with the tail of the
rst vector that you drew, its head will coincide with the head of the last vector that you drew as shown by
the magenta vector in Image 1 (p. 150) .
The tail of the magenta vector coincides with the tail of the red vector, and the head of the magenta
vector coincides with the head of the green vector.
(It doesn't matter whether or not the coinciding tails are drawn at the origin.)

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Furthermore, this rule will hold regardless of the number of vectors included in the sum.
Extending the example to three vectors
Listing 11 (p. 155) extends this example to three vectors.

Listing 11: Extending the example to three vectors.

//Now define another vector and add it to vecA and

// vecB.
GM2D04.Vector vecC = new GM2D04.Vector(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(30,-150));

//Draw vecD in BLUE with its tail positioned at the

// sum of vecA and vecB
g2D.setColor(Color.BLUE);
vecC.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(new GM2D04.ColMatrix(
sumOf2.getData(0),sumOf2.getData(1))));

//Define a vector as the sum of vecA, vecB, and vecC

GM2D04.Vector sumOf3 = (vecA.add(vecB)).add(vecC);

//Draw sumOf3 in BLACK with its tail at the origin.

g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
sumOf3.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(0.0,0.0)));

}//end drawOffScreen

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You should understand this code

By now, you should have no diculty understanding the code in Listing 11 (p. 155) . The only tricky
thing that I would call your attention to is the syntax of the code that adds the three vectors shown below
for emphasis.
GM2D04.Vector sumOf3 = (vecA.add(vecB)).add(vecC);
You should make certain that you understand this syntax.

note: No overloaded operators: It is at times like this when I wish that Java supported
overloaded operators in a manner similar to C++. Overloading the + operator would make the
syntax much more intuitive than that shown by the code in Listing 11 (p. 155) .

Back to the drawing

Now turn your attention back to the drawing in Image 1 (p. 150) . The red, green, and blue vectors
are drawn in a head-to-tail manner as described earlier. The sumOf3 (black) vector is drawn with its
tail coinciding with the tail of the rst (red) vector. Note that the head of the black vector coincides with
the head of the last (blue) vector in the sum. Although not a denitive proof, this is at least a strong
indication that the head-to-tail rule works for adding any number of vectors.
An overridden paint method

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The MyCanvas class also includes an overridden paint method. However, the code in that method
is very similar to code that I explained in the earlier module titled GAME 2302-0110: Updating the Math
Library for Graphics 70 . Therefore, I won't explain that code again in this module. You can view the
overridden paint method in Listing 20 (p. 173) .
That concludes the discussion of the program named VectorAdd01 .

1.14.4.3 The program named CoordinateFrame01

A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 21 (p. 175) near the end of the module. This
program illustrates the relationship between the coordinate frame and a geometric object described in that
coordinate frame.
A GUI allows the user to move the origin of the coordinate frame. Proper mathematical corrections are
made such that a geometric object described in that coordinate frame maintains its position relative to world
coordinates even when the coordinate frame is changed. This causes its position relative to the coordinate
frame to change.
Screen output at startup
Image 2 (p. 157) shows the screen output of the program at startup.
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Image 2: Screen output from CoordinateFrame01 at startup.

1.109

The axes are dicult to see

At this point, the origin is at the upper-left corner of the canvas. Although orthogonal axes are drawn
intersecting at the origin, they are at the very edge of the canvas and are only barely visible. I will later
refer to this coordinate frame with the origin in the upper-left corner as world coordinates .
A point has been dened (but not drawn) at a location specied by X equal to 196 and Y equal to 165.
Even though the point is not drawn, a red vector has been drawn with its tail located at that point. A green
vector has been drawn with its tail at the head of the red vector. A blue vector has been computed as the
sum of the red and green vectors and it has been drawn with its tail at the tail of the red vector. As you
learned in the previous program, this results in a closed polygon that is drawn at the point dened above.

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Modify the coordinate frame

Image 3 (p. 158) shows the result of modifying the coordinate frame and then causing everything to be
re-drawn. The coordinate frame is modied by entering values into the two user input elds and clicking the
Replot button at the bottom of the GUI.

Image 3: Screen output from CoordinateFrame01 after changes to the coordinate frame.

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The new location of the origin

In Image 3 (p. 158) , the origin of the coordinate frame has been moved to the right by an amount that
is equal to 40-percent of the width of the o-screen image, and has been moved down by an amount that is
60-percent of the height of the o-screen image. Then a pair of orthogonal axes was drawn, intersecting at

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the new location of the origin.

A point is simply a location in space
Although a vector doesn't have a location property and therefore is immune to changes in the coordinate
frame, a point does have a location property. In fact that is the only property that a point does have,
because a point is simply a location in space. Furthermore, that location is always specied relative to some
coordinate frame. In order to cause the point to remain in the same location relative to world coordinates,
(which was the objective here) , its values relative to the current coordinate frame must be modied each
time the coordinate frame is modied.
After the values representing the point were modied appropriately, the three vectors were drawn in Image
3 (p. 158) with the tails of the red and blue vectors located at the point. This caused the geometric object
described by the three vectors to remain in the same location relative to world coordinates. However, when
the current coordinate frame no longer matched the world coordinate frame, the location of the geometric
object changed relative to the current coordinate frame. The geometric object is closer to the origin of the
current coordinate frame in Image 3 (p. 158) than was the case in Image 2 (p. 157) .
More complicated code
The code in this program is somewhat more complicated than the code in the previous program, mainly
due to the inclusion of an interactive GUI in the program. I have published many previous tutorials that
explain how to write interactive programs in Java, and I won't repeat that explanation here. Instead, I will
concentrate on the use of the game-math library in my explanation of this program. What this really means
is that I am only going to explain the following three methods in this program:

• actionPerformed
• setCoordinateFrame
• drawOScreen

You can view the remaining program code in Listing 21 (p. 175) near the end of the module.
The actionPerformed method
This method must be dened in the class named GUI because the GUI class implements the
ActionListener interface. Because an object of the GUI class is registered as a listener on the Replot
button shown in Image 2 (p. 157) , the actionPerformed method is called each time the user clicks the
button.

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Listing 12: The actionPerformed method.

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){

//Reset the coordinate frame to world coordinates by
// reversing the most recent translation.
setCoordinateFrame(g2D,-xOffset,-yOffset);

//Compute new translation offsets based on user input.

xOffsetFactor =
Double.parseDouble(xOffsetField.getText());
yOffsetFactor =
Double.parseDouble(yOffsetField.getText());

xOffset = osiWidth*xOffsetFactor;
yOffset = osiHeight*yOffsetFactor;

//Draw a new off-screen image based on user inputs

// and copy it to the canvas. Note that the
// drawOffScreen method will call the
// setCoordinateFrame method again with the new
// offset values for the origin of the coordinate
// frame.
drawOffScreen(g2D);
myCanvas.repaint();
}//end actionPerformed

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What does the actionPerformed method do?

There is nothing complicated about the code in Listing 12 (p. 160) . This code performs the following
actions as indicated by the embedded comments:

• Call the setCoordinateFrame method to reset the coordinate frame to world coordinates.
• Get user input values and use them to compute and save new oset values that will be used to dene
the origin of the new coordinate frame.
• Call the drawOScreen method to erase the current image from the o-screen image and draw a
new image on it using the new coordinate frame. Note that the drawOScreen method will call
the setCoordinateFrame method to establish the new coordinate frame before drawing the new
image on the o-screen image.
• Call the repaint method to cause the o-screen image to be copied to the canvas and displayed on
the computer screen.

The setCoordinateFrame method

This method, which is shown in Listing 13 (p. 161) , is used to set the coordinate frame of the o-screen
image by setting the origin to the specied oset values relative to origin of the world coordinate frame.

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Listing 13: The setCoordinateFrame method.

private void setCoordinateFrame(

Graphics2D g2D,double xOff,double yOff){

//Paint the background white

g2D.setColor(Color.WHITE);
g2D.fillRect(0,0,osiWidth,osiHeight);

//Translate the origin by the specified amount

g2D.translate((int)xOff,(int)yOff);

//Draw new X and Y-axes in BLACK

g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
g2D.drawLine(-(int)xOff,0,(int)(osiWidth-xOff),0);
g2D.drawLine(0,-(int)yOff,0,(int)((osiHeight-yOff)));

}//end setCoordinateFrame method

1.112

What does the setCoordinateFrame method do?

As mentioned earlier, the origin of the world coordinate frame is the upper-left corner of the o-screen
image. The setCoordinateFrame method assumes that the current coordinate frame coincides with the
world coordinate frame when the method is called. This is because the method changes the coordinate frame
relative to the current coordinate frame.
The method begins by painting the background white erasing anything already there. (Note that this
step erases the entire image only when the coordinate frame coincides with the world coordinate frame when
the method is called.)
Then the method establishes the new coordinate frame by translating the origin of the o-screen image
using the X and Y oset values received as incoming parameters.
Finally, the method draws black orthogonal axes intersecting at the origin of the new coordinate frame
on the o-screen image.
Beginning of the drawOScreen method
The code for the method named drawOScreen begins in Listing 14 (p. 162) . This method is called
once in the constructor for the GUI class (see Listing 21 (p. 175) ) , and again each time the user clicks
the Replot button shown in Image 2 (p. 157) .
The purpose of this method is to create some Vector objects and to cause visual manifestations of the
Vector objects to be drawn onto an o-screen image.

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Listing 14: Beginning of the drawOScreen method.

void drawOffScreen(Graphics2D g2D){

setCoordinateFrame(g2D,xOffset,yOffset);

1.113

The drawOScreen method begins by calling the setCoordinateFrame method to establish a new
coordinate frame using oset values entered by the user, (or default oset values of 0.0 at startup) .
Dene a point to position the vectors
Listing 15 (p. 162) instantiates a new GM2D04.Point object that will be used to locate the three
vectors that form the closed polygon shown in Image 2 (p. 157) . The location of the polygon relative to
the world coordinate frame will remain the same regardless of how the current coordinate frame is changed.

Listing 15: Dene a point to position the vectors.

double startPointX = (196 - xOffset);

double startPointY = (165 - yOffset);
GM2D04.Point startPoint = new GM2D04.Point(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(startPointX,startPointY));

1.114

The code in Listing 15 (p. 162) is probably the most important code in the entire program relative to
the objective of the program. As I mentioned earlier, if you want the location of a point to remain the same
relative to the world coordinate frame when you change the current coordinate frame, you must modify the
values that represent that point whenever you cause the current coordinate frame to be dierent from the
world coordinate frame. The code in Listing 15 (p. 162) makes that modication.
Remaining code in the drawOScreen method
The remaining code in the drawOScreen method is shown in Listing 16 (p. 163) .

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Listing 16: Remaining code in the drawOScreen method.

//Instantiate three Vector objects that form a closed

// polygon when drawn head-to-tail.
double vecAx = 25;
double vecAy = 50;
GM2D04.Vector vecA = new GM2D04.Vector(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(vecAx,vecAy));

double vecBx = 37;

double vecBy = -12;
GM2D04.Vector vecB = new GM2D04.Vector(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(37,12));

//Define vecC as the sum of vecA and vecB. It will be

// of the correct length and direction to close the
// polygon when drawn such that its tail coincides
// with the tail of vecA.
GM2D04.Vector vecC = vecA.add(vecB);

//Draw vecA in red with its tail at startPoint.

g2D.setColor(Color.RED);
vecA.draw(g2D,startPoint);

//Compute the location of the head of vecA relative to

// the current coordinate frame.
double headX =
vecA.getData(0) + startPoint.getData(0);
double headY =
vecA.getData(1) + startPoint.getData(1);

//Draw vecB in GREEN with its tail at the head of

// vecA.
g2D.setColor(Color.GREEN);
vecB.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(headX,headY)));

//Draw vecC in BLUE with its tail at startPoint,

// coinciding with the tail of vecA. This forms a
// closed polygon.
g2D.setColor(Color.BLUE);
vecC.draw(g2D,startPoint);

}//end drawOffScreen

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164 CHAPTER 1. MATH

With one exception, there is nothing in Listing 16 (p. 163) that I haven't already explained in earlier
programs in this or previous modules. Therefore, I won't repeat those explanations here.
The one exception
Recall from Image 2 (p. 157) that we need to draw the green vector with its tail located at the head of
the red vector. In order to do that, we must be able to determine the location of the head of the red vector
relative to the current coordinate frame.
The getData method of the Vector class knows nothing about position. That method simply returns
the X and Y coordinate values that describe the length of the vector relative to its tail.
(For the special case where the tail is located at the origin, the getData method returns the X and Y
coordinates of the head of the vector.)
However, because the tail of the red vector in this case is not necessarily located at the origin, we must
calculate the position of the head of the red vector taking the position of its tail ( startPoint ) into
account. The code in Listing 16 (p. 163) does just that.
That concludes the discussion of the program named CoordinateFrame01 .

1.14.4.4 The program named VectorAdd02

Hopefully, you have been studying the Kjell tutorial as instructed in the section titled Homework assignment
(p. 169) . This program illustrates the addition of two vectors using two dierent approaches that result in
the parallelogram described by Kjell. That parallelogram is shown in the screen output in Image 4 (p. 164)
.

Image 4: Screen output from the program named VectorAdd02.

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The method named drawOScreen

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A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 22 (p. 177) near the end of the module. Most
of the new material is contained in the method named drawOScreen . Therefore, I will limit my
explanation to the method named drawOScreen , which begins in Listing 17 (p. 165) .

Listing 17: Beginning of the method named drawOScreen of the program named
VectorAdd02.

void drawOffScreen(Graphics2D g2D){

//Translate the origin to a position near the bottom-

// left corner of the off-screen image and draw a pair
// of orthogonal axes that intersect at the origin.
setCoordinateFrame(g2D);

//Define two vectors.

GM2D04.Vector vecA = new GM2D04.Vector(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(50,-100));
GM2D04.Vector vecB = new GM2D04.Vector(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(75,-25));

//Draw vecA in RED with its tail at the origin

g2D.setColor(Color.RED);
vecA.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(0,0)));

//Draw vecB in GREEN with its tail at the head of vecA

g2D.setColor(Color.GREEN);
vecB.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(new GM2D04.ColMatrix(
vecA.getData(0),vecA.getData(1))));

//Define a third vector as the sum of the first

// two vectors defined above by adding vecB to vecA.
GM2D04.Vector sumA = vecA.add(vecB);

//Draw sumA in BLACK with its tail at the origin.

// The head will coincide with the head of the
// green vecB.
g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
sumA.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(0.0,0.0)));

1.117

There is nothing new in Listing 17 (p. 165) . The code in Listing 17 (p. 165) produces the black vector
in Image 4 (p. 164) plus the red and green vectors that appear above the black vector.
Do the same operations in a dierent order
Listing 18 (p. 166) begins by drawing the red and green vectors again. However, this time the green

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166 CHAPTER 1. MATH

vector is drawn with its tail at the origin, and the red vector is drawn with its tail at the head of the green
vector as shown by the green and red vectors below the black vector in Image 4 (p. 164) . This is perfectly
legal because a vector has no location property. We can draw a vector anywhere we please provided we draw
it with the correct length and direction.

Listing 18: Do the same operations in a dierent order.

//Draw vecB in GREEN with its tail at the origin.

g2D.setColor(Color.GREEN);
vecB.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(0,0)));

//Draw vecA in RED with its tail at the head of vecB.

g2D.setColor(Color.RED);
vecA.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(new GM2D04.ColMatrix(
vecB.getData(0),vecB.getData(1))));

//Define a fourth vector as the sum of the first

// two vectors defined above by adding vecA to vecB.
GM2D04.Vector sumB = vecB.add(vecA);

//Draw sumB in BLACK with its tail at the origin.

// The head will coincide with the head of the
// red vecA, and the visual manifestation of sumB will
// overlay the visual manifestation of sumA
g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
sumB.draw(g2D,new GM2D04.Point(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(0.0,0.0)));

}//end drawOffScreen

1.118

Then Listing 18 (p. 166) creates another vector by adding the red and green vectors and refers to the
new vector as sumB . In the case of Listing 17, vecB is added to vecA to produce sumA . In
Listing 18, vecA is added to vecB to produce sumB . In other words, the two addition operations
are performed in reverse order in the two listings. As I have mentioned before, the order in which you add
vectors doesn't matter. The result will be the same no matter the order in which you add them.
This is demonstrated in Listing 18 (p. 166) by drawing the vector referred to by sumB in black. As
you can see in Image 4 (p. 164) , the drawing of sumB overlays the earlier drawing of sumA and you
can't tell one from the other.
(You know that the length of the two vectors is the same because the little circles at the heads of the
two vectors overlay one another. You know that the directions are the same because sumB completely
covers sumA .)
That concludes the discussion of the program named VectorAdd02 .

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1.14.4.5 The program named VectorAdd03

This program illustrates the fact that the length of the sum of two vectors is not necessarily equal to the
sum of the lengths of the two vectors.
Two vectors are added by the program. The length of the sum is much smaller than the length of either
of the original vectors. This is shown in Image 5 (p. 167) where the red vector is added to the green vector
producing the shorter black vector.

Image 5: Graphic screen output from the program named VectorAdd03.

1.119

Command-line output
In addition to the graphic output shown in Image 5 (p. 167) , this program also produces three lines of
text on the command-line screen as shown in Image 6 (p. 167) .

Image 6: Command-line output from the program named VectorAdd03.

Red length = 111.80339887498948

Green length = 115.43396380615195
Black length = 18.027756377319946

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168 CHAPTER 1. MATH

The text output on the command-line screen shows the length of each vector. As you can see in Image
6 (p. 167) , the length of the black vector is much less than the length of either the red vector or the blue
vector.
Not much that is new
The only thing that is new in this program is the call to the new getLength method of the
GM2D04.Vector class to compute and display the length of each vector in Image 6 (p. 167) .
The source code for the getLength method is shown in Listing 2 (p. 149) . This code computes the
length of the vector as the square root of the sum of the squares of the X and Y components of the vector.
Other than that code, there is no code in this program that warrants further explanation.
You can view a complete listing of the program in Listing 23 (p. 179) near the end of the module.

1.14.4.6 The program named VectorAdd04

This program illustrates the addition of a Vector object to a Point object producing a new Point
object. Both points and the vector are drawn on the screen as shown in Image 7 (p. 168) .

Image 7: Screen output from the program named VectorAdd04.

1.121

The only thing that is new in this program is the call to the new addVectorToPoint method of the
GM2D04.Point class to add the vector to the point producing a new point.
The source code for the addVectorToPoint method is shown in Listing 3 (p. 149) . You can view a
complete listing of the program in Listing 24 (p. 181) near the end of the module.
A very powerful capability
Don't be fooled by the apparent simplicity of the addVectorToPoint method. The ability to add a
vector to a point provides a powerful new capability to the game-math library. As you will see in the next

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 169

module, this capability makes it possible not only to translate geometrical objects from one location in space
to another, but also makes it possible to animate geometrical objects.

1.14.5 Documentation for the GM2D04 library

Click here 71 to download a zip le containing standard javadoc documentation for the library named
GM2D04 . Extract the contents of the zip le into an empty folder and open the le named index.html
in your browser to view the documentation.
Although the documentation doesn't provide much in the way of explanatory text (see Listing 19 (p. 171)
and the explanations given above) , the documentation does provide a good overview of the organization
and structure of the library. You may nd it helpful in that regard.

1.14.6 Homework assignment

The homework assignment for this module was to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 3 - Vector
Addition.
The homework assignment for the next module is to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 5 - Vector
Direction .
In addition to studying the Kjell material, you should read at least the next two modules in this collection
and bring your questions about that material to the next classroom session.
Finally, you should have begun studying the physics material 72 at the beginning of the semester and you
should continue studying one physics module per week thereafter. You should also feel free to bring your
questions about that material to the classroom for discussion.

1.14.7 Run the programs

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 19 (p. 171) through Listing 24 (p. 181) . Compile the code
and execute it in conjunction with the game-math library provided in Listing 19 (p. 171) . Experiment with
the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain
why your changes behave as they do.

1.14.8 Summary

In this module you learned

• How to add two or more vectors

• About the head-to-tail rule in vector addition
• About the vector addition parallelogram
• About the relationship between the length of the sum of vectors and the lengths of the individual
vectors in the sum
• How to add a vector to a point
• How to get the length of a vector
• How to represent an object in dierent coordinate frames

1.14.9 What's next?

In the next module you will learn how to use the game-math library for translation and animation in two
dimensions.
71 http://cnx.org/content/m45012/latest/GM2D04docs.zip
72 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/

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1.14.10 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0125: Vector Addition
• File: Game0125.htm
• Published: 10/15/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.14.11 Complete program listings

Complete listings of the programs discussed in this module are shown in Listing 19 (p. 171) through Listing
24 (p. 181) below.

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Listing 19: Source code for the game-math library named GM2D04.

/*GM2D04.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/08/08

The name GM2Dnn is an abbreviation for GameMath2Dnn.

See the file named GM2D01.java for a general description

of this game-math library file. This file is an update of
GM2D03.

This update added the following new capabilities:

Vector addition - Adds this Vector object to a Vector

object received as an incoming parameter and returns the
sum as a resultant Vector object.

Added a method named getLength that returns the length

of a vector as type double.

Added a method named addVectorToPoint to add a Vector to

a Point producing a new Point.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.*;

public class GM2D04{

//An object of this class represents a 2D column matrix.

// An object of this class is the fundamental building
// block for several of the other classes in the
// library.
public static class ColMatrix{
double[] data = new double[2];

public ColMatrix(double data0,double data1){

data[0] = data0;
data[1] = data1;
}//end constructor
//--------------------------------------------------//

public String toString(){

return data[0] + "," + data[1];
}//end overridden toString method
//--------------------------------------------------//

public double getData(int index){

if((index < 0) || (index > 1)){
throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException();
}else{ Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
return data[index];
}//end else
}//end getData method
172 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 173

Listing 20: Source code for the program named VectorAdd01.

/*VectorAdd01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/10/08

This program illustrates the addition of two or more

vectors. It also illustrates the Head-to-Tail rule
described by Kjell.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;

class VectorAdd01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class VectorAdd01
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 275;
int vSize = 200;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
// you can compute the size of the canvas.
setVisible(true);
osiWidth = myCanvas.getWidth();
osiHeight = myCanvas.getHeight();

//Create an off-screen image and get a graphics

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
// context on it.
osi = createImage(osiWidth,osiHeight);
Graphics2D g2D = (Graphics2D)(osi.getGraphics());
174 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 175

Listing 21: Source code for the program named CoordinateFrame01.

/*CoordinateFrame01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/14/08

This program illustrates the relationship between the

coordinate frame and a geometric object described in that
coordinate frame.

A GUI allows the user to move the origin of the coordinate

frame. Proper mathematical corrections are made such that
a geometric object described in that coordinate frame
maintains its position relative to world coordinates even
when the coordinate frame is changed. This causes its
position relative to the coordinate frame to change.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

class CoordinateFrame01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class CoordinateFrame01
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame implements ActionListener{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 400;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

//The following offset values are applied to the width

// and the height of the off-screen image to modify the
// coordinate frame. They are used to store user input
// values.
double xOffsetFactor = 0.0;
double yOffsetFactor = 0.0;

//The following offset values are computed using the

// user-specified offset factor values.
double xOffset;
double yOffset;
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Graphics2D g2D;//Off-screen graphics context.

//User input fields.

176 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 177

Listing 22: Source code for the program named VectorAdd02.

/*VectorAdd02.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/14/08

This program illustrates the addition of two vectors using

two different approaches that result in the parallelogram
described by Kjell. It also illustrates the Head-to-Tail
rule described by Kjell.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;

class VectorAdd02{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class VectorAdd02
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 225;
int vSize = 225;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
// you can compute the size of the canvas.
setVisible(true);
osiWidth = myCanvas.getWidth();
osiHeight = myCanvas.getHeight();

Available forimage
//Create an off-screen free at Connexions
and get a<http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
graphics
// context on it.
osi = createImage(osiWidth,osiHeight);
Graphics2D g2D = (Graphics2D)(osi.getGraphics());
178 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 179

Listing 23: Source code for the program named VectorAdd03.

/*VectorAdd03.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/14/08

This program illustrates the fact that the length of the

sum of two vectors is not necessarily equal to the sum of
the lengths of the two vectors. Two vectors are added such
and the length of the sum is much smaller than the length
of either of the original vectors. The red and green
vectors shown in the screen output are added producing the
black vector. The lengths of all three vectors are
displayed on the command-line screen, demonstrating that
the length of the black vector is much less than the
length of either the red vector or the blue vector.

The only thing that is new in this program is the

getLength method of the GM2D04.Vector class.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;

class VectorAdd03{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class VectorAdd03
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 225;
int vSize = 225;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
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this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
180 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 181

Listing 24: Source code for the program named VectorAdd04.

/*VectorAdd04.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/15/08

This program illustrates the addition of a Vector to a

Point producing a new Point. Both points and the vector
are drawn on the screen.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;

class VectorAdd04{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class VectorAdd04
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 225;
int vSize = 225;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
// you can compute the size of the canvas.
setVisible(true);
osiWidth = myCanvas.getWidth();
osiHeight = myCanvas.getHeight();

//Create an off-screen image and get a graphics

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
// context on it.
osi = createImage(osiWidth,osiHeight);
Graphics2D g2D = (Graphics2D)(osi.getGraphics());
182 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.14.12 Exercises

1.14.12.1 Exercise 1
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D04 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that creates twelve random values in the approximate range from -64 to
+63. Use those values in pairs to dene six mathematical vectors.
Draw the six vectors in a head-to-tail arrangement in alternating colors of green and blue with the tail
of the rst vector at the origin as shown in Image 8 (p. 183) .
Compute and draw the sum of the six vectors in red with the tail of the sum vector at the origin.
Cause the origin of your reference frame to be at the center of your drawing and draw the axes for a
Cartesian coordinate system in the reference frame in black.
Cause the positive x direction to be to the right.
Cause the positive y direction be either up or down according to your choice.
Use a symbol of your choice to indicate the head of each vector.
Cause the program to display your name in some manner.

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 183

Image 8: Screen output from Exercise 1.

1.128

1.14.12.2 Exercise 2
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D04 , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that creates four random values in the approximate range from -128 to +127.
Use those values in pairs to dene two mathematical vectors.
Create a third vector as the sum of the rst two vectors.

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184 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Using red, green, and blue, draw the three vectors in a way that illustrates the parallelogram rule for
vector addition as shown in Image 9 (p. 185) .
Cause the origin of your reference frame to be at the center of your drawing and draw the axes for a
Cartesian coordinate system in the reference frame in black.
Cause the positive x direction to be to the right. Cause the positive y direction be either up or down
according to your choice.
Use a symbol of your choice to indicate the head of each vector.
Cause the program to display your name in some manner.
Because of the random nature of the vectors, you may need to run your program more than once to open
up the vector diagram and get a clear picture of the parallelogram rule for vector addition.

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 185

Image 9: Screen output from Exercise 2.

1.129

-end-

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186 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.15 Game0125s Slides73

1.15.1 Table of Contents

• Instructions for viewing slides (p. 186)

• Miscellaneous (p. 186)

1.15.2 Instructions for viewing slides

This module contains lecture slides keyed to the module titled GAME 2302-0125: Vector Addition 74 .
Click here 75 to open an index to the slides.
Then use the links beginning with the label "aa" to open the rst slide that you want to view in a new
window in your browser.
Then use the [Next] and [Prev] links on the individual slides to navigate back and forth through the
slides.
You can also use the links on the index page to jump to a particular slide to avoid having to cycle through
the slides in sequence.

1.15.3 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: Game0125s Slides: Vector Addition
• File: Game0125s.htm
• Published: 01/05/13

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-
73 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45618/1.3/>.
74 http://cnx.org/content/m45012
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 187

1.16 GAME 2302-0130: Putting the Game-Math Library to Work76

1.16.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 187)

· Viewing tip (p. 188)
* Images (p. 188)
* Listings (p. 188)
• Preview (p. 188)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 189)
· The game-math library named GM2D04 (p. 189)
· The program named VectorAdd05 (p. 189)
· The program named VectorAdd05a (p. 204)
· The program named VectorAdd06 (p. 205)
· The program named StringArt01 (p. 212)
• Homework assignment (p. 219)
• Run the programs (p. 220)
• Summary (p. 220)
• What's next? (p. 220)
• Miscellaneous (p. 220)
• Complete program listings (p. 221)
• Exercises (p. 231)
· Exercise 1 (p. 231)

1.16.2 Preface

This module is one in a collection of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications
for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
What you have learned
In the previous module, you learned:

• how to add two or more vectors,

• about the head-to-tail rule in vector addition,
• about the vector addition parallelogram,
• about the relationship between the length of the sum of two or more vectors and the lengths of the
individual vectors in the sum,
• how to add a vector to a point,
• how to get the length of a vector, and
• how to represent an object in dierent coordinate frames.

What you will learn

In this module we will put the game-math library to work. I will provide and explain four sample
programs. The rst program will teach you how to translate a geometric object in two dimensions. The
second program will teach you how to accomplish the same thing but in a possibly more ecient manner.
The third program will use the library to produce animation in two dimensions.
(A future module will produce translation and animation in three dimensions.)
The fourth program will teach you how to use methods of the game-math library to produce relatively
complex drawings.
76 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45013/1.2/>.

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188 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.16.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

1.16.2.1.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 190) . Translation of black hexagon to location of red hexagon.
• Image 2 (p. 192) . Screen output for geometric object with 50 vertices.
• Image 3 (p. 193) . Screen output without drawing the points at the vertices.
• Image 4 (p. 206) . Starting point for the hexagon in VectorAdd06.
• Image 5 (p. 207) . Possible ending point for the hexagon in VectorAdd06.
• Image 6 (p. 213) . String art with 15 vertices and 7 loops.
• Image 7 (p. 214) . String art with 25 vertices and 11 loops.
• Image 8 (p. 215) . String art with 100 vertices and 100 loops.
• Image 9 (p. 216) . Output from StringArt01 at startup.
• Image 10 (p. 232) . Screen output from Exercise 1 at startup.
• Image 11 (p. 233) . Screen output from Exercise 1 after clicking Replot button.

1.16.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 195) . Instance variables in the class named GUI.
• Listing 2 (p. 196) . Abbreviated constructor for the GUI class.
• Listing 3 (p. 198) . Beginning of the drawOScreen method.
• Listing 4 (p. 199) . To draw or not to draw the lines.
• Listing 5 (p. 200) . Change the drawing color to RED.
• Listing 6 (p. 200) . Translate the geometric object.
• Listing 7 (p. 202) . Draw the lines if drawLines is true.
• Listing 8 (p. 203) . The actionPerformed method.
• Listing 9 (p. 204) . Abbreviated listing of the drawOScreen method.
• Listing 10 (p. 209) . The class named MyCanvas, the update method, and the paint method.
• Listing 11 (p. 210) . Abbreviated listing of actionPerformed method.
• Listing 12 (p. 210) . The inner Thread class named Animate.
• Listing 13 (p. 211) . Do the animated move.
• Listing 14 (p. 217) . Beginning of the drawOScreen method in StringArt01.
• Listing 15 (p. 218) . Implement the algorithm that draws the lines.
• Listing 16 (p. 219) . Draw the lines.
• Listing 17 (p. 222) . Source code for the game-math library named GM2D04.
• Listing 18 (p. 224) . Source code for the sample program named VectorAdd05.
• Listing 19 (p. 226) . Source code for the program named VectorAdd05a.
• Listing 20 (p. 228) . Source code for the program named VectorAdd06.
• Listing 21 (p. 230) . Source code for the program named StringArt01.

1.16.3 Preview

In this module, I will present and explain four programs that use the game-math library named GM2D04
. The purpose of the rst program named VectorAdd05 is to use the addVectorToPoint method of
the GM2D04.Point class to translate a geometric object from one location in space to a dierent location
in space.
The purpose of the program named VectorAdd05a is to accomplish the same translation operation,
but in a possibly more ecient manner.

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 189

The purpose of the program named VectorAdd06 is to teach you how to do rudimentary animation
using the game-math library.
The purpose of the program named StringArt01 is to teach you how to use methods of the game-math
library to produce relatively complex drawings.
All of the programs are interactive in that they provide a GUI that allows the user to modify certain
aspects of the behavior of the program.
I will also provide an exercise for you to complete on your own at the end of the module. The exercise
will concentrate on the material that you have learned in this module and previous modules.

1.16.4 Discussion and sample code

1.16.4.1 The game-math library named GM2D04

The game-math library that we are developing in this collection of modules has undergone several updates
since its inception in the rst module. The version of the library that existed at the end of the previous
module was named GM2D04 . No revisions have been made to the library since that module and we
won't be making any revisions during this module.
The source code for the library named GM2D04 is provided for your convenience in Listing 17 (p.
222) near the end of the module. Documentation for the library was provided in the earlier module titled
GAME 2302-0125: Vector Addition 77 .

1.16.4.2 The program named VectorAdd05

The main purpose of this program is to use the addVectorToPoint method of the GM2D04.Point class
in the game-math library to translate a geometric object from one location in space to a dierent location
in space. This is illustrated in Image 1 (p. 190) , which shows one hexagon (shown in black) having been
translated by 50 units in both the x and y directions and colored red at the new location.
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190 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 1: Translation of black hexagon to location of red hexagon.

1.130

Various other game-math library methods are also used

Along the way, the program uses various other methods of the classes in the game-math library named
GM2D04 to accomplish its purpose.
The program initially constructs and draws a black hexagon centered on the origin as shown in Image 1
(p. 190) . The six points that dene the vertices of the hexagon lie on a circle with a radius of 50 units. The
points at the vertices and the lines that connect the points are drawn. In addition, the program causes the
hexagon to be translated by 50 units in the positive X direction and 50 units in the positive Y direction. The
translated hexagon is drawn in red. The original black hexagon is not erased when the translated version is
drawn in red.

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 191

A graphical user interface (GUI)

A GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the following items and click a Replot button to
cause the drawing to change:

• Number of points to dene the geometric object.

• X-component of the displacement vector.
• Y-component of the displacement vector.
• A checkbox to specify whether points are to be drawn.
• A checkbox to specify whether lines are to be drawn.

These user-input features are shown at the bottom of Image 1 (p. 190) .
Changing the number of points
Changing the number of points causes the number of vertices that describe the geometric object to
change. For a large number of points, the geometric object becomes a circle as shown in Image 2 (p. 192) .

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192 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 2: Screen output for geometric object with 50 vertices.

1.131

For only three points, the geometric object would become a triangle. For four points, it would become a
rectangle. For two points, it would become a line, etc.
Translation
Changing the components of the displacement vector causes the geometric object to be translated to a
dierent location before being drawn in red. In addition to increasing the number of vertices, Image 2 (p.
192) also shows the result of translating by 30 units along the x-axis and -40 units along the y-axis.

note: The positive y-axis: The positive direction for the y-axis is down in the gures in
this module. This is the default for Java graphics. I will resolve that issue and cause the positive

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 193

direction for the y-axis to be up instead of down in a future module.

Checking and un-checking the checkboxes

Image 3 (p. 193) shows the result of un-checking one of the checkboxes to prevent the points that dene
the vertices from being drawn. In this case, only the lines that connect the vertices were drawn, resulting in
the two circles shown.

Image 3: Screen output without drawing the points at the vertices.

1.132

Similarly, the GUI can be used to cause only the points that dene the vertices to be drawn without the
connecting lines.

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194 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Will explain the code in fragments

I will explain the code in this program in fragments. A complete listing of the program is provided in
Listing 18 (p. 224) for your convenience.
Much of the code in this module is very similar to code that I have explained in earlier modules, so I
won't bore you by repeating those explanations. Rather, I will concentrate on code that is new and dierent
in this module.
Beginning of the class named GUI
The beginning of the class named GUI is shown in Listing 1 (p. 195) .

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 195

Listing 1: Instance variables in the class named GUI.

class GUI extends JFrame implements ActionListener{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 400;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas
Graphics2D g2D;//Off-screen graphics context.

//The following two variables are used to establish the

// location of the origin.
double xAxisOffset;
double yAxisOffset;

int numberPoints = 6;//Can be modified by the user.

JTextField numberPointsField; //User input field.
//The components of the following displacement vector
// can be modified by the user.
GM2D04.Vector vector =
new GM2D04.Vector(new GM2D04.ColMatrix(50,50));
JTextField vectorX;//User input field.
JTextField vectorY;//User input field.

//The following variables are used to determine whether

// to draw the points and/or the lines.
boolean drawPoints = true;
boolean drawLines = true;
Checkbox drawPointsBox;//User input field
Checkbox drawLinesBox;//User input field.

//The following variables are used to refer to array

// objects containing the points that define the
// vertices of the geometric object.
GM2D04.Point[] points;
GM2D04.Point[] newPoints;

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The code in Listing 1 (p. 195) declares a large number of instance variables, initializing some of them.
Those variables shouldn't require an explanation beyond the embedded comments. I show them here solely
to make it easy for you to refer to them later when I discuss them.
Extends JFrame and implements ActionListener
This class extends the JFrame class and implements the ActionListener interface. As you will see

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196 CHAPTER 1. MATH

later, implementing the ActionListener interface requires that the class contains a concrete denition of
the actionPerformed method. It also makes an object of the GUI class eligible for being registered as
a listener object on the Replot button shown in Image 1 (p. 190) .
Abbreviated constructor for the GUI class
An Abbreviated listing of the constructor for the GUI class is shown in Listing 2 (p. 196) . Much of
the code was deleted from Listing 2 (p. 196) for brevity. You can view the code that was deleted in Listing
18 (p. 224) .

Listing 2: Abbreviated constructor for the GUI class.

GUI(){//constructor
//Instantiate the array objects that will be used to
// store the points that define the vertices of the
// geometric object.
points = new GM2D04.Point[numberPoints];
newPoints = new GM2D04.Point[numberPoints];

//Code that creates the user interface was deleted

// for brevity.

//Code dealing with the canvas and the off-screen image

// was deleted for brevity.

//Erase the off-screen image and draw the axes

setCoordinateFrame(g2D,xAxisOffset,yAxisOffset,true);

//Create the Point objects that define the geometric

// object and manipulate them to produce the desired
// results.
drawOffScreen(g2D);

//Register this object as an action listener on the

// button.
button.addActionListener(this);

//Cause the overridden paint method belonging to

// myCanvas to be executed.
myCanvas.repaint();

}//end constructor

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Arrays for storage of vertices

The constructor begins by instantiating two array objects that will be used to store references to the
GM2D04.Point objects that dene the vertices of the geometric object.

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Set the coordinate frame

Further down in Listing 2 (p. 196) , the constructor calls the method named setCoordinateFrame to
erase the o-screen image, draw orthogonal axes on it, and translate the origin to a new location. The code
in the setCoordinateFrame method is straightforward and shouldn't require an explanation beyond the
embedded comments. You can view that code in Listing 18 (p. 224) .
The fourth parameter to the setCoordinateFrame method is used to determine whether or not to
translate the origin by the amount given by the second and third parameters. If true, the origin is translated.
If false, the origin is not translated.
The method named drawOScreen
After setting the coordinate frame, Listing 2 (p. 196) calls the method named drawOScreen . I will
discuss that method in some detail shortly.
Register an ActionListener object
Next, the code in Listing 2 (p. 196) registers the object of the GUI class as an action listener on the
Replot button shown in Image 1 (p. 190) . This causes the method named actionPerformed to be
executed whenever the user clicks the Replot button. I will also discuss the actionPerformed method
shortly.
Repaint the canvas
Finally, Listing 2 (p. 196) calls the repaint method to repaint the canvas. If you have studied the
previous modules in this collection, you should know what this does and an explanation should not be
necessary.
Beginning of the drawOScreen method
Listing 3 (p. 198) shows the beginning of the method named drawOScreen . The purpose of this
method is to create the GM2D04.Point objects that dene the vertices of the geometric object and to
manipulate those points to produce the desired results.

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Listing 3: Beginning of the drawOScreen method.

void drawOffScreen(Graphics2D g2D){

//Erase the off-screen image and draw new axes, but
// don't change the coordinate frame.
setCoordinateFrame(g2D,xAxisOffset,yAxisOffset,false);

//Create a set of Point objects that specify

// locations on the circumference of a circle and
// save references to the Point objects in an array.
for(int cnt = 0;cnt < numberPoints;cnt++){
points[cnt] = new GM2D04.Point(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(
50*Math.cos((cnt*360/numberPoints)
*Math.PI/180),
50*Math.sin((cnt*360/numberPoints)
*Math.PI/180)));
if(drawPoints){//Draw points if true
points[cnt].draw(g2D);
}//end if
}//end for loop

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Erase the image and draw the axes

Listing 3 (p. 198) begins by calling the setCoordinateFrame method to erase the o-screen image
and draw orthogonal axes, intersecting at the origin on the erased image. Note however that unlike the call
to the setCoordinateFrame method that was made in the constructor in Listing 2 (p. 196) , the call to
the method in Listing 3 (p. 198) passes false as the fourth parameter, thereby preventing the location of
the origin from being modied.
In other words, in this case, the method is being called simply to erase the o-screen image and to draw
axes on the clean o-screen image.
(In hindsight, it may have been better to break this method into two separate methods; one to translate
the origin and a second to erase the o-screen image and draw the axes.)
Create the points that dene the vertices
Then Listing 3 (p. 198) executes a for loop that instantiates the set of mathematical GM2D04.Point
objects that dene the vertices of the geometric object and saves references to those objects in the array
object that was instantiated in Listing 2 (p. 196) . Note that during the rst pass through the constructor
and the method named drawOScreen , the length of the array object and the number of points
instantiated are both specied by the initial value (6) of the instance variable named numberPoints
(see Listing 1 (p. 195) ) .
Some knowledge of trigonometry is required
I told you in an earlier module "I will assume that you either already have, or can gain the required
skills in geometry and trigonometry on your own." I included a module titled GAME 2302-0320 Brief
Trigonometry Tutorial 78 in this collection to assist you in that eort.
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 199

In order to understand the code in the for loop in Listing 3 (p. 198) , you must have at least a
rudimentary knowledge of trigonometry.
For now, suce it to say that this code will instantiate a set of GM2D04.Point objects equally spaced
around the circumference of a circle with a radius of 50 units centered on the origin.
(When rendered on the o-screen image, these units will be translated to pixels.)
For the initial value of six points, the rst point will be located at an angle of zero degrees relative to the
horizontal, and each of the remaining ve points will located on the circumference of the circle at an angle
that is an even multiple of 360/6 or 60 degrees.
To draw or not to draw the points
Recall that a point has no width, no height, and no depth and is therefore not visible to the human
eye. However, when you call the draw method on an object of the GM2D04.Point class, a small circle
is drawn around the location of the point marking that location for human consumption.
An if statement embedded in the for loop in Listing 3 (p. 198) tests the value of the boolean
instance variable named drawPoints (see Listing 1 (p. 195) , which initializes the value to true) to
determine whether or not to draw the circle marking the location of each point as it is instantiated and saved
in the array object. If true , the circle is drawn as shown in Image 1 (p. 190) . If false , the circle is not
drawn as shown in Image 3 (p. 193) . As you will see later, the user can modify the value of the variable
named drawPoints using one of the checkboxes and the Replot button in Image 1 (p. 190) .

note: The default drawing color: The default drawing color is BLACK. When the points
are drawn the rst time the drawOScreen method is called, they will be drawn in BLACK,
which is a public static nal variable in the Color class.

To draw or not to draw the lines

Listing 4 (p. 199) tests the value of the instance variable named drawLines to determine whether or
not to draw lines connecting each of the points. This variable is also initialized to true in Listing 1 (p.
195) , and its value can be modied by the user later using one of the checkboxes and the Replot button
shown in Image 1 (p. 190) .

Listing 4: To draw or not to draw the lines.

GM2D04.Line line;
if(drawLines){//Instantiate and draw lines if true.
for(int cnt = 0;cnt < numberPoints-1;cnt++){
//Begin by drawing all of the lines but one.
line = new GM2D04.Line(points[cnt],points[cnt+1]);
line.draw(g2D);
}//end for loop
//Draw the remaining line required to close the
// polygon.
line = new GM2D04.Line(points[numberPoints-1],
points[0]);
line.draw(g2D);
}//end if

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Slightly more complicated

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200 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Drawing the lines is only slightly more complicated than drawing the points. A for loop is used in
Listing 4 (p. 199) to draw lines connecting successive pairs of points whose references were stored in the
array named points in Listing 3 (p. 198) . This takes care of all of the required lines but one. Following
the for loop, one additional statement is executed to draw a line connecting the points whose references
are stored in the rst and the last elements in the array.
(I will show you another way to accomplish this wraparound in the program named StringArt01 later
in this module.)
No need to save the GM2D04.Line objects
Note that the GM2D04.Line object that is used to draw each connecting line has no value in this
program after the line is drawn on the o-screen image. Therefore, there is no need to consume memory by
saving a large number of such objects. A single reference variable of the class GM2D04.Line is used to
refer to all the objects of the GM2D04.Line class that are used to draw the connecting lines. As each
new object of that class is instantiated, the object previously referred to by the reference variable becomes
eligible for garbage collection .
(Go to Google and search for the following keywords to learn more about this topic: baldwin java eligible
garbage collection.)
Change the drawing color to RED
After the BLACK geometric object shown in Image 1 (p. 190) has been drawn on the o-screen image,
it is time to change the drawing color to RED in preparation for translating the object and drawing the
translated version of the object. This is accomplished by the single statement in Listing 5 (p. 200) .

Listing 5: Change the drawing color to RED.

g2D.setColor(Color.RED);//Change drawing color to RED.

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Translate the geometric object

That brings us to the most important block of code in the entire program, insofar as achieving the main
learning objective of the program is concerned.

Listing 6: Translate the geometric object.

for(int cnt = 0;cnt < numberPoints;cnt++){

newPoints[cnt] =
points[cnt].addVectorToPoint(vector);
if(drawPoints){//Draw points if true.
newPoints[cnt].draw(g2D);
}//end if
}//end for loop

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 201

Listing 6 (p. 200) uses a call to the addVectorToPoint method of the GM2D04.Point class
embedded in a for loop to translate each of the vertices (points) that dene the original geometric
object to a second set of vertices that dene a geometric object having the same shape in a dierent location.
(The initial vector that was used to translate the points in Listing 6 (p. 200) was instantiated in
Listing 1 (p. 195) with values of 50,50. That vector may be modied later using the values in the elds
named Vector X and Vector Y in the GUI shown in Image 1 (p. 190) when the user clicks the Replot
button.)
The new vertices were saved in a dierent array object referred to by the reference variable named
newPoints . It is important to note that in this case, the original geometric object was not moved.
Rather, it was replicated in a new location with the new location being dened by a displacement vector
added to the value of each original point.
Make it appear to move
In many cases in game programming, you will want to make it appear that the object has actually
moved instead of being replicated. That appearance could be achieved by saving the reference to the new
GM2D04.Point object back into the same array, thereby replacing the reference that was previously
there. Make no mistake about it, however, when using this approach, the translated geometric object is a
dierent object, dened by a new set of GM2D04.Point objects that dene the vertices of the geometric
object in the new location.
A dierent approach
A dierent approach would be to call the setData method of the GM2D04.Point class to
modify the coordinate values stored in the existing object that dene the location of the point. In that
case, it would not be necessary to instantiate a new object, and I suppose it could be argued that such an
approach would actually move each vertex, thereby moving the geometric object. If execution speed is an
important factor (particularly in animation code) it would probably be useful to run some benchmarks to
determine which approach would be best. (I will show you how to implement this approach in the program
named VectorAdd05a later in this module.)
Drawing the points
Once again, an if statement is embedded in the code in Listing 6 (p. 200) to determine whether or not
to draw the new points on the o-screen image as the new GM2D04.Point objects are instantiated and
saved in the array. If the points are drawn, they will be drawn in RED due to the code in Listing 5 (p. 200)
.
Drawing the lines
The code in Listing 7 (p. 202) is essentially the same as the code in Listing 4 (p. 199) . This code tests
the variable named drawLines to determine whether or not to draw lines connecting the new points in
the current drawing color (RED) .

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202 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 7: Draw the lines if drawLines is true.

if(drawLines){//Instantiate and draw lines if true.

for(int cnt = 0;cnt < numberPoints-1;cnt++){
line = new GM2D04.Line(newPoints[cnt],
newPoints[cnt+1]);
line.draw(g2D);
}//end for loop
//Draw the remaining line required to close the
// polygon.
line = new GM2D04.Line(newPoints[numberPoints-1],
newPoints[0]);
line.draw(g2D);
}//end if

}//end drawOffScreen

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End of the method

Listing 7 (p. 202) also signals the end of the method named drawOScreen .
The actionPerformed method
As mentioned earlier, the actionPerformed method, shown in Listing 8 (p. 203) , is called to respond
to each click on the Replot button shown in Image 1 (p. 190) .

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 203

Listing 8: The actionPerformed method.

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){

//Get user input values and use them to modify several
// values that control the translation and the
// drawing.
numberPoints = Integer.parseInt(
numberPointsField.getText());
vector.setData(
0,Double.parseDouble(vectorX.getText()));
vector.setData(
1,Double.parseDouble(vectorY.getText()));

if(drawPointsBox.getState()){
drawPoints = true;
}else{
drawPoints = false;
}//end else

if(drawLinesBox.getState()){
drawLines = true;
}else{
drawLines = false;
}//end else

//Instantiate two new array objects with a length

// that matches the new value for numberPoints.
points = new GM2D04.Point[numberPoints];
newPoints = new GM2D04.Point[numberPoints];

//Draw a new off-screen image based on user inputs.

drawOffScreen(g2D);
myCanvas.repaint();//Copy off-screen image to canvas.
}//end actionPerformed

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Behavior of the actionPerformed method

Basically this method:
• Gets input values from the user input components shown at the bottom of Image 1 (p. 190) .
• Uses the input values to set the values of certain variables.
• Instantiates new array objects of the correct length to contain the points that dene the vertices of
the geometric objects.
• Calls the drawOScreen method to generate the new point and line objects and display them on
the canvas.
End of the program discussion
That ends the discussion of the program named VectorAdd05 .

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204 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.16.4.3 The program named VectorAdd05a

I promised you earlier that I would explain a dierent approach 79 to modifying the vertices of the geometric
object in order to translate it. That approach is used in the program named VVectorAdd05a , which
you will nd in Listing 19 (p. 226) .
The only signicant change to this program relative to the program named VectorAdd05 is shown in
Listing 9 (p. 204) .

Listing 9: Abbreviated listing of the drawOScreen method.

void drawOffScreen(Graphics2D g2D){

//Code deleted for brevity.

g2D.setColor(Color.RED);//Change drawing color to RED.

//Translate the geometric object and save the points

// that define the translated object in the same
// array object.
for(int cnt = 0;cnt < numberPoints;cnt++){
points[cnt].setData(
0,points[cnt].getData(0) + vector.getData(0));
points[cnt].setData(
1,points[cnt].getData(1) + vector.getData(1));

if(drawPoints){//Draw points if true.

points[cnt].draw(g2D);
}//end if
}//end for loop

//Code deleted for brevity

}//end drawOffScreen

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Compare this code with an earlier listing

You should compare the code in Listing 9 (p. 204) with the code in Listing 6 (p. 200) . The code in Listing
9 (p. 204) does not call the addVectorToPoint method to instantiate a new set of GM2D04.Point
objects. Instead, it uses lower-level methods from the game-math library to modify the x and y attribute
values that dene the locations of the existing GM2D04.Point objects.
As you can see, the code in Listing 9 (p. 204) is somewhat more complex than the code in Listing 6 (p.
200) . However, the code in Listing 9 (p. 204) possibly entails lower overhead at runtime. First, it doesn't
call the addVectorToPoint method that hides the programming details behind a single method call.
Second, the code in Listing 9 (p. 204) doesn't instantiate new objects of the GM2D04.Point class, as is
the case in Listing 6 (p. 200) .
A middle ground
A middle ground that is not illustrated here might be to use a method like the addVectorToPoint
method to hide the details, but to have that method change the x and y attribute values in the existing
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 205

points instead of instantiating new objects. None of the three approaches is either right or wrong. There
are pros and cons to all three approaches. This is indicative of the kinds of decisions that must be made by
developers who design class libraries containing classes and methods to accomplish common tasks.
End of the program discussion
That ends the discussion of the program named VectorAdd05a .

1.16.4.4 The program named VectorAdd06

This is an update to the program named VectorAdd05 . The behavior of this program is similar to the
earlier program except that instead of displaying a static view of the translated geometric object when the
Replot button is clicked, this program animates the geometric object causing it to move from its original
location shown in Image 4 (p. 206) to a new location in 100 incremental steps along a straight line path.

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206 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 4: Starting point for the hexagon in VectorAdd06.

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The nal position

The nal position for the translated hexagon depends on the user input values for the vector. Image 5
(p. 207) shows one possible ending point for the translated hexagon.

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 207

Image 5: Possible ending point for the hexagon in VectorAdd06.

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The animation loop

The animation loop sleeps for ten milliseconds during each of the 100 iterations. Therefore, approximately
one second (1000 milliseconds and possibly more) is required for the object to make the trip from its initial
location to its new location. Once it reaches the new location, the program is ready for the user to change
input values and click the Replot button again.
(Each time you click the Replot button, the object can be seen to move from the initial location, not
the current location, to the new location.)
As with the program named VectorAdd05 , this program uses the addVectorToPoint method of
the GM2D04.Point class to translate a geometric object from one location in space to a dierent location

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208 CHAPTER 1. MATH

in space. In this program, however, the translation is performed in 100 incremental steps to produce an
animation. As shown in Image 5 (p. 207) , the animated geometric object is drawn in red to make it visually
distinct from the original object. The original object is not erased from the display.
The polygon
The program initially constructs and draws a black polygon in the upper-left corner of the canvas as
shown in Image 4 (p. 206) . (The polygon is a hexagon in Image 4 (p. 206) .) The six points that dene
the vertices of the hexagon lie on a circle with a radius of 50 units. The points at the vertices and the lines
that connect the points are drawn initially.
Also as shown in Image 4 (p. 206) , a GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the following items
and click a Replot button to cause the animation to begin:

• The number of points that dene the geometric object (polygon) .

• X-component of the displacement vector.
• Y-component of the displacement vector.
• A checkbox to specify whether points are to be drawn.
• A checkbox to specify whether lines are to be drawn.

As in the previous program, changing the number of points causes the number of vertices that describe the
geometric object to change, allowing you to create triangles, rectangles, pentagons, hexagons, circles, etc.
Changing the components of the displacement vector causes the geometric object to be translated to a
dierent location. Checking and unchecking the checkboxes causes the points and/or the lines to either be
drawn or not drawn.
Animation performance
On the computer that I am now using, which is not a new one (September 2012), the animation becomes
slightly jerky at about 3500 points when both the points and the lines are drawn.
Will explain in fragments
I will explain this program in fragments and will avoid repeating explanations that I have previously
given. A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 20 (p. 228) near the end of the module.
Much of the code in this program is very similar to code that I explained earlier. The thing that is new
about this program is the animation aspect of the program. Therefore, I will concentrate mainly on the
animation code in my explanation of the program.
The class named MyCanvas, the update method, and the paint method
Before getting into the details of the program, I want to explain the inner workings of the class named
MyCanvas that I dened for this program. This class, which is an inner class of the GUI class, is shown
in its entirety in Listing 10 (p. 209) .

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 209

Listing 10: The class named MyCanvas, the update method, and the paint method.

class MyCanvas extends Canvas{

public void update(Graphics g){
paint(g);//Call the overridden paint method.
}//end overridden update()
//--------------------------------------------------//

public void paint(Graphics g){

g.drawImage(osi,0,0,this);
}//end overridden paint()

}//end inner class MyCanvas

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Dierent from previous version

If you compare this class with the class named MyCanvas in the earlier program named VectorAdd05
(see Listing 18 (p. 224) ) , you will see that this version of the class is considerably dierent from the
previous version.
The previous version simply overrode the method named paint to cause the o-screen image to be
copied to the canvas. That is a perfectly good approach for programs where the image that is displayed on
the canvas changes only occasionally. However, that is not a good approach for an animation program where
the image displayed on the canvas changes frequently.
Calling the update method
Recall that in Java, when we want to display an image on the computer screen, we don't call the overridden
paint method directly. Rather, we call the method named repaint .
Among other tasks, the repaint method acts as a trac cop to decide which application will be allowed
to draw on the screen next, but that isn't the main thrust of our interest here. The main thrust of our interest
here is that when we call the repaint method, this eventually results in a call to a method named update
. By default, the update method paints a white background on the canvas erasing anything that was
previously there. Then the update method calls our overridden paint method to draw whatever it is
that we want to draw on the canvas.
Can cause undesirable ashing
Normally this is an adequate approach. However, for an animation program, the repetitive painting of a
white background on the canvas can cause an undesirable level of ashing in the visual output of the program.
In this case, there is no need to paint a white background on the canvas before copying the o-screen image
on the canvas because that image will completely ll the canvas with the new image. Therefore, allowing the
canvas to be painted white each time the o-screen image is copied to the canvas is unnecessary and does
cause ashing on my computer.
Overriding the update method
Listing 10 (p. 209) overrides the update method to eliminate the painting of a white background
on the canvas. In Listing 10 (p. 209) , the update method simply calls the overridden paint method to
copy the o-screen image onto the canvas. On my computer, this results in a much more pleasing animation
output.
The actionPerformed method
The next code fragment that I will explain is the actionPerformed method, which is called in response

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210 CHAPTER 1. MATH

to each click on the Replot button shown in Image 4 (p. 206) and Image 5 (p. 207) .
Listing 11 (p. 210) shows an abbreviated listing of the actionPerformed method.

Listing 11: Abbreviated listing of actionPerformed method.

public void

1.145

Most of the code in this method is the same as code that I explained in conjunction with Listing 8 (p.
203) , so I won't repeat that explanation here.
(I deleted that code for brevity in Listing 11 (p. 210) . You can view the method in its entirety in
Listing 20 (p. 228) .)
The code in Listing 11 (p. 210) picks up with a statement that sets the value of an instance variable
named animation to true. This variable is used simply to prevent the animation from starting until the
rst time the user clicks the Replot button.
Spawn an animation thread
This is where this program really departs from the previous programs. Listing 11 (p. 210) instantiates
an object of an inner Thread class named Animate and saves that object's reference in a local variable
named animate . Then Listing 11 (p. 210) uses that variable to call the start method on the Animate
object.
I won't attempt to go into all of the technical details involved in this operation. Suce it to say that
this eventually causes a method named run belonging to the Animate object to be executed.
The Animate class and the run method
The Animate class and the run method begin in Listing 12 (p. 210) .

Listing 12: The inner Thread class named Animate.

class Animate extends Thread{

public void run(){
//Compute the incremental distances that the
// geometric object will move during each iteration.
double xInc = vector.getData(0)/100;
double yInc = vector.getData(1)/100;

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The run method begins by computing incremental x and y displacement values that will be required
to move the geometric object from its initial position as shown in Image 4 (p. 206) to its nal position as
shown in Image 5 (p. 207) in 100 equal steps.
Do the animated move
Then Listing 13 (p. 211) executes 100 iterations of a for loop to cause the geometric object to actually
move through those 100 incremental steps and to be drawn on the screen once during each incremental step.

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 211

Listing 13: Do the animated move.

for(int cnt = 0;cnt < 100;cnt++){

vector.setData(0,cnt*xInc);
vector.setData(1,cnt*yInc);

//Draw a new off-screen image based on the

// incremental displacement vector and other user
// inputs.
drawOffScreen(g2D);
//Copy off-screen image to canvas.
myCanvas.repaint();

//Sleep for ten milliseconds.

try{
Thread.currentThread().sleep(10);
}catch(InterruptedException ex){
ex.printStackTrace();
}//end catch
}//end for loop
}//end run
}//end inner class named Animate

1.147

During each iteration of the for loop...

During each iteration of the for loop in Listing 13 (p. 211) , an incremental displacement vector is
created with X and Y component values that are equal to 1/100 of the user-specied displacement vector
multiplied by the loop counter value. The incremental displacement vector is used by the code in the
drawOScreen method to translate the geometric object to a new location on the o-screen image. Then
the repaint method is called on the canvas to cause the o-screen image to be copied onto the canvas as
described in conjunction with Listing 10 (p. 209) earlier.
(Note that the object is translated from its original location, not its current location, during each
iteration of the for loop. A dierent approach would be to save the current location and translate it from
the current location during each iteration of the for loop.)
At the end of each iteration of the for loop, the animation thread sleeps for ten milliseconds before
starting the next iteration.
The bottom line is that this code causes the geometric object to move in incremental steps from its
initial location to a new location based on a displacement vector specied by the user. In other words,
the geometric object reaches its nal location in a straight-line animated manner, taking 100 steps to get
there.
The drawOScreen method
The drawOScreen method that is called by the Animation thread in Listing 13 (p. 211) is very
similar to the method having the same name that I explained in conjunction with Listing 3 (p. 198) through
Listing 7 (p. 202) . Therefore, I won't repeat that explanation here.
The big dierence in the use of that method in the two programs is that in the earlier program, the
method was called only once to translate the geometric object according to the values in the displacement

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212 CHAPTER 1. MATH

vector in one giant step. In this program, the values in the displacement vector are divided by 100 and the
drawOScreen method is called 100 times with ten-millisecond pauses between each call to the method.
Each time the drawOScreen method is called, the geometric object ends up closer to its nal position
and each of the 100 intermediate positions are displayed on the canvas for ten milliseconds.
End of discussion
That ends the discussion of the program named VectorAdd06 .

1.16.4.5 The program named StringArt01

You may be old enough to remember when people who liked to do handicraft projects created pictures using
strings and nails. If not, I'm sure that if you Google the topic of string art , you will nd more about the
topic than you ever wanted to know.
This program was inspired by some programs that I saw at the Son of String Art 80 page. I will be the
rst to admit that the output from this program isn't nearly as elaborate or interesting as the output from
some of the projects at that web site. Those programs are truly impressive, particularly considering that
they were written using a programming language that was "designed to help young people (ages 8 and up)
develop 21st century learning skills. (See About Scratch 81 .)
In future modules, however, I will show you how to improve this string art program including the addition
of animated translation and rotation of the string-art images in 3D.
Behavior of the program
This program produces a 2D string art image by drawing lines to connect various points that are equally
spaced around the circumference of a circle. At startup, the program constructs and draws a multi-colored
hexagon centered on the origin as shown in Image 9 (p. 216) . The six points that dene the vertices of the
hexagon lie on a circle with a radius of 100 units. The points at the vertices are not drawn, but the lines
that connect the vertices are drawn.
A GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the following items and click a Replot button to
cause the drawing to change:

• Number Points
• Number Loops

As in earlier programs in this module, changing the number of points causes the number of vertices that
describe the geometric object to change. Changing the number of loops causes the number of lines that are
drawn to connect the vertices to change. For a Loop value of 1, each vertex is connected to the one next
to it. For a value of 2, additional lines are drawn connecting every other vertex. For a value of 3, additional
lines are drawn connecting every third vertex, etc.
Making the number of points and loops large produces some interesting patterns.
Some output from the program
Before getting into the technical details of the program, I am going to show you some sample screen
output from the program. Image 6 (p. 213) shows the result of drawing lines to connect the points in the
pattern described above among fteen points that are equally spaced around the circumference of the circle.
80 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/Paddle2See/89023
81 http://info.scratch.mit.edu/About_Scratch

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 213

Image 6: String art with 15 vertices and 7 loops.

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Image 7 (p. 214) shows the result of drawing lines in a more complex pattern among 25 points that are
equally spaced around the circumference of the circle.

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214 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 7: String art with 25 vertices and 11 loops.

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Image 8 (p. 215) shows the result of drawing lines in an extremely complex pattern among 100 points
that are equally spaced around the circumference of the circle.

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 215

Image 8: String art with 100 vertices and 100 loops.

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As you can see, there were so many lines and they were so close together in Image 8 (p. 215) that the
visual distinction between lines almost completely disappeared.
Finally, Image 9 (p. 216) shows the program output at startup, with six vertices and one loop.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

216 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 9: Output from StringArt01 at startup.

1.151

Will discuss in fragments

As is my custom, I will discuss and explain this program in fragments. Much of the code in this program
is very similar to code that I have explained earlier, so I won't repeat those explanations. Rather, I will
concentrate on the code that is new and dierent in this program. A complete listing of the program is
provided in Listing 21 (p. 230) near the end of the module.
Most of the code that is new to this program is in the method named drawOScreen , which begins
in Listing 14 (p. 217) .

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 217

Listing 14: Beginning of the drawOScreen method in StringArt01.

void drawOffScreen(Graphics2D g2D){

//Erase the off-screen image and draw new axes, but
// don't move the origin.
setCoordinateFrame(g2D,false);

//Create a set of Point objects that specify

// locations on the circumference of a circle and
// save references to the Point objects in an array.
for(int cnt = 0;cnt < numberPoints;cnt++){
points[cnt] = new GM2D04.Point(
new GM2D04.ColMatrix(
100*Math.cos((cnt*360/numberPoints)
*Math.PI/180),
100*Math.sin((cnt*360/numberPoints)
*Math.PI/180)));
}//end for loop

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Even some of the code in the method named drawOScreen was explained earlier, and that is the
case for the code in Listing 14 (p. 217) .
Implement the algorithm that draws the lines
Listing 15 (p. 218) begins the outer loop in a pair of nested loops that implement the algorithm to draw
the lines shown in Image 6 (p. 213) through Image 9 (p. 216) .

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218 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 15: Implement the algorithm that draws the lines.

GM2D04.Line line;

//Begin the outer loop.

for(int loop = 1;loop < loopLim;loop++){
//The following variable specifies the array
// element containing a point on which a line will
// start.
int start = -1;

//The following variable specifies the number of

// points that will be skipped between the starting
// point and the ending point for a line.
int skip = loop;
//The following logic causes the element number to
// wrap around when it reaches the end of the
// array.
while(skip >= 2*numberPoints-1){
skip -= numberPoints;
}//end while loop

//The following variable specifies the array

// element containing a point on which a line will
// end.
int end = start + skip;

1.153

The algorithm
As I mentioned earlier, the algorithm goes something like the following:

• Draw a line connecting every point to its immediate neighbor on the circumference of the circle.
• Draw a line connecting every other point on the circumference of the circle.
• Draw a line connecting every third point on the circumference of the circle.
• Continue this process until the number of iterations satises the number of Loops specied by the
user.

The code in the outer loop that begins in Listing 15 (p. 218) is responsible for identifying the beginning
and ending points for the lines that will be drawn during one iteration of the outer loop. Given the above
information and the embedded comments in Listing 15 (p. 218) , you should have no diculty understanding
the logic in Listing 15 (p. 218) .
Draw the lines
The inner loop in the pair of nested loops is shown in Listing 16 (p. 219) . This loop constructs a series
of GM2D04.Line objects and then causes visual manifestations of those objects to be drawn on the
o-screen image.

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 219

Listing 16: Draw the lines.

for(int cnt = 0;cnt < numberPoints;cnt++){

if(start < numberPoints-1){
start++;
}else{
//Wrap around
start -= (numberPoints-1);
}//end else

if(end < numberPoints-1){

end++;
}else{
//Wrap around.
end -= (numberPoints-1);
}//end else

//Create some interesting colors.

g2D.setColor(new Color(cnt*255/numberPoints,
127+cnt*64/numberPoints,
255-cnt*255/numberPoints));

//Create a line and draw it.

line = new GM2D04.Line(points[start],points[end]);
line.draw(g2D);
}//end inner loop
}//end outer loop
}//end drawOffScreen

1.154

Once again, given what you now know, and given the embedded comments in the code, you should have
no diculty understanding the logic of the code. Note in particular the requirement to wrap around when
the element number exceeds the length of the array containing references to the GM2D04.Point objects
that specify the locations of the vertices of the geometric object.
End of the discussion of StringArt01
That ends the discussion of the program named StringArt01 .. It also ends the discussion of all ve
of the programs that I promised to explain in this module.

1.16.5 Homework assignment

The homework assignment for this module was to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 5 - Vector
Direction .
The homework assignment for the next module is to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 6 - Scaling
and Unit Vectors .
In addition to studying the Kjell material, you should read at least the next two modules in this collection
and bring your questions about that material to the next classroom session.

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220 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Finally, you should have begun studying the physics material 82 at the beginning of the semester and you
should continue studying one physics module per week thereafter. You should also feel free to bring your
questions about that material to the classroom for discussion.

1.16.6 Run the programs

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 18 (p. 224) through Listing 21 (p. 230) .Compile the code
and execute it in conjunction with the game-math library provided in Listing 17 (p. 222) . Experiment with
the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain
why your changes behave as they do.

1.16.7 Summary

In this module, I presented and explained four programs that use the game-math library named GM2D04
. The purpose of the program named VectorAdd05 is to use the addVectorToPoint method of the
GM2D04.Point class to translate a geometric object from one location in space to a dierent location in
space.
The purpose of the program named VectorAdd05a is to accomplish the same translation operation,
but to do so in a possibly more ecient manner.
The purpose of the program named VectorAdd06 is to teach you how to do rudimentary animation
using the game-math library.
The purpose of the program named StringArt01 is to teach you how to use methods of the game-math
library to produce relatively complex drawings.
All of the programs are interactive in that they provide a GUI that allows the user to modify certain
aspects of the behavior of the program.

1.16.8 What's next?

In the next module, you will learn how to update the game-math library to support 3D math, how to program
the equations for projecting a 3D world onto a 2D plane, and how to add vectors in 3D.
You will also learn about scaling, translation, and rotation of a point in both 2D and 3D, about the
rotation equations and how to implement them in both 2D and 3D, and much more.

1.16.9 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0130: Putting the Game-Math Library to Work
• File: Game0130.htm
• Published: 10/16/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
82 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/

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 221

In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.16.10 Complete program listings

Complete listings of the programs discussed in this module are shown in Listing 17 (p. 222) through Listing
21 (p. 230) below.

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222 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 17: Source code for the game-math library named GM2D04.

/*GM2D04.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/08/08

The name GM2Dnn is an abbreviation for GameMath2Dnn.

See the file named GM2D01.java for a general description

of this game-math library file. This file is an update of
GM2D03.

This update added the following new capabilities:

Vector addition - Adds this Vector object to a Vector

object received as an incoming parameter and returns the
sum as a resultant Vector object.

Added a method named getLength that returns the length

of a vector as type double.

Added a method named addVectorToPoint to add a Vector to

a Point producing a new Point.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.*;

public class GM2D04{

//An object of this class represents a 2D column matrix.

// An object of this class is the fundamental building
// block for several of the other classes in the
// library.
public static class ColMatrix{
double[] data = new double[2];

public ColMatrix(double data0,double data1){

data[0] = data0;
data[1] = data1;
}//end constructor
//--------------------------------------------------//

public String toString(){

return data[0] + "," + data[1];
}//end overridden toString method
//--------------------------------------------------//

public double getData(int index){

if((index < 0) || (index > 1)){
throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException();
}else{ Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
return data[index];
}//end else
}//end getData method
 223

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224 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 18: Source code for the sample program named VectorAdd05.

/*VectorAdd05.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/11/08

The purpose of this program is to use the addVectorToPoint

method of the GM2D04.Point class to translate a geometric
object from one location in space to a different location
in space. Along the way, the program uses various methods
of the classes in the game-math library named GM2D04 to
accomplish its purpose.

The program initially constructs and draws a black hexagon

centered on the origin. The six points that define the
vertices of the hexagon lie on a circle with a radius of
50 units. The points at the vertices and the lines that
connect the points are drawn.

In addition, the program initially causes the hexagon to

be translated by 50 units in the positive X direction and
50 units in the positive Y. The translated hexagon is
drawn in red. The original black hexagon is not erased
when the translated version is drawn in red.

A GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the

following items and click a Replot button to cause the
drawing to change:

Number points
X-component of the displacement vector.
Y-component of the displacement vector.
A checkbox to specify whether points are to be drawn.
A checkbox to specify whether lines are to be drawn.

Changing the number of points causes the number of

vertices that describe the geometric object to change.
For a large number of points, the geometric object becomes
a circle. For only three points, it becomes a triangle.
For four points, it becomes a square. For two points, it
becomes a line, etc.

Changing the components of the displacement vector causes

the geometric object to be translated to a different
location before being drawn in red.

Checking and unchecking the checkboxes causes the points

and/or the lines to either be drawn or not drawn.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
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226 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 19: Source code for the program named VectorAdd05a.

/*VectorAdd05a.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/19/08

This program is a modified version of VectorAdd05 that

uses a different scheme for modifying the vertices of the
geometric object.

Note that the comments in this program were not updated

to reflect these modifications. In particular, this
version does not call the method named addVectorToPoint.
--------------------------------------------------------

The purpose of this program is to use the addVectorToPoint

method of the GM2D04.Point class to translate a geometric
object from one location in space to a different location
in space. Along the way, the program uses various methods
of the classes in the game math library named GM2D04 to
accomplish its purpose.

The program initially constructs and draws a black hexagon

centered on the origin. The six points that define the
vertices of the hexagon lie on a circle with a radius of
50 units. The points at the vertices and the lines that
connect the points are drawn.

In addition, the program initially causes the hexagon to

be translated by 50 units in the positive X direction and
50 units in the positive Y. The translated hexagon is
drawn in red. The original black hexagon is not erased
when the translated version is drawn in red.

A GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the

following items and click a Replot button to cause the
drawing to change:

Number points
X-component of the displacement vector.
Y-component of the displacement vector.
A checkbox to specify whether points are to be drawn.
A checkbox to specify whether lines are to be drawn.

Changing the number of points causes the number of

vertices that describe the geometric object to change.
For a large number of points, the geometric object becomes
a circle. For only three points, it becomes a triangle.
For four points, it becomes a square. For two points, it
becomes a line, etc.

Changing the components of the displacement vector causes

Available
the geometric object to befortranslated
free at Connexions
to a<http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
different
location before being drawn in red.

Checking and unchecking the checkboxes causes the points

 227

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228 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 20: Source code for the program named VectorAdd06.

/*VectorAdd06.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/22/08.

This is an update to the program named VectorAdd05. The

behavior of this program is similar to the earlier
program except that instead of displaying a static view of
the translated geometric object when the Replot button
is clicked, this program animates the geometric object
causing it to move from its original location to its new
location in 100 incremental steps along a straight line
path.
The animation loop sleeps for ten milliseconds during each
of the 100 iterations. Therefore, approximately one second
(1000 milliseconds and possibly more) is required for the object to make the trip from its initial locat
new location. Once it reaches the new location, the
program is ready for the user to change input values and
click the Replot button again.

As with the program named VectorAdd05, this program uses

the addVectorToPoint method of the GM2D04.Point class to
translate a geometric object from one location in space to
a different location in space. In this program, however,
the translation is performed in 100 incremental steps
to produce an animation. The animated geometric object is
drawn in red to make it visually distinct from the
original object. The original object is not erased from
the display.

The program initially constructs and draws a black hexagon

in the upper-left corner of the canvas. The six points
that define the vertices of the hexagon lie on a circle
with a radius of 50 units. The points at the vertices and
the lines that connect the points are drawn initially.

A GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the

following items and click a Replot button to cause the
animation to begin:

Number points
X-component of the displacement vector.
Y-component of the displacement vector.
A checkbox to specify whether points are to be drawn.
A checkbox to specify whether lines are to be drawn.

Changing the number of points causes the number of

vertices that describe the geometric object to change.
For a large number of points, the geometric object becomes
a circle. For only three points, it becomes a triangle.
For four points, it becomes a rectangle. For two points,
it becomes a line, Available
etc. Onforthe
free computer
at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
that I am now
using, the animation becomes jerky at about 700 points
when both the points and the lines are drawn.
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230 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 21: Source code for the program named StringArt01.

/*StringArt01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/20/08

This program produces a 2D string art image by connecting

various points that are equally spaced on the
circumference of a circle.

At startup, the program constructs and draws a multi-

colored hexagon centered on the origin. The six points
that define the vertices of the hexagon lie on a circle
with a radius of 100 units. The points at the vertices are
not drawn, but the lines that connect the vertices are
drawn.

A GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the

following items and click a Replot button to cause the
drawing to change:

Number Points
Number Loops

Changing the number of points causes the number of

vertices that describe the geometric object to change.

Changing the number of loops causes the number of lines

that are drawn to connect the vertices to change. For a
value of 1, each vertex is connected to the one next to
it. For a value of 2, additional lines are drawn
connecting every other vertex. For a value of 3,
additional lines are drawn connecting every third vertex,
etc.

Making the number of points large and making the number

of loops large produces many interesting patterns.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

class StringArt01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class StringArt01
//======================================================//

Available implements
class GUI extends JFrame for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
ActionListener{
//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 300;
 231

1.16.11 Exercises

1.16.11.1 Exercise 1
Using Java and the game-math library named GM2D04 , , or using a dierent programming environment
of your choice, write a program that begins with an image showing:

• Cartesian coordinate axes with the origin at the center of the image,
• a small black pentagon centered on the origin, and
• a button labeled Replot

No user input controls other than the button should be visible in your image.
Make each side of the pentagon approximately one-half inch in length as shown in Image 10 (p. 232) .
Each time you click the Replot button, a red pentagon appears on top of the black pentagon and then
moves smoothly to a random location somewhere in the image as shown in Image 11 (p. 233) .
If you click the button more than once, the old red pentagon is erased and a new red pentagon appears
and moves as described above.
Move the red pentagon in a straight line in approximately 100 incremental steps over a time period of
approximately one second.
Cause the program to display your name in some manner.

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232 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 10: Screen output from Exercise 1 at startup.

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 233

Image 11: Screen output from Exercise 1 after clicking Replot button.

1.161

-end-

1.17 GAME 2302-0135: Venturing into a 3D World83

1.17.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 234)

83 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45016/1.3/>.

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234 CHAPTER 1. MATH

· Viewing tip (p. 236)

* Images (p. 236)
* Listings (p. 236)
• Preview of coming attractions (p. 237)
• Preview of this module (p. 237)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 237)
· The game-math library named GM01 (p. 238)
· The program named GM01test02 (p. 242)
· The program named GM01test01 (p. 245)
* The method named GM01.Point3D.draw (p. 245)
* The method named GM01.Vector3D.draw (p. 247)
* The method named GM01.Line3D.draw (p. 248)
· The program named GM01test05 (p. 254)
· The program named GM01test06 (p. 256)
· The program named StringArt02 (p. 258)
· The program named StringArt03 (p. 271)
• Documentation for the GM01 library (p. 287)
• Homework assignment (p. 287)
• Run the programs (p. 287)
• Summary (p. 287)
• What's next? (p. 288)
• Miscellaneous (p. 288)
• Complete program listings (p. 288)
• Exercises (p. 302)
· Exercise 1 (p. 302)
· Exercise 2 (p. 303)
· Exercise 3 (p. 304)
· Exercise 4 (p. 305)
· Exercise 5 (p. 306)
· Exercise 6 (p. 308)

1.17.2 Preface

This module is one in a collection of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications
for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
What you have learned
In a previous module, I presented and explained four programs that used the game-math library named
GM2D04 . One of those programs taught you how to use the addVectorToPoint method of the
GM2D04.Point class to translate a geometric object from one location in space to a dierent location in
space.
Another program taught you how to do the same thing but in a possibly more ecient manner.
The third program taught you how to do rudimentary animation using the game-math library.
The fourth program taught you how to use methods of the game-math library to produce relatively
complex drawings.
All of the programs were interactive in that they provide a GUI that allows the user to modify certain
aspects of the behavior of the program.
What you will learn
The most important thing that you will learn in this module is how to update the game-math library to
support 3D math and how to produce 3D images similar to that shown in Image 1 (p. 235) .

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Image 1: A 3D image produced using the game-math library.

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And a whole lot more...

You will learn much more than that however. Some highlights of the things you will learn are:

• How to program the equations for projecting a 3D world onto a 2D plane for display on a computer
screen.
• How to cause the direction of the positive y-axis to be up the screen instead of down the screen.
• How to add vectors in 3D and how to conrm that the head-to-tail and parallelogram rules apply to
3D as well as to 2D.
• About scaling, translation, and rotation of a point in both 2D and 3D.

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236 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• About the rotation equations and how to implement them in both 2D and 3D.
• How to rotate a point around an anchor point other than the origin.
• About the right-hand rule.

1.17.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

1.17.2.1.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 235) . A 3D image produced using the game-math library.
• Image 2 (p. 243) . Graphics output from the program named GM01test02.
• Image 3 (p. 244) . Command-line output from the program named GM01test02.
• Image 4 (p. 254) . Graphic output from the program named GM01test05.
• Image 5 (p. 257) . Graphic output from the program named GM01test06.
• Image 6 (p. 259) . Rotation equations for a point in 2D space.
• Image 7 (p. 262) . Initial graphic output from the program named StringArt02.
• Image 8 (p. 264) . Graphic output from the program named StringArt02 with Loops set to 3.
• Image 9 (p. 266) . Rotation by 30 degrees around the origin.
• Image 10 (p. 267) . Rotation around an anchor point that is not at the origin.
• Image 11 (p. 269) . Rotation around a point further out in space.
• Image 12 (p. 271) . The six 3D rotation equations.
• Image 13 (p. 276) . Graphic output from the program named StringArt03 at startup.
• Image 14 (p. 278) . Geometric object with 12 vertices, 4 loops, and no rotations.
• Image 15 (p. 279) . Rotation around the z-axis only.
• Image 16 (p. 281) . Rotation around the x-axis only.
• Image 17 (p. 282) . Rotation around the y-axis only.
• Image 18 (p. 284) . Rotation around all three axes with the anchor point at the origin.
• Image 19 (p. 285) . Perform all three rotations with the anchor point away from the origin.
• Image 20 (p. 303) . Screen output from Exercise 1.
• Image 21 (p. 304) . Screen output from Exercise 2.
• Image 22 (p. 305) . Screen output from Exercise 3.
• Image 23 (p. 306) . Screen output from Exercise 4.
• Image 24 (p. 307) . Screen output from Exercise 5.
• Image 25 (p. 308) . Screen output from Exercise 6.

1.17.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 239) . The static method named convert3Dto2D.
• Listing 2 (p. 241) . Transform equations for an oblique parallel projection from 3D to 2D.
• Listing 3 (p. 245) . Code in the constructor for the GUI class in the program named GM01test02.
• Listing 4 (p. 246) . The method named GM01.Point3D.draw.
• Listing 5 (p. 247) . The method named GM01.Vector3D.draw.
• Listing 6 (p. 248) . The GM01.Line3D.draw method.
• Listing 7 (p. 249) . Beginning of the drawOScreen method in GM01test01.
• Listing 8 (p. 250) . Project eight points onto the 2D plane and draw them.
• Listing 9 (p. 251) . Draw twelve lines that connect the corners of the box.
• Listing 10 (p. 252) . Instantiate and draw a GM01.Vector3D object onto the 2D o-screen image.
• Listing 11 (p. 253) . The setCoordinateFrame method.
• Listing 12 (p. 255) . The drawOScreen method of the program named GM01test05.

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• Listing 13 (p. 256) . The game-math library method named GM01.Point3D.scale.

• Listing 14 (p. 258) . Beginning of the game-math library method named GM01.Point2D.rotate.
• Listing 15 (p. 260) . Translate the anchor point to the origin.
• Listing 16 (p. 260) . Rotate the translated newPoint object around the origin.
• Listing 17 (p. 261) . Translate the rotated newPoint object back to the anchor point.
• Listing 18 (p. 270) . Abbreviated listing of the drawOScreen method.
• Listing 19 (p. 272) . Beginning of the method named GM01.Point3D.rotate.
• Listing 20 (p. 273) . Get the rotation angle values.
• Listing 21 (p. 273) . Rotate the Point3D object around the z-axis.
• Listing 22 (p. 274) . Rotate the Point3D object around the x-axis.
• Listing 23 (p. 274) . Rotate the Point3D object around the y-axis.
• Listing 24 (p. 275) . Translate the object back to the anchor point.
• Listing 25 (p. 286) . Interesting code from the drawOScreen method.
• Listing 26 (p. 289) . Source code for the updated game-math library named GM01.
• Listing 27 (p. 291) . Source code for the program named GM01test02.
• Listing 28 (p. 293) . Source code for the program named GM01test01.
• Listing 29 (p. 295) . Source code for the program named GM01test05. .
• Listing 30 (p. 297) . Source code for the program named GM01test06. .
• Listing 31 (p. 299) . Source code for the program named StringArt02. .
• Listing 32 (p. 301) . Source code for the program named StringArt03. .

1.17.3 Preview of coming attractions

In case you are wondering where we are heading as we go down this path, I recommend that you skip ahead
to the modules titled Our First 3D Game Program and A First-Person Shooter Game . Copy, compile
and run the 3D game programs named GM01Test08 and Cannonball01 along with the required
game-math libraries.
While the graphics and the story lines for those two game programs are rudimentary, the mathematics
involved are signicant. (After all, this is a course in game math and not a course in game design or
high-quality graphics.)

1.17.4 Preview of this module

I will present and explain a signicantly updated game-math library in this module.
I will also present and explain six dierent sample programs that show how to use the new features in
the updated library.
By studying the library and the sample programs, you will learn

• how to update the game-math library to support 3D math,

• how to program the equations for projecting a 3D world onto a 2D plane,
• how to add vectors in 3D,
• about scaling, translation, and rotation of a point in both 2D and 3D,
• about the rotation equations and
• how to implement them in both 2D and 3D, and much more.

I will also provide exercises for you to complete on your own at the end of the module. The exercises will
concentrate on the material that you have learned in this and previous modules.

1.17.5 Discussion and sample code

In this section, I will present and explain a signicantly updated version of the game-math library named
GM01 (p. 238) .

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238 CHAPTER 1. MATH

In addition, I will present and explain the following programs that use the update game-math library.

• GM01test02 (p. 242)

• GM01test01 (p. 245)
• GM01test05 (p. 254)
• GM01test06 (p. 256)
• StringArt02 (p. 258)
• StringArt03 (p. 271)

1.17.5.1 The game-math library named GM01

A complete listing of the updated game-math library named GM01 is provided in Listing 26 (p. 289) near
the end of the module.
A major update to add 3D capability
This is a major update to the game-math library. This version updates the earlier version named
GM2D04 to a new version named simply GM01 . The primary purpose of the update was to add 3D
capability for all of the 2D features provided by the previous version. Because both 2D and 3D capabilities
are now included in the library, it is no longer necessary to dierentiate between the two in the name of the
class. Therefore, this version is simply named GM01 .
3D to 2D projections
Adding 3D capability was tedious, but not particularly dicult in most areas of the library. However,
adding 3D capability entailed major complexity in one particular area: drawing the objects. It is dicult to
draw a 3D object on a 2D screen and have the drawing appear to be 3D. This requires a projection process
to project each point in the 3D object onto the correct location on a 2D screen. There are a variety of ways
to do this. This 3D library uses an approach often referred to as an oblique parallel projection 84 . You
can Google that name to learn more about the technical details of the process.
Eliminating the y-axis confusion
In addition to adding 3D capability, this version of the game library also eliminates the confusion sur-
rounding the fact that the default direction of the positive y-axis is down the screen instead of up the screen
as viewers have become accustomed to. If you funnel all of your drawing tasks through the library and don't
draw directly on the screen, you can program under the assumption that the positive direction of the y-axis
is up.
The name of the library
The name GM01 is an abbreviation for GameMath01 . See the le named GM2D01 from an
earlier module for a general description of the game-math library. The library has been updated several
times. This version updates the le named GM2D04 .
Improving eciency
In addition to the updates mentioned above, this update cleaned up some lingering areas of code ine-
ciency by using the simplest available method to draw on an o-screen image.
New static methods
Also, the following new static methods were added to the class named GM01 . The rst method in
the following list deals with the problem of displaying a 3D image on a 2D screen. The last ve methods in
the list wrap around the standard graphics methods for the purpose of eliminating the issue of the direction
of the positive Y-axis.

• GM01.convert3Dto2D
• GM01.translate
• GM01.drawLine
• GM01.llOval
• GM01.drawOval
84 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_projection

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 239

• GM01.llRect
It will probably be necessary for me to add more wrapper methods to the library in future modules. With
the exception of the rst method in the above list, the coding of these methods was straightforward and
explanations of that code are not warranted. Note, however, that it is the wrapper methods that resolve the
issue regarding the direction of the positive y-axis. You will see comments in this regard if you examine the
source code for the wrapper methods in Listing 27 (p. 291) . I will explain the code for the method named
GM01.convert3Dto2D shortly.
Other new methods
In addition to the new static methods listed above, a number of new methods were added to the existing
static top-level 2D classes and also included in the new static top-level 3D classes. A list of those new
methods follows:
• GM01.Vector2D.scale
• GM01.Vector2D.negate
• GM01.Point2D.clone
• GM01.Vector2D.normalize
• GM01.Point2D.rotate
• GM01.Point2D.scale
• GM01.Vector3D.scale
• GM01.Vector3D.negate
• GM01.Point3D.clone
• GM01.Vector3D.normalize
• GM01.Point3D.rotate
• GM01.Point3D.scale
With the exception of the two rotate methods, the coding of the methods in the above list was also
straightforward and an explanation of that code is not warranted. You can view all of the new code in
Listing 26 (p. 289) .
The two rotate methods are not straightforward at all. They are quite complicated (particularly
the 3D method) and require quite a lot of background information to understand. I will dedicate a large
portion of a future module to the task of rotating geometric objects in 2D and 3D worlds and will defer an
explanation of the two rotate methods until that module.
The static method named GM01convert3Dto2D
Note rst that this is a static method of the class named GM01 . Among other things, this means
that the method can be called simply by joining the name of the method to the name of the class. In other
words, an object of the class named GM01 is not necessary to make the method accessible.
A complete listing of the method is provided in Listing 1 (p. 239) .

Listing 1: The static method named convert3Dto2D.

public static GM01.ColMatrix2D convert3Dto2D(

GM01.ColMatrix3D data){
return new GM01.ColMatrix2D(
data.getData(0) - 0.866*data.getData(2),
data.getData(1) - 0.50*data.getData(2));
}//end convert3Dto2D

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240 CHAPTER 1. MATH

As you can see, the method is quite short, and once you know how it is required to behave (p. 240) ,
coding the method is not dicult. The complexity comes in understanding the required behavior.

note: Keeping 2D and 3D classes separate: All of the static top-level 2D classes in the
existing game-math library were renamed with a sux of 2D to distinguish them from the new
top-level 3D classes. All of the new top-level 3D class names have a 3D sux.

The ColMatrix2D and ColMatrix3D classes

From the very beginning, the game-math library has contained a static top-level class named ColMatrix
. In the updated version of the library, that class has been renamed ColMatrix2D .
Basically, the ColMatrix2D class provides a container for a pair of values of type double with
appropriate methods for accessing those values. (I explained the original ColMatrix class in detail in
an earlier module.) Similarly, the new ColMatrix3D class provides a container for three values of type
double with appropriate methods for accessing those values.
Objects of the ColMatrix2D class are the fundamental building blocks for several of the other 2D
classes in the library, and objects of the ColMatrix3D class are the fundamental building blocks for
several of the other 3D classes in the library.
Behavior of the GM01.convert3Dto2D method
The convert3Dto2D method converts a ColMatrix3D object that represents a point in 3D space
into a ColMatrix2D object that represents the projection of that 3D point onto a 2D plane .
The purpose of the method is to accept x, y, and z coordinate values describing a point in 3D
space and to transform those values into a pair of coordinate values suitable for being displayed
in two dimensions. The math that is implemented by this method to do the projection is de-
scribed on a web page that seems to move around a bit but the last time I checked, it was lo-
cated at http://paulbourke.net/geometry/transformationprojection/ 85 If you don't nd it there, try
http://paulbourke.net/geometry/ 86 In any event, a Google search should expose numerous pages that
explain the math for projections of this type.
The transform equations
I won't attempt to justify or to explain the transform equations that are used to accomplish the projection
in this module. Rather, I will simply use them as presented in the above resource. In the meantime, if you
are interested in more information on the topic, you will nd a wealth of information on 3D to 2D projections
by performing a Google search for the topic.
The transform equations along with some of the assumptions that I made in the use of the equations are
shown in Listing 2 (p. 241) .
85 http://paulbourke.net/geometry/transformationprojection/
86 http://paulbourke.net/geometry/

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 241

Listing 2: Transform equations for an oblique parallel projection from 3D to 2D.

The transform equations are:

x2d = x3d + z3d * cos(theta)/tan(alpha)
y2d = y3d + z3d * sin(theta)/tan(alpha);

Let alpha = 45 degrees and theta = 30 degrees

Then: cos(theta) = 0.866
sin(theta) = 0.5
tan(alpha) = 1;

Note that the signs in the above equations depend

on the assumed directions of the angles as well as
the assumed positive directions of the axes. The
signs used in this method assume the following:
Positive x is to the right.
Positive y is up the screen.
Positive z is protruding out the front of the
screen.
The viewing position is above the x axis and to the
right of the z-y plane.

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The terms in the equations

In Listing 2 (p. 241) , the terms x2d and y2d refer to drawing coordinates on the 2D screen, while
x3d , y3d , and z3d refer to the coordinates of a point in 3D space. Obviously, sin , cos , and tan
refer to the sine, cosine, and tangent of angles named alpha and theta .
Output in two dimensions
These equations and the assumptions that I made in using them produce displays such as the one shown
in Image 1 (p. 235) . In that image, the red horizontal line is the x-axis with the positive direction to the
right. The green vertical line is the y-axis with the positive direction pointing up. The blue sloping line is
the z-axis with the positive direction protruding from the screen towards and to the left of the viewer. The
three axes intersect at the origin in 3D space.
(The sloping magenta line going from the corner of the box to the origin is a 3D vector. I will have more
to say about the projections of 3D vectors later.)
No perspective in this projection
The sloping black lines in Image 1 (p. 235) represent the edges of a rectangular box projected onto the 2D
screen. Note in particular that there is no perspective in this type of projection. In other words, lines that
are parallel in the 3D space remain parallel in the projection of those lines onto the 2D screen. (Hence the
word parallel in the name oblique parallel projection.) Objects don't appear to be smaller simply because
they are further away from the viewer.
(The application of perspective would add another layer of complexity to the game math library. I will
leave that as an exercise for the student to accomplish.)
Options involving the angles
I could have produced a somewhat dierent display by assuming dierent values for the angles named
alpha and theta . However, the values chosen are commonly used values that produce reasonably good

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242 CHAPTER 1. MATH

results, so I decided to use them. You may nd it interesting to experiment with other values for one or
both angles to see the results produced by those other values.
The proper algebraic signs
Note in particular that the proper signs for the equations in Listing 2 (p. 241) depend on the assumed
positive directions of the angles as well as the assumed positive directions of the axes. The signs used in
the method make the assumptions shown in Listing 2 (p. 241) . (These assumptions will be particularly
important in future modules where we will be rotating objects in 3D space.)
The viewing position
Also as indicated in Listing 2 (p. 241) and shown in Image 1 (p. 235) , the viewing position is above the
x-axis and to the right of the z-y plane.
Typically, a game math library would provide the capability to modify the viewing position. That
capability is not supported directly by this library. However, that capability can be approximated by the
rotation capability discussed later. (Another exercise for the student to accomplish.)
The code in the method is straightforward
As I mentioned earlier, once you understand the requirements, the code for the method named con-
vert3Dto2D (see Listing 1 (p. 239) ) is relatively straightforward. If you have studied the code in the
previous modules in this series, the code in Listing 1 (p. 239) shouldn't require further explanation.

1.17.5.2 The program named GM01test02

Because I made some changes to the existing 2D classes in the game-math library and added some new
methods to some of the existing 2D classes, I felt the need to write a program that would step through and
test the behavior of most of the 2D methods in the library. That was the purpose of the program named
GM01test02 .
This program produces both a graphic screen output and lots of text on the command-line screen. The
graphic output is shown in Image 2 (p. 243) .

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Image 2: Graphics output from the program named GM01test02.

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Command-line output from the program named GM01test02

The command-line output is shown in Image 3 (p. 244) .

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244 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 3: Command-line output from the program named GM01test02.

Test overridden toString of ColMatrix2D

1.5,2.5

Test setData and getData of ColMatrix2D

4.5
5.5

Test equals method of ColMatrix2D

false
true

Test add method of ColMatrix2D

9.0,11.0

Test subtract method of ColMatrix2D

0.0,0.0

Test toString method of Point2D

4.5,5.5

Test setData and getData of Point2D

1.1
2.2

Test getColMatrix method of Point2D

1.1,2.2

Test equals method of Point2D

false
true

Test getDisplacementVector method of Point2D

1.5,2.5
4.5,5.5
3.0,3.0

Test addVectorToPoint method of Point2D

1.5,2.5
7.0,9.0

Test toString method of Vector2D

1.5,2.5

Test setData and getData methods of Vector2D

4.5
5.5

Test getColMatrix Available

method for
offree
Vector2D
at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
4.5,5.5

Test equals method of Vector2D

false
 245

Not too exciting

Neither the graphics output in Image 2 (p. 243) nor the command-line output in Image 3 (p. 244) are
terribly exciting, and neither will mean much to you unless you are willing to examine the code and compare
the output with the code.
Source code for the program named GM01test02
A complete listing of the program named GM01test02 is shown in Listing 27 (p. 291) near the end
of the module.
Listing 3 (p. 245) shows two of the statements in the constructor for the GUI class in the program
named GM01test02 . The call to the method named testUsingText produces the command-line
output shown in Image 3 (p. 244) , while the call to the method named drawOScreen produces the
graphic output shown in Image 2 (p. 243) .

Listing 3: Code in the constructor for the GUI class in the program named GM01test02.

//Perform tests using text.

testUsingText();

//Perform tests using graphics.

drawOffScreen(g2D);

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If you examine the source code for those two methods in Listing 27 (p. 291) , you will see that each of the
methods contains calls to library methods for the purpose of conrming that the library methods behave as
expected. The code in most of those methods is straightforward and should not require further explanation
beyond the embedded comments in Listing 27 (p. 291) .
End of the discussion for the program named GM01test02
That concludes the discussion of the program named GM01test02 . You will nd a complete listing
of this program in Listing 27 (p. 291) .

1.17.5.3 The program named GM01test01

Code in the program named GM01test01 makes calls to library methods, which in turn make calls to the
method named convert3Dto2D shown in Listing 1 (p. 239) . Because of the complexity of projecting 3D
points onto a 2D screen for display, it will be useful to discuss the three library methods that make calls to
the library method named convert3Dto2D . Those three methods are shown in the following list :

• GM01.Point3D.draw
• GM01.Vector3D.draw
• GM01.Line3D.draw

1.17.5.3.1 The method named GM01.Point3D.draw

Recall that a point simply represents a location in space and has no width, height, or depth. Therefore
a point is not visible to the human eye. However, it is sometimes useful to draw a small circle around a
point to mark its location for human consumption. That is the purpose of the draw method of the
GM01.Point3D class, which is shown in its entirety in Listing 4 (p. 246) .

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246 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 4: The method named GM01.Point3D.draw.

public void draw(Graphics2D g2D){

//Get 2D projection coordinate values.

ColMatrix2D temp = convert3Dto2D(point);
drawOval(g2D,temp.getData(0)-3,
temp.getData(1)+3,
6,
6);
}//end draw

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Purpose of the method

This method draws a small circle around the location of a point in 3D space. The 3D location of the
circle is projected onto the 2D plane of the specied graphics context for display later on a 2D screen. The
code in Listing 4 (p. 246) projects that location in 3D space onto the 2D plane by calling the static method
named convert3Dto2D .
Behavior of the GM01.Point3D.draw method
The location of a point in 3D space, as represented by an object of the GM01.Point3D class, is
actually stored in an object of the GM01.ColMatrix3D class. A reference to that ColMatrix3D
object is stored in the instance variable named point belonging to the Point3D object. This reference
is passed as a parameter to the convert3Dto2D method in Listing 4 (p. 246) .
Recall from Listing 1 (p. 239) that the convert3Dto2D method receives an incoming reference
to an object of the class GM01.ColMatrix3D and returns a reference to an object of the class
GM01.ColMatrix2D , which contains the horizontal and vertical components of the projection of the 3D
point onto a 2D plane.
Using the returned GM01.ColMatrix2D object
Listing 4 (p. 246) uses the horizontal and vertical components stored in the returned ColMatrix2D
object to construct the proper parameters and call the wrapper method named GM01.drawOval . This
wrapper method doesn't know that it is receiving parameters that were originally derived from an object
in 3D space. The world of the wrapper method is conned to 2D space. The wrapper method named
GM01.drawOval performs the following actions:
• casts the four incoming numeric parameters to type int ,
• ips the sign on the vertical component to resolve the issue regarding the positive value for the y-axis,
and
• passes the parameters to the drawOval method of the standard Graphics class to cause a small
circle to be drawn at the correct location on the 2D o-screen image.

The small circle is not converted to an ellipse

Note that even though the location of the point in 3D space is projected onto the 2D plane, the shape
of the small circle is not converted to an ellipse to reect the 3D to 2D conversion nature of the operation.
Thus, if the circle were large, it wouldn't necessarily look right. However, in this case, the only purpose of
the circle is to mark the location of a point in 3D space. Therefore, I didn't consider the actual shape of the
marker to be too important. Image 1 (p. 235) shows examples of circles marking points in 3D space at the
corners of the box and at the ends of the axes.

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 247

1.17.5.3.2 The method named GM01.Vector3D.draw

The behavior described above for the method named GM01.Point3D.draw is somewhat indicative of
the manner in which 3D geometric objects are projected onto a 2D plane and the manner in which the issue
regarding the positive direction of the y-axis is resolved by the code in the updated game-math library.
The behavior of the three draw methods
Each of the three draw methods listed earlier (p. 245) needs the ability to project a Point3D object,
a Vector3D object, or a Line3D object onto a 2D pane. In each case, the object to be drawn is built
up using one or more ColMatrix3D objects as fundamental building blocks.
For the case of the GM01.Point3D.draw method discussed above, the draw method calls the
convert3Dto2D method directly to convert the 3D coordinate values of the point to the 2D coordinate
values required for the display.
A similar approach for the GM01.Vector3D.draw method
A similar approach is used for the GM01.Vector3D.draw method, which is shown in Listing 5 (p.
247) .

Listing 5: The method named GM01.Vector3D.draw.

public void draw(Graphics2D g2D,GM01.Point3D tail){

//Get a 2D projection of the tail

GM01.ColMatrix2D tail2D = convert3Dto2D(tail.point);

//Get the 3D location of the head

GM01.ColMatrix3D head =
tail.point.add(this.getColMatrix());

//Get a 2D projection of the head

GM01.ColMatrix2D head2D = convert3Dto2D(head);
drawLine(g2D,tail2D.getData(0),
tail2D.getData(1),
head2D.getData(0),
head2D.getData(1));

//Draw a small filled circle to identify the head.

fillOval(g2D,head2D.getData(0)-3,
head2D.getData(1)+3,
6,
6);

}//end draw

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This method draws the 2D visual manifestation of a GM01.Vector3D object on the specied 2D
graphics context. Recall that a vector has no location property. Therefore, it can be correctly drawn
anywhere. The GM01.Vector3D.draw method requires the drawing location of the tail to be specied
by a reference to a GM01.Point3D object received as an incoming parameter.

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248 CHAPTER 1. MATH

A small lled circle is drawn at the head of the vector as shown by the magenta lled circle at the
origin in Image 1 (p. 235) . (Note that the other circles in Image 1 (p. 235) are not lled.)
Two calls to the convert3Dto2D method
Two calls are made to the convert3Dto2D method in Listing 5 (p. 247) . The rst call gets a 2D
projection of the 3D location of the tail of the vector. The second call gets a 2D projection of the 3D location
of the head of the vector. In both cases, the projected location in 2D space is returned as a reference to an
object of the GM01.ColMatrix2D class.
Draw the vector on the specied drawing context
The reference returned by the rst call to the convert3Dto2D method is used to call the static
GM01.drawLine wrapper method to
• handle the issue of the positive direction of the y-axis, and
• draw a line on the 2D o-screen image representing the body of the vector as shown by the magenta
line in Image 1 (p. 235) .

The reference returned by the second call to the convert3Dto2D method is used to call the static
GM01.llOval wrapper method to
• handle the issue of the positive direction of the y-axis, and
• draw a small lled circle on the 2D o-screen image representing the head of the vector as shown by
the magenta lled circle at the origin in Image 1 (p. 235) .

1.17.5.3.3 The method named GM01.Line3D.draw

The GM01.Line3D.draw method is shown in Listing 6 (p. 248) .

Listing 6: The GM01.Line3D.draw method.

public void draw(Graphics2D g2D){

//Get 2D projection coordinates.

GM01.ColMatrix2D tail =
convert3Dto2D(getTail().point);
GM01.ColMatrix2D head =
convert3Dto2D(getHead().point);

drawLine(g2D,tail.getData(0),
tail.getData(1),
head.getData(0),
head.getData(1));
}//end draw

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The code in Listing 6 (p. 248) is so similar to the code in Listing 5 (p. 247) that no further explanation
should be required.
Now back to the program named GM01test01

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 249

A complete listing of the program named GM01test01 is provided in Listing 28 (p. 293) near the end
of the module.
Because all of the 3D classes in the game-math library are new to this update, I felt the need to write a
program that would step through and test the behavior of most of the 3D methods in the library. That was
the purpose of the program named GM01test01 .
Like the program named GM01test02 discussed earlier, this program produces both a graphic screen
output and lots of text on the command-line screen. The graphic output is shown in Image 1 (p. 235) . I
won't waste space printing the command-line output in this tutorial. If you want to see it, you can copy,
compile, and run the program from Listing 28 (p. 293) and produce that output yourself.
The graphic output
The graphic output shown in Image 1 (p. 235) is produced by the method named drawOScreen ,
which begins in Listing 7 (p. 249) . I will briey walk you through this method because everything in it is
new. However, much of the code is very similar to 2D code that I have explained before.

Listing 7: Beginning of the drawOScreen method in GM01test01.

void drawOffScreen(Graphics2D g2D){

//Translate the origin on the off-screen

// image and draw a pair of orthogonal axes on it.
setCoordinateFrame(g2D);

//Define eight points that define the corners of

// a box in 3D that is centered on the origin.

GM01.Point3D[] points = new GM01.Point3D[8];

//Right side
points[0] =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(75,75,75));
points[1] =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(75,75,-75));
points[2] =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(75,-75,-75));
points[3] =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(75,-75,75));
//Left side
points[4] =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(-75,75,75));
points[5] =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(-75,75,-75));
points[6] =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(-75,-75,-75));
points[7] =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(-75,-75,75));

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250 CHAPTER 1. MATH

After translating the origin to the center of the o-screen image, Listing 7 (p. 249) instantiates eight
GM01Point3D objects that dene the corners of the 3D box shown in Image 1 (p. 235) . References to
the eight objects are stored in the elements of an array object referred to by the variable named points .
Although this code uses three coordinate values instead of two coordinate values to instantiate the objects,
the syntax should be very familiar to you by now.
Project eight points onto the 2D plane and draw them
Listing 8 (p. 250) calls the GM01.Point3D.draw method eight times in succession to cause the
locations of the eight points in 3D space to be projected onto the 2D o-screen image and to draw the points
as small circles on that image. This is the rst draw method from the earlier list (p. 245) that I explained
above.

Listing 8: Project eight points onto the 2D plane and draw them.

//Draw seven of the points in BLACK

g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
for(int cnt = 1;cnt < points.length;cnt++){
points[cnt].draw(g2D);
}//end for loop

//Draw the right top front point in RED to identify

// it.
g2D.setColor(Color.RED);
points[0].draw(g2D);
g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);

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Seven of the points are drawn in BLACK and one is drawn in RED. The eight small circles appear at
the corners of the box in Image 1 (p. 235) .
As indicated in the comments, the RED point is drawn at the right top front corner of the box to help
you get the orientation of the box correct in your mind's eye.
Draw twelve lines that connect the corners of the box
Listing 9 (p. 251) calls the GM01.Line3D.draw method twelve times in succession to project the
lines that connect the corners of the 3D box onto the 2D o-screen image and to draw those lines on that
image. This is the second draw method from the earlier list (p. 245) that I explained above.

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 251

Listing 9: Draw twelve lines that connect the corners of the box.

//Draw lines that connect the points to define the

// twelve edges of the box.
//Right side
new GM01.Line3D(points[0],points[1]).draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(points[1],points[2]).draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(points[2],points[3]).draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(points[3],points[0]).draw(g2D);

//Left side
new GM01.Line3D(points[4],points[5]).draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(points[5],points[6]).draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(points[6],points[7]).draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(points[7],points[4]).draw(g2D);

//Front
new GM01.Line3D(points[0],points[4]).draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(points[3],points[7]).draw(g2D);

//Back
new GM01.Line3D(points[1],points[5]).draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(points[2],points[6]).draw(g2D);

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Instantiate and draw a GM01.Vector3D object onto the 2D o-screen image

Listing 10 (p. 252) instantiates an object of the GM01.Vector3D class and calls the draw method
of that class to draw the magenta vector shown in Image 1 (p. 235) .

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252 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 10: Instantiate and draw a GM01.Vector3D object onto the 2D o-screen image.

//Instantiate a vector.
GM01.Vector3D vecA = new GM01.Vector3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(75,-75,-75));

//Draw the vector with its tail at the upper-left

// corner of the box. The length and direction of the
// vector will cause its head to be at the origin.
g2D.setColor(Color.MAGENTA);
vecA.draw(g2D,points[4]);

}//end drawOffScreen

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This is the third and nal draw method from the earlier list (p. 245) that I explained above. The vector
was drawn with its tail at the upper left corner of the box. The length and direction of the vector were such
as to cause the head of the vector to be at the origin in 3D space.
Draw the 3D axes
The red, green, and blue 3D axes shown in Image 1 (p. 235) were produced by the call to the setCo-
ordinateFrame method early in Listing 7 (p. 249) . The setCoordinateFrame method is shown in
Listing 11 (p. 253) .

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 253

Listing 11: The setCoordinateFrame method.

private void setCoordinateFrame(Graphics2D g2D){

//Translate the origin to the center.

GM01.translate(g2D,0.5*osiWidth,-0.5*osiHeight);

//Draw x-axis in RED

g2D.setColor(Color.RED);
GM01.Point3D pointA =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(-75,0,0));
GM01.Point3D pointB =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(75,0,0));
pointA.draw(g2D);
pointB.draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(pointA,pointB).draw(g2D);

//Draw y-axis in GREEN

g2D.setColor(Color.GREEN);
pointA =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(0,-75,0));
pointB =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(0,75,0));
pointA.draw(g2D);
pointB.draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(pointA,pointB).draw(g2D);

//Draw z-axis in BLUE

g2D.setColor(Color.BLUE);
pointA =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(0,0,-75));
pointB =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(0,0,75));
pointA.draw(g2D);
pointB.draw(g2D);
new GM01.Line3D(pointA,pointB).draw(g2D);

}//end setCoordinateFrame method

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This method is used to set the origin of the o-screen image. It also projects orthogonal 3D axes onto
the 2D o-screen image and draws the projected axes on that image. The axes intersect at the origin in 3D
space.
The lengths of the axes are set so as to match the interior dimensions of the box shown in Image 1 (p.
235) and points are drawn where the axes intersect the surfaces of the box. That was done to enhance the
optical illusion of a 3D object on a 2D plane.

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254 CHAPTER 1. MATH

There is nothing in Listing 11 (p. 253) that you haven's seen before, so further explanation should not
be required.
End of discussion
That concludes the discussion of the program named GM01test01 . You can view the code that was
not discussed here in Listing 28 (p. 293) near the end of the module.

1.17.5.4 The program named GM01test05

In an earlier module, you learned how to add two or more vectors in 2D. This program will show you how to
use the updated game-math library to add vectors in 3D. You also learned about the 2D parallelogram rule
and the 2D head-to-tail rule in the earlier module. This program will illustrate that those rules also apply
to the addition of 3D vectors.
Image 4 (p. 254) shows the graphic output produced by this program.

Image 4: Graphic output from the program named GM01test05.

1.176

This output shows the addition of a magenta vector to a light gray vector to produce a black vector as
the sum of the other two vectors. As you can see, both the parallelogram rule and the head-to-tail rule are
illustrated by the graphic output in Image 4 (p. 254) .
Very familiar code
Most of the code in this program will be very familiar to you by now. The new code is mostly contained
in the method named drawOScreen , which is shown in Listing 12 (p. 255) . A complete listing of this
program is provided in Listing 29 (p. 295) near the end of the module.

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 255

Listing 12: The drawOScreen method of the program named GM01test05.

//The purpose of this method is to illustrate vector

// addition in 3D
void drawOffScreen(Graphics2D g2D){

//Translate the origin on the off-screen image, draw a

// pair of orthogonal axes on it that intersect at the
// origin, and paint the background white.
setCoordinateFrame(g2D);

//Define two vectors that will be added.

GM01.Vector3D vecA = new GM01.Vector3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(75,75,75));

GM01.Vector3D vecB = new GM01.Vector3D(

new GM01.ColMatrix3D(-15,10,-50));

//Create a ref point at the origin for convenience.

GM01.Point3D zeroPoint = new GM01.Point3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(0,0,0));

//Draw vecA in MAGENTA with its tail at the origin.

g2D.setColor(Color.MAGENTA);
vecA.draw(g2D,zeroPoint);

//Draw vecB in LIGHT_GRAY with its tail at the head

// of vecA.
g2D.setColor(Color.LIGHT_GRAY);
GM01.Point3D temp =
new GM01.Point3D(vecA.getColMatrix());
vecB.draw(g2D,temp);

//Draw vecB in LIGHT_GRAY with its tail at the origin.

vecB.draw(g2D,zeroPoint);

//Draw vecA in MAGENTA with its tail at the head

// of vecB. This completes a trapezoid.
g2D.setColor(Color.MAGENTA);
vecA.draw(g2D,new GM01.Point3D(vecB.getColMatrix()));

//Add the two vectors.

GM01.Vector3D sum = vecA.add(vecB);
//Draw sum in BLACK with its tail at the origin.
g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
sum.draw(g2D,zeroPoint);

}//end drawOffScreen

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256 CHAPTER 1. MATH

At this point, you should not nd any code in Listing 12 (p. 255) that you don't understand. I have
explained the code in Listing 12 (p. 255) earlier in this module or in an earlier module, so I won't repeat
that explanation here.
End of discussion .
That concludes the discussion of the program named GM01test05 . You will nd a complete listing
of this program in Listing 29 (p. 295) .

1.17.5.5 The program named GM01test06

Scaling, translation, and rotation of a point
Three of the most common and important operations that you will encounter in game programming will
be to scale, translate, and/or rotate a geometric object.
Since all geometric objects are composed of points that dene the vertices, possibly embellished with
lines, shading, lighting, etc., if you know how to scale, translate, and/or rotate a point, you also know how
to scale, translate, and/or rotate the entire geometric object. You simply apply the required operation to
all of the points that comprise the object and you will have applied the operation to the object as a whole.
However, there are some complex issues associated with hiding the back faces of a rotated object, which
will be addressed in a future module under the general topic of backface culling . Backface culling is a
process by which you prevent 3D objects from appearing to be transparent.

note: Homogeneous Coordinates: In a future module, we will learn about a mathematical

trick commonly known as homogeneous coordinates that can simplify the scaling, translation, and
rotation of a point. However, that will have to wait until we have a better grasp of matrix arithmetic.

In a previous module, you learned how to translate a geometric object. In this program, you will learn how
to scale a geometric object. In the next two programs, you will learn how to rotate geometric objects.
The new scaling methods
The additions to the game-math library included the following two methods:

• GM01.Point2D.scale
• GM01.Point3D.scale

As the names imply, these two methods can be used to scale a point in either 2D or 3D.
The game-math library method named GM01.Point3D.scale
This method is shown in Listing 13 (p. 256) .

Listing 13: The game-math library method named GM01.Point3D.scale.

public GM01.Point3D scale(GM01.ColMatrix3D scale){

return new GM01.Point3D(new ColMatrix3D(
getData(0) * scale.getData(0),
getData(1) * scale.getData(1),
getData(2) * scale.getData(2)));
}//end scale

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This method multiplies each coordinate value of the Point3D object on which the method is called by
the corresponding values in an incoming ColMatrix3D object to produce and return a new Point3D

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 257

object. This makes it possible to scale each coordinate value that denes the location in space by a dierent
scale factor.
If a scale factor for a particular coordinate is less than 1.0 but greater than 0.0, the location of the new
point will be closer to the origin along that axis than was the location of the original point. If a scale factor is
greater than 1.0, the new point will be further from the origin along that axis. If the scale factor is negative,
the location of the new point will be on the other side of the origin along the same axis.
Graphic output from the program named GM01test06
The graphic output from the program named GM01test06 is shown in Image 5 (p. 257) . Compare
this with the graphic output from the program named GM01test01 shown in Image 1 (p. 235) .

Image 5: Graphic output from the program named GM01test06.

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258 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Modications to the original program

The program named GM01test06 , shown in Listing 30 (p. 297) , modies the earlier program named
GM01test01 in three dierent ways to demonstrate the eects of scaling points in 3D.
1. Each GM01Point3D object that denes a corner of the box was scaled by a ColMatrix3D object
containing the values 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75. Thus, the overall size of the box was reduced in comparison
with the box in shown Image 1 (p. 235) .
2. Each of the red, green, and blue points on the axes was scaled by 0.25, 0.5, or 0.75 respectively to
cause the locations of those points to continue to be where the axes intersect the surface of the box.
3. The magenta vector shown in Image 1 (p. 235) was removed from the program because it didn't
contribute to the objective of illustrating the scaling of a geometric object.

These modications are so straightforward that no explanation of the actual code is justied. You can view
the modications in Listing 30 (p. 297) .
End of discussion .
That concludes the discussion of the program named GM01test06 . You will nd a complete listing
of this program in Listing 30 (p. 297) .

1.17.5.6 The program named StringArt02

Things are about to get a lot more interesting. This program and the one following it both deal with the
rotation of geometric objects, which is a relatively complex topic.
In this program, I will teach you how to use the new GM01.Point2D.rotate method to rotate objects
in 2D space. In the next program, I will teach you how to use the new GM01.Point3D.rotate method
to rotate objects in 3D space.
Rotation is 3D space is much more complicated than rotation in 2D space, so I will begin my explanation
of this topic with the simpler of the two programs.
Equations for rotating an object in 2D space
Once again, we have some equations to deal with, and once we understand the equations, the re-
quired code is tedious, but not terribly dicult to write. The new game-math library method named
GM01.Point2D.rotate , which begins in Listing 14 (p. 258) , implements the required equations for
rotating an object in 2D space.

Listing 14: Beginning of the game-math library method named GM01.Point2D.rotate.

public GM01.Point2D rotate(GM01.Point2D anchorPoint,

double angle){
GM01.Point2D newPoint = this.clone();

double tempX ;
double tempY;

1.180

The purpose of the GM01.Point2D.rotate method is to rotate a point around a specied anchor
point in the x-y plane. The location of the anchor point is passed in as a reference to an object of the class
GM01.Point2D . The rotation angle is passed in as a double value in degrees with the positive angle
of rotation being counter-clockwise.

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 259

Does not modify the original Point 2D object

This method does not modify the contents of the original Point2D object on which the method is
called. Rather, it uses the contents of that object to instantiate, rotate, and return a new Point2D object,
leaving the original object intact.
Equations for rotating an object in 2D space
By using the information on the Spatial transformations 87 web page along with other information on
the web, we can conclude that the equations required to rotate a point around the origin in 2D space are
shown in Image 6 (p. 259) .

Image 6: Rotation equations for a point in 2D space.

x2 = x1*cos(alpha) - y1*sin(alpha)
y2 = x1*sin(alpha) + y1*cos(alpha)

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I won't attempt to derive or justify these equations. I will simply use them. If you need more information
on the topic, simply Google 2D transform s and you will probably nd more information than you have
the time to read.
In Image 6 (p. 259) , the coordinates of the original point are given by x1 and y1 , and the coordinates
of the rotated point are given by x2 and y2 . The angle alpha is a counter-clockwise angle around the
origin.
Houston, we have a problem
We still have a problem however. The equations in Image 6 (p. 259) are for rotating a point around the
origin. Our objective is to rotate a point around any arbitrary anchor point in 2D space.
We could probably modify the equations in Image 6 (p. 259) to accomplish this. However, there is
another way, which is easier to implement. It can be shown that the same objective can be achieved by
translating the anchor point to the origin, rotating the object around the origin, and then translating the
rotated object back to the anchor point. Since we already know how to translate a point in 2D space, this
is the approach that we will use.
You must be very careful
I do want to point out, however, that you really have to think about what you are doing when you rotate
geometric objects, particularly when you combine rotation with translation. For example, rotating an object
around the origin and then translating it does not produce the same result as translating the object and
then rotating the translated object around the origin.
Clone the original Point2D object
Listing 14 (p. 258) begins by calling the new GM01.Point2D.clone method to create a clone of the
object on which the rotate method was called. The clone, referred to by newPoint , will be rotated and
returned, thus preserving the original object.
Following that, Listing 14 (p. 258) declares working variables that will be used later.
Incoming parameters
The GM01.Point2D.rotate method in Listing 14 (p. 258) requires two incoming parameters. The
rst parameter is a reference to a GM01.Point2D object that species the anchor point around which the
geometric object is to be rotated. The second parameter is the rotation angle in degrees, counter-clockwise
around the origin.
Translate the anchor point to the origin
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260 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 15 (p. 260) gets a Vector2D object that represents the displacement vector from the origin to
the anchor point.

Listing 15: Translate the anchor point to the origin.

GM01.Vector2D tempVec =
new GM01.Vector2D(anchorPoint.getColMatrix());
newPoint =
newPoint.addVectorToPoint(tempVec.negate());

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The negative of the displacement vector is used to translate the clone ( newPoint ) object, thus
translating the anchor point to the origin.
Rotate the translated newPoint object around the origin
Listing 16 (p. 260) implements the two rotation equations shown in Image 6 (p. 259) to rotate the
translated newPoint object around the origin.

Listing 16: Rotate the translated newPoint object around the origin.

tempX = newPoint.getData(0);
tempY = newPoint.getData(1);
newPoint.setData(//new x coordinate
0,
tempX*Math.cos(angle*Math.PI/180) -
tempY*Math.sin(angle*Math.PI/180));

newPoint.setData(//new y coordinate
1,
tempX*Math.sin(angle*Math.PI/180) +
tempY*Math.cos(angle*Math.PI/180));

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Note that the rotation angle is converted from degrees to radians to make it compatible with the sin and
cos functions from the standard Java Math library.
Translate the rotated newPoint object back to the anchor point
Finally, Listing 17 (p. 261) uses the displacement vector that was created and saved earlier to translate
the rotated newPoint object back to the anchor point.

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Listing 17: Translate the rotated newPoint object back to the anchor point.

//Translate back to anchorPoint

newPoint = newPoint.addVectorToPoint(tempVec);

return newPoint;

}//end rotate

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Then Listing 17 (p. 261) returns a reference to the rotated newPoint object.
Now back to the program named StringArt02
This is a 2D version of a string art program that supports rotation in two dimensions. This program
produces a 2D string art image by connecting various points that are equally spaced on the circumference
of a circle as shown in Image 7 (p. 262) .

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Image 7: Initial graphic output from the program named StringArt02.

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Initial conditions
Initially, the circle is centered on the origin and there are six points on the circle connected by lines
forming a hexagon. The lines that connect the points are dierent colors. The radius of the circle is 50 units.

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The points at the vertices of the hexagon are not drawn, but the lines that connect the vertices are drawn.
The anchor point is drawn in black, resulting in the small black circle at the origin in Image 7 (p. 262) .
A graphical user interface
A GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the following items and click a Replot button to
cause the drawing to change:

• Number Points
• Number Loops
• Rotation angle (deg)
• X anchor point
• Y anchor point

Changing the number of points causes the number of vertices that describe the geometric object to change.
Changing the number of loops causes the number of lines that are drawn to connect the vertices to change.
For a value of 1, each vertex is connected to the one next to it. For a value of 2, additional lines are
drawn connecting every other vertex. For a value of 3, additional lines are drawn connecting every third
vertex as shown in Image 8 (p. 264) .

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Image 8: Graphic output from the program named StringArt02 with Loops set to 3.

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Rotating the geometric object around the origin

The geometric object can be rotated around an anchor point. Entering a non-zero value in the Rotation
eld causes the geometric object to be rotated by the specied angle around the anchor point.

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The anchor point is initially located at the origin, but the location of the anchor point can be changed
by the user. If the anchor point is at the origin, the geometric object is rotated around the origin as shown
in Image 9 (p. 266) . (Compare the colors and the locations of the vertices in Image 8 (p. 264) and Image
9 (p. 266) to discern the result of the rotation in Image 9 (p. 266) .)

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Image 9: Rotation by 30 degrees around the origin.

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Rotating the geometric object around an anchor point away from the origin
Image 10 (p. 267) shows the result of rotating the geometric object by 90 degrees around an anchor point
that is not located at the origin.

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Image 10: Rotation around an anchor point that is not at the origin.

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The rotation angle is specied in degrees with a positive angle being counter-clockwise. For Image 10
(p. 267) , I purposely located the anchor point at the upper-right vertex in Image 8 (p. 264) and rotated
the geometric object by 90 degrees around that anchor point. Compare Image 10 (p. 267) with Image 8 (p.

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264) to see the result of rotating the geometric object around the anchor point.
Rotating around an anchor point further out in space
In Image 11 (p. 269) , I moved the anchor point further out in space, but still on a line that runs through
the origin and the upper-right vertex in Image 8 (p. 264) . Then I rotated the geometric object by 30 degrees
around the anchor point.
(Note that the rotation examples in these images are not cumulative. In other words, each rotation is
relative to an un-rotated object at the origin.)

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Image 11: Rotation around a point further out in space.

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By now, you should have been able to predict in advance what you would see when the program was run
with these parameters.
Let's see some code

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Given what you have already learned, the only interesting new code in this program is in the drawO-
Screen method. An abbreviated listing of that method is shown in Listing 18 (p. 270) . A complete listing
of the StringArt02 program is provided in Listing 31 (p. 299) near the end of the module.

Listing 18: Abbreviated listing of the drawOScreen method.

void drawOffScreen(Graphics2D g2D){

setCoordinateFrame(g2D,false);

//Create a set of Point2D objects that specify

// locations on the circumference of a circle that
// is in the x-y plane with a radius of 50 units. Save
// references to the Point2D objects in an array.
for(int cnt = 0;cnt < numberPoints;cnt++){
points[cnt] = new GM01.Point2D(new GM01.ColMatrix2D(
50*Math.cos((cnt*360/numberPoints)*Math.PI/180),
50*Math.sin((cnt*360/numberPoints)*Math.PI/180)));

//The following object is populated with the 2D

// coordinates of the point around which the
//rotations will take place.
GM01.Point2D anchorPoint = new GM01.Point2D(
new GM01.ColMatrix2D(
xAnchorPoint,yAnchorPoint));
//Draw the anchorPoint in BLACK.
g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
anchorPoint.draw(g2D);

//The following statement causes the rotation to be

//performed.
points[cnt] =
points[cnt].rotate(anchorPoint,rotation);

}//end for loop

//Code deleted for brevity

}//end drawOffScreen

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Within the method named drawOScreen , the only really interesting code is the statement that
calls the rotate method of the game-math library on each Point2D object inside a for loop. Knowing
what you do about the rotate method, you should have no problem understanding the code in Listing 18
(p. 270) .
End of the discussion
That concludes the discussion of the program named StringArt02 . You will nd a complete listing

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 271

of this program in Listing 31 (p. 299) .

1.17.5.7 The program named StringArt03

I saved the best for last, or at least I saved the most dicult program until last. In this program, I will
teach you how to use the new GM01.Point3D.rotate method to rotate objects in 3D space.
Not only is the code for doing rotations in 3D space much more complicated than the rotation code in
2D, it is also more dicult to examine the graphic output produced by rotating an object in 3D space and
be certain that the program is working as it should. Therefore, we need to start this discussion with an
explanation of the game-math library method named GM01.Point3D.rotate . Before we can get to that
method, however, we must deal with the rotation equations for rotation of a point in 3D space.
The six 3D rotation equations
Unlike with 2D rotation where things were less complicated, we now have to deal with three coordinate
values, three rotation angles, and six equations. Using the Spatial Transformations 88 webpage and other
online material as well, we can conclude that our 3D rotation method must implement the six equations
shown in Image 12 (p. 271) .

Image 12: The six 3D rotation equations.

Let rotation angle around z-axis be zAngle

Let rotation angle around z-axis be xAngle
Let rotation angle around z-axis be yAngle

Rotation around the z-axis

x2 = x1*cos(zAngle) - y1*sin(zAngle)
y2 = x1*sin(zAngle) + y1*cos(zAngle)

Rotation around the x-axis

y2 = y1*cos(xAngle) - z1*sin(xAngle)
z2 = y1*sin(xAngle) + z1* cos(xAngle)

Rotation around the y-axis

x2 = x1*cos(yAngle) + z1*sin(yAngle)
z2 = -x1*sin(yAngle) + z1*cos(yAngle)

Where:
x1, y1, and z1 are coordinates of original point
x2, y2, and z2 are coordinates of rotated point

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Also, as before, these six equations are only good for rotation around the origin, but our objective is to
be able to rotate a point about any arbitrary anchor point in 3D space. Once again, we will use the trick
of translating the anchor point to the origin, rotating the object around the origin, and then translating the
object back to the anchor point.
Beginning of the method named GM01.Point3D.rotate
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The method named GM01.Point3D.rotate begins in Listing 19 (p. 272) .

Listing 19: Beginning of the method named GM01.Point3D.rotate.

public GM01.Point3D

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The purpose of this method is to rotate a point around a specied anchor point in 3D space in the
following order:

• Rotate around z - rotation in x-y plane.

• Rotate around x - rotation in y-z plane.
• Rotate around y - rotation in x-z plane.

note: A useful upgrade: A useful upgrade to the game-math library might be to write three
separate rotation methods, each designed to rotate a Point3D object around only one of the three
axes.

It is very important to understand that the order of the rotations is critical. You cannot change the order
of rotations and expect to end up with the same results. This method is designed to allow you to rotate an
object around all three axes with a single method call in the order given above. If you need to rotate your
object in some dierent order, you should call the method up to three times in succession, rotating around
only one axis with each call to the method.
Incoming parameters
The anchor point is passed in as a reference to an object of the GM01.Point3D class.
The rotation angles are passed in as double values in degrees (based on the right-hand rule (p. 272) )
in the order given above, packaged in an object of the class GM01.ColMatrix3D .
(Note that in this case, the ColMatrix3D object is simply a convenient container for the three
double angle values and it has no signicance from a matrix arithmetic viewpoint. Also pay attention to
the order of the three values and the rotation axes associated with those values. See Listing 20 (p. 273) . It
is z, x, y, and not x, y, z as you might assume.)
The right-hand rule
The right-hand rule states that if you point the thumb of your right hand in the positive direction of an
axis and curl your ngers to make a st, the direction of positive rotation around that axis is given by the
direction that your ngers will be pointing.
I will refer back to this rule later when describing rotations around various axes.
Original object is not modied
This method does not modify the contents of the Point3D object on which the method is called.
Rather, it uses the contents of that object to instantiate, rotate, and return a new Point3D object.
Rotation around the anchor point
For simplicity, this method translates the anchor point to the origin, rotates around the origin, and then
translates the object back to the anchor point.
Very familiar code
The code in Listing 19 (p. 272) is very similar to the code that I explained earlier beginning in Listing
14 (p. 258) . Therefore, this code should not require an explanation beyond the embedded comments.
Get the rotation angle values

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Listing 20 (p. 273) extracts the rotation angle values from the GM01.ColMatrix3D object in which
they are contained.

Listing 20: Get the rotation angle values.

double zAngle = angles.getData(0);

double xAngle = angles.getData(1);
double yAngle = angles.getData(2);

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Rotate the Point3D object around the z-axis

By this point in the execution of the method, the object has been translated to the origin using the
negative of the anchor-point displacement vector. The object will be rotated around the origin and will then
be translated back to the anchor point.
Listing 21 (p. 273) implements the rst two equations from Image 12 (p. 271) to rotate the Point3D
object around the z-axis. By this, I mean that the object is rotated in a plane that is perpendicular to the
z-axis modifying only x and y coordinate values from the object being rotated.

Listing 21: Rotate the Point3D object around the z-axis.

//Rotate around z-axis

tempX = newPoint.getData(0);
tempY = newPoint.getData(1);
newPoint.setData(//new x coordinate
0,
tempX*Math.cos(zAngle*Math.PI/180) -
tempY*Math.sin(zAngle*Math.PI/180));

newPoint.setData(//new y coordinate
1,
tempX*Math.sin(zAngle*Math.PI/180) +
tempY*Math.cos(zAngle*Math.PI/180));

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This is the only rotation possibility in 2D rotation and the code in Listing 21 (p. 273) is essentially the
same as the code in Listing 16 (p. 260) for 2D rotation.
Rotate the Point 3D object around the x-axis
Before translating the partially rotated object back to the anchor point, it must still be rotated around
the x and y-axes. Listing 22 (p. 274) implements the middle two equations in Image 12 (p. 271) to rotate
the Point3D object in a plane that is perpendicular to the x-axis, modifying only the y and z coordinate
values.

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274 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 22: Rotate the Point3D object around the x-axis.

//Rotate around x-axis

tempY = newPoint.getData(1);
tempZ = newPoint.getData(2);
newPoint.setData(//new y coordinate
1,
tempY*Math.cos(xAngle*Math.PI/180) -
tempZ*Math.sin(xAngle*Math.PI/180));

newPoint.setData(//new z coordinate
2,
tempY*Math.sin(xAngle*Math.PI/180) +
tempZ*Math.cos(xAngle*Math.PI/180));

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Rotate the Point3D object around the y-axis

Listing 23 (p. 274) implements the last two equations in Image 12 (p. 271) to rotate the Point3D
object in a plane that is perpendicular to the y-axis, modifying only the x and z coordinate values.

Listing 23: Rotate the Point3D object around the y-axis.

//Rotate around y-axis

tempX = newPoint.getData(0);
tempZ = newPoint.getData(2);
newPoint.setData(//new x coordinate
0,
tempX*Math.cos(yAngle*Math.PI/180) +
tempZ*Math.sin(yAngle*Math.PI/180));

newPoint.setData(//new z coordinate
2,
-tempX*Math.sin(yAngle*Math.PI/180) +
tempZ*Math.cos(yAngle*Math.PI/180));

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Translate the object back to the anchor point

Listing 24 (p. 275) translates the rotated object back to the anchor point, thus completing the 3D
rotation of a single GM01.Point3D object.

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Listing 24: Translate the object back to the anchor point.

//Translate back to anchorPoint

newPoint = newPoint.addVectorToPoint(tempVec);

return newPoint;

}//end rotate

1.197

In order to rotate an entire 3D geometric object, such as the hexagon in Image 13 (p. 276) , every point
that comprises the geometric object must be rotated using the same set of rotation angles and the same
anchor point.
Now back to the program named StringArt03
This is a 3D version of a string art program that demonstrates rotation in three dimensions. This program
produces a 3D string-art image by connecting various points that are equally spaced on the circumference
of a circle. Initially, the circle is on the x-y plane centered on the origin as shown in Image 13 (p. 276) .

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Image 13: Graphic output from the program named StringArt03 at startup.

1.198

At startup, there are six points (vertices) on the circle connected by lines forming a hexagon. The lines
that connect the points are dierent colors. The radius of the circle is 50 units. The points at the vertices
of the hexagon are not drawn, but the lines that connect the vertices are drawn.

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 277

You may have noticed that the startup graphic output in Image 13 (p. 276) looks a lot like the startup
graphic output of the 2D program in Image 7 (p. 262) . There is a signicant dierence however. Image
7 (p. 262) shows only two orthogonal axes whereas Image 13 (p. 276) shows three orthogonal axes using
oblique parallel projection to transform the 3D image to a 2D display plane.
A graphical user interface
A GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the following items and click a Replot button to
cause the drawing to change:

• Number Points
• Number Loops
• Rotate around Z (deg)
• Rotate around X (deg)
• Rotate around Y (deg)
• X Anchor point
• Y Anchor point
• Z Anchor point

Again, the 3D GUI in Image 13 (p. 276) looks similar to the 2D GUI in Image 7 (p. 262) . The big dierence
is that the 2D GUI in Image 7 (p. 262) allows only for rotation around one axis, and only two coordinate
values can be specied for the location of the anchor point.
As before, changing the number of points causes the number of vertices that describe the geometric object
to change. Changing the number of loops causes the number of lines that are drawn to connect the vertices
to change.
The geometric object can be rotated in any or all of three dimensions around an anchor point. Entering
a non-zero value in one or more of the Rotate elds causes the object to be rotated by the specied angle
or angles around the anchor point.
The anchor point is initially specied to be at the origin, but the location of the anchor point can be
changed by the user. If the anchor point is at the origin, the image is rotated around the origin.
Geometric object with 12 vertices, 4 loops, and no rotations
As a baseline case, Image 14 (p. 278) shows the string-art geometric object with 12 vertices, 4 loops,
and no rotations. At this point, the geometric object is an innitely thin disk in the x-y plane centered on
the origin. Note the break in color between yellow and blue that occurs where the circle crosses the positive
x-axis.

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Image 14: Geometric object with 12 vertices, 4 loops, and no rotations.

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The rotation angle must be specied in degrees with a positive angle being given by the right-hand rule
(p. 272) as applied to the axis around which the image is being rotated.
Rotation around one axis only

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 279

Image 15 (p. 279) , Image 16 (p. 281) , and Image 17 (p. 282) show the results of rotating the object
around only one axis at a time with the anchor point at the origin.
Image 15 (p. 279) shows the result of rotating the object around the z-axis only by an angle of 60 degrees.

Image 15: Rotation around the z-axis only.

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280 CHAPTER 1. MATH

This results in the object still being in the x-y plane, but it has been rotated counter-clockwise by 60
degrees. Compare Image 15 (p. 279) with Image 14 (p. 278) and note how the color break between yellow
and blue has moved around to be near the intersection of the circle and the positive y-axis.
Rotation around the x-axis only
Image 16 (p. 281) shows the result of rotating the object around only the x-axis with a rotation angle of
-60 degrees.

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Image 16: Rotation around the x-axis only.

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The object is still a disk, but that disk is no longer in the x-y plane. Instead, it has been tilted so that it
is now closer to the x-z plane than to the x-y plane. Unfortunately, the oblique parallel projection does not
make it practical to do any quantitative measurements on the image.

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Rotation around the y-axis only

Image 17 (p. 282) shows the result of rotating the object around only the y-axis with a rotation angle of
-60 degrees.

Image 17: Rotation around the y-axis only.

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 283

I will let you interpret what you see there.

Rotation around all three axes with the anchor point at the origin
When more than one rotation angle has a non-zero value, the rotational eects are cumulative. The
object is rst rotated around the anchor point in a direction consistent with rotation around the z-axis
(rotation in the x-y plane) . Then that rotated object is rotated in a direction consistent with rotation
around the x-axis (rotation in the y-z plane) . Finally, the previously rotated object is rotated in a direction
consistent with rotation around the y-axis (rotation in the x-z plane) . It is important to note, however,
that the actual rotation is around the anchor point and not around the origin unless the anchor point is at
the origin.
Image 18 (p. 284) shows the result of applying all three of the rotations described above with the anchor
point at the origin.

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284 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 18: Rotation around all three axes with the anchor point at the origin.

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Once again, I will let you interpret what you see there.
Perform all three rotations with the anchor point away from the origin
Image 19 (p. 285) performs the same three rotations as were performed in Image 18 (p. 284) . However,

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 285

in Image 19 (p. 285) , the anchor point was at a location dened by the coordinate values (50,50,50).

Image 19: Perform all three rotations with the anchor point away from the origin.

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At the risk of being boring, I will state once again that I will let you interpret what you see there.

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286 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Will animate the process later

For me, at least, it isn't easy to visualize the process of rotating around an arbitrary anchor point in 3D.
In a future module, I will animate the rotation process and run it in slow motion so that you can see the
progress of each individual rotation from the beginning until the point where all three rotations are complete.
Hopefully, that will make it easier to visualize rotation around an arbitrary anchor point in 3D. As a bonus,
it will also give you some experience in using the game-math library for a non-trivial animation project.
Let's see some code
As was the case with the previous program, given what you have already learned, the only interesting
new code in this program is in the drawOScreen method. Furthermore, only a small portion of the
code in that method is new and interesting. Listing 25 (p. 286) contains some code that was extracted from
the drawOScreen method.
A complete listing of the program named StringArt03 is provided in Listing 32 (p. 301) .

Listing 25: Interesting code from the drawOScreen method.

for(int cnt = 0;cnt < numberPoints;cnt++){

points[cnt] = new GM01.Point3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(
50*Math.cos((cnt*360/numberPoints)*Math.PI/180),
50*Math.sin((cnt*360/numberPoints)*Math.PI/180),
0.0));

//Populate a ColMatrix3D object with rotation values

GM01.ColMatrix3D angles = new GM01.ColMatrix3D(
zRotation,xRotation,yRotation);

//Populate a Point3D object with anchor point

// coordinates.
GM01.Point3D anchorPoint = new GM01.Point3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(
xAnchorPoint,yAnchorPoint,zAnchorPoint));
//Draw the anchorPoint in BLACK.
g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
anchorPoint.draw(g2D);

//The following statement causes the rotation to be

//performed.
points[cnt] =
points[cnt].rotate(anchorPoint,angles);

}//end for loop

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The only really interesting code in Listing 25 (p. 286) is the statement that calls the rotate method of
the game-math library on each Point3D object inside a for loop near the bottom of the listing. Knowing

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 287

what you do about the rotate method, you should have no problem understanding the code in Listing 25
(p. 286) .
End of the discussion
That concludes the discussion of the program named StringArt03 . You will nd a complete listing
of this program in Listing 32 (p. 301) .

1.17.6 Documentation for the GM01 library

Click here 89 to download a zip le containing standard javadoc documentation for the library named GM01
. Extract the contents of the zip le into an empty folder and open the le named index.html in your
browser to view the documentation.
Although the documentation doesn't provide much in the way of explanatory text (see Listing 26 (p. 289)
and the explanations given above) , the documentation does provide a good overview of the organization
and structure of the library. You may nd it helpful in that regard.

1.17.7 Homework assignment

The homework assignment for this module was to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter6 - Scaling and
Unit Vectors .
The homework assignment for the next module is to continue studying the same material.
In addition to studying the Kjell material, you should read at least the next two modules in this collection
and bring your questions about that material to the next classroom session.
Finally, you should have begun studying the physics material 90 at the beginning of the semester and you
should continue studying one physics module per week thereafter. You should also feel free to bring your
questions about that material to the classroom for discussion.

1.17.8 Run the programs

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 26 (p. 289) through Listing 32 (p. 301) . Compile the code
and execute it in conjunction with the game-math library provided in Listing 26 (p. 289) . Experiment with
the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain
why your changes behave as they do.

1.17.9 Summary

The most important thing that you learned in this module was how to update the game-math library to
support 3D math and how to produce 3D images similar to that shown in Image 1 (p. 235) . You learned
much more than that however. Some highlights of the things you learned are:

• You learned how to program the equations for projecting a 3D world onto a 2D plane for display on a
computer screen.
• You learned how to cause the direction of the positive y-axis to be up the screen instead of down the
screen.
• You learned how to add vectors in 3D and conrmed that the head-to-tail and parallelogram rules
apply to 3D as well as to 2D.
• You learned about scaling, translation, and rotation of a point in both 2D and 3D.
• You learned about the rotation equations and how to implement them in both 2D and 3D.
• You learned how to rotate a point around an anchor point other than the origin.
• You learned about the right-hand rule.

89 http://cnx.org/content/m45016/latest/GM01docs.zip
90 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

288 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.17.10 What's next?

In the next module in this collection, you will learn how to write your rst interactive 3D game using the
game-math library. You will also learn how to write a Java program that simulates ocking behavior such
as that exhibited by birds and sh and how to incorporate that behavior into a game.

1.17.11 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0135: Venturing into a 3D World
• File: Game135.htm
• Published: 10/18/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.17.12 Complete program listings

Complete listings of the programs discussed in this module are shown in Listing 26 (p. 289) through Listing
32 (p. 301) below.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 289

Listing 26: Source code for the updated game-math library named GM01.

/*GM01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/24/08

This is a major upgrade to the game-math library. This

version upgrades the version named GM2D04 to a new version
named simply GM01.

The primary purpose of the upgrade was to add 3D

capability for all of the 2D features provided by the
previous version. Because both 2D and 3D capabilities
are included, it is no longer necessary to differentiate
between the two in the name of the class. Therefore, this
version is named GM01.

Adding 3D capability entailed major complexity in one

particular area: drawing the objects. It is difficult to
draw a 3D object on a 2D screen. This requires a
projection process to project each point in the 3D object
onto the correct location on a 2D plane. There are a
variety of ways to do this. This 3D library uses an
approach often referred to as an oblique parallel
projection. See the following URL for technical
information on the projection process:

http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/∼pbourke/geometry/
classification/

In addition to adding 3D capability, this version also

eliminates the confusion surrounding the fact that the
default direction of the positive y-axis is going down
the screen instead of up the screen as viewers have become
accustomed to. When you use this library, you can program
under the assumption that the positive direction of the
y-axis is up the screen, provided you funnel all of your
drawing tasks through the library and don't draw
directly on the screen.

The name GMnn is an abbreviation for GameMathnn.

See the file named GM2D01.java for a general description

of the game-math library. The library has been updated
several times. This file is an update of GM2D04.

In addition to the updates mentioned above, this update

cleaned up some lingering areas of code inefficiency,
using the simplest available method to draw on an
off-screen image. In addition, the following new methods
were added:
Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
The following methods are new static methods of the class
named GM01. The first method in the list deals with the
problem of displaying a 3D image on a 3D screen.
290 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 291

Listing 27: Source code for the program named GM01test02.

/*GM01test02.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/18/08

This program tests many 2D aspects of the GM01 library

using both text and graphics.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;

class GM01test02{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class GM01test02
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 400;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
// you can compute the size of the canvas.
setVisible(true);
osiWidth = myCanvas.getWidth();
osiHeight = myCanvas.getHeight();

//Create an off-screen image and get a graphics

// context on it.
Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
osi = createImage(osiWidth,osiHeight);
Graphics2D g2D = (Graphics2D)(osi.getGraphics());

//Perform tests using text.

292 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 293

Listing 28: Source code for the program named GM01test01.

/*GM01test01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/18/08

This program tests many 3D aspects of the GM01 library

using both text and graphics.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;

class GM01test01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class GM01test01
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 400;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
// you can compute the size of the canvas.
setVisible(true);
osiWidth = myCanvas.getWidth();
osiHeight = myCanvas.getHeight();

//Create an off-screen image and get a graphics

// context on it.
Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
osi = createImage(osiWidth,osiHeight);
Graphics2D g2D = (Graphics2D)(osi.getGraphics());

//Test many 3D library features using text.

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 295

Listing 29: Source code for the program named GM01test05.

/*GM01test05.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/24/08

This program illustrates vector addition in 3D.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;

class GM01test05{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class GM01test05
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 300;
int vSize = 200;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
// you can compute the size of the canvas.
setVisible(true);
osiWidth = myCanvas.getWidth();
osiHeight = myCanvas.getHeight();

//Create an off-screen image and get a graphics

// context on it.
osi = createImage(osiWidth,osiHeight);
Graphics2D g2D Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
= (Graphics2D)(osi.getGraphics());

//Draw on the off-screen image.

drawOffScreen(g2D);
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 297

Listing 30: Source code for the program named GM01test06.

/*GM01test06.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/24/08

This program is an update of the program named GM01test01.

The purpose is to illustrate scaling a geometric object
by calling the method named GM01.Point3D.scale for each
point that makes up the object.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;

class GM01test06{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class GM01test06
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 400;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas

GUI(){//constructor
//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

// center of the JFrame.
myCanvas = new MyCanvas();
this.getContentPane().add(myCanvas);

//This object must be visible before you can get an

// off-screen image. It must also be visible before
// you can compute the size of the canvas.
setVisible(true);
osiWidth = myCanvas.getWidth();
osiHeight = myCanvas.getHeight();

Available forimage
//Create an off-screen free at Connexions
and get a<http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
graphics
// context on it.
osi = createImage(osiWidth,osiHeight);
Graphics2D g2D = (Graphics2D)(osi.getGraphics());
298 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 299

Listing 31: Source code for the program named StringArt02.

/*StringArt02.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/22/08

This is a 2D version of a string art program that supports

rotation in two dimensions.

This program produces a 2D string art image by connecting

various points that are equally spaced on the
circumference of a circle.

Initially, the circle is centered on the origin. There are

six points on the circle connected by lines forming a
hexagon, The lines that connect the points are different
colors. The radius of the circle is 50 units. The points
at the vertices of the hexagon are not drawn, but the
lines that connect the vertices are drawn.

A GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the

following items and click a Replot button to cause the
drawing to change:

Number Points
Number Loops
Rotation angle (deg)
X anchor point
Y anchor point

Changing the number of points causes the number of

vertices that describe the geometric object to change.

Changing the number of loops causes the number of lines

that are drawn to connect the vertices to change. For a
value of 1, each vertex is connected to the one next to
it. For a value of 2, additional lines are drawn
connecting every other vertex. For a value of 3,
additional lines are drawn connecting every third vertex,
etc.

The image can be rotated around an anchor point. Entering

a non-zero value in the Rotation field causes the image
to be rotated by the specified angle around the anchor
point.

The anchor point is initially located at the origin, but

the location of the anchor point can be changed by the
user. If the anchor point is at the origin, the image is
rotated around the origin. Otherwise, the image is rotated
around the point in 2D space specified by the anchor
Availableisfordrawn
point. The anchor point free at Connexions
in black.<http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

The rotation angle is specified in degrees with a positive

angle being counter-clockwise.
300 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 301

Listing 32: Source code for the program named StringArt03.

/*StringArt03.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/22/08

This is a 3D version of a string art program that supports

rotation in three dimensions.

This program produces a 3D string art image by connecting

various points that are equally spaced on the
circumference of a circle.

Initially, the circle is on the x-y plane centered on the

origin. There are six points on the circle connected by
lines forming a hexagon, The lines that connect the points
are different colors. The radius of the circle is 50
units. The points at the vertices of the hexagon are not
drawn, but the lines that connect the vertices are drawn.

A GUI is provided that allows the user to specify the

following items and click a Replot button to cause the
drawing to change:

Number Points
Number Loops
Rotate around Z (deg)
Rotate around X (deg)
Rotate around Y (deg)
X Anchor point
Y Anchor point
Z Anchor point

Changing the number of points causes the number of

vertices that describe the geometric object to change.

Changing the number of loops causes the number of lines

that are drawn to connect the vertices to change. For a
value of 1, each vertex is connected to the one next to
it. For a value of 2, additional lines are drawn
connecting every other vertex. For a value of 3,
additional lines are drawn connecting every third vertex,
etc.

The image can be rotated in any or all of three

dimensions around an anchor point. Entering a non-zero
value in one or more of the Rotate fields causes the
image to be rotated by the specified angle or angles
around the anchor point. The anchor point is initially
specified to be at the origin, but the location of the
anchor point can be changed by the user. If the anchor
point is at the origin, the image is rotated around the
origin. Otherwise, Available
the image for free
isatrotated
Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
around the point
in 3D space specified by the anchor point. The anchor
point is drawn in black.
302 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.17.13 Exercises

1.17.13.1 Exercise 1
Using Java and the game-math library named GM01 , or using a dierent programming environment of
your choice, write a program that creates and draws a 20-level stepped pyramid as shown in Image 20 (p.
303) .
Each level is a box. The dimensions of the bottom box are:

• width = 100 pixels

• height = 200/20 pixels
• depth = 100 pixels

The height of each box is the same. The decrease in the width and depth dimensions of the boxes is linear
going from the largest box at the bottom to the smallest box at the top.
The sides of the pyramid may be transparent or opaque - your choice.
The bottom box sits on the x-z plane, is centered on the vertical axis, and the sides are parallel with the
x and z axes.
Draw the axes in the approximate location shown in Image 20 (p. 303) in red, green, and blue.
The positive direction for x is to the right. The positive direction for y is up, and the positive direction
for z protrudes from the screen (down and to the left).
Display your name in the drawing in some manner.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 303

Image 20: Screen output from Exercise 1.

1.213

1.17.13.2 Exercise 2
Beginning with the pyramid that you created in Exercise 1 (p. 302) , create a replica of that pyramid
positioned at a point that is twice the width of the bottom box from the origin in the positive x direction.
Draw that pyramid in red as shown in Image 21 (p. 304) .

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

304 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 21: Screen output from Exercise 2.

1.214

1.17.13.3 Exercise 3
Beginning with the two pyramids that you created in Exercise 2 (p. 303) , rotate the red pyramid by -30
degrees around an imaginary vertical line at the center of the pyramid as shown in Image 22 (p. 305) .

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 305

Image 22: Screen output from Exercise 3.

1.215

1.17.13.4 Exercise 4
Beginning with the two pyramids that you created in Exercise 2 (p. 303) , rotate each box around an
imaginary vertical line at the center of the pyramid by a negative angle with a progressively greater magnitude
so that the rotation of the bottom box is zero and the rotation of the top box is approximately -85 degrees
as shown in Image 23 (p. 306) . This produces a 3D object similar to a spiral staircase with the length of

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

306 CHAPTER 1. MATH

each step being less than the length of the step below it.

Image 23: Screen output from Exercise 4.

1.216

1.17.13.5 Exercise 5
Beginning with the two pyramids that you created in Exercise 2 (p. 303) , rotate each box in the red pyramid
around an imaginary line that is parallel to the z-axis and lies in the x-z plane at the center of the bottom

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 307

box as shown in Image 24 (p. 307) .

Make the rotation angles for each box progressively larger in such a way that the rotation of the bottom
box is zero and the rotation of the top box is approximately 28 degrees.

Image 24: Screen output from Exercise 5.

1.217

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308 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.17.13.6 Exercise 6
Beginning with the two pyramids that you created in Exercise 2 (p. 303) , rotate each box in the red pyramid
around the z-axis as shown in Image 25 (p. 308) .
Make the rotation angles for each box progressively larger in such a way that the rotation of the bottom
box is zero and the rotation of the top box is approximately 28 degrees.

Image 25: Screen output from Exercise 6.

1.218

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 309

-end-

1.18 GAME 2302-0140: Our First 3D Game Program91

1.18.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 309)

· Viewing tip (p. 310)
* Images (p. 310)
* Listings (p. 310)
• Preview (p. 311)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 318)
· The game-math library named GM01 (p. 318)
· The game program named GM01test08 (p. 318)
· The program named GM01test04 (p. 347)
· The program named GM01test03 (p. 350)
· The program namedStringArt04 (p. 350)
• Homework assignment (p. 351)
• Run the programs (p. 351)
• Summary (p. 351)
• What's next? (p. 351)
• Miscellaneous (p. 351)
• Complete program listings (p. 352)
• Exercises (p. 362)
· Exercise 1 (p. 362)
· Exercise 2 (p. 363)
· Exercise 3 (p. 364)
· Exercise 4 (p. 364)
· Exercise 5 (p. 365)

1.18.2 Preface

This module is one in a collection of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications
for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
What you have learned
In the previous module, you learned how to update the game-math library to support 3D math, how to
program the equations for projecting a 3D world onto a 2D plane, how to add vectors in 3D, about scaling,
translation, and rotation of a point in both 2D and 3D, about the rotation equations and how to implement
them in both 2D and 3D, and much more.
What you will learn
In this module, you will learn how to write your rst interactive 3D game using the game-math library
named GM01 . You will also learn how to write a Java program that simulates ocking behavior such as
that exhibited by birds and sh and how to incorporate that behavior into a game. Finally, you will examine
three other programs that illustrate various aspects of both 2D and 3D animation using the game-math
library.
91 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45017/1.3/>.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

310 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.18.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

1.18.2.1.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 312) . A school of red prey sh being attacked by a blue predator.
• Image 2 (p. 314) . Screen shot of the graphic output from GM01test04.
• Image 3 (p. 315) . Screen shot of the graphic output from GM01test03.
• Image 4 (p. 317) . Screen shot of the graphic output from StringArt04.
• Image 5 (p. 319) . Prey sh in a large swirling cluster.
• Image 6 (p. 321) . Formation starting to break up due to closeness of the predator.
• Image 7 (p. 334) . 100 prey sh trying to occupy the same location in 3D space.
• Image 8 (p. 335) . 100 prey sh maintaining a reasonable separation in 3D space.
• Image 9 (p. 348) . Twelve predators swimming in a hexagon formation in GM01test04.
• Image 10 (p. 349) . Six predators swimming in a diamond formation.
• Image 11 (p. 363) . Screen output from Exercise 1.
• Image 12. (p. 365) Screen output from Exercise 4.
• Image 13 (p. 366) . Screen output from Exercise 5.

1.18.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 323) . Abbreviated constructor for the GUI class in GM01test08.
• Listing 2 (p. 324) . Beginning of the actionPerformed method in GM01test08.
• Listing 3 (p. 325) . Code that services the Attack button.
• Listing 4 (p. 326) . Code that services the Stop button.
• Listing 5 (p. 327) . Beginning of the Animate class and the run method.
• Listing 6 (p. 328) . Create the population of prey sh.
• Listing 7 (p. 328) . Create and position the predator object.
• Listing 8 (p. 329) . A few more housekeeping details.
• Listing 9 (p. 330) . Beginning of the animation loop.
• Listing 10 (p. 331) . Cause all of the prey sh to spiral toward the center.
• Listing 11 (p. 331) . Create a rotated vector.
• Listing 12 (p. 332) . Move the prey sh object based on the sum of the vectors.
• Listing 13 (p. 332) . Save a clone of the relocated prey sh object.
• Listing 14 (p. 333) . Save a normalized direction vector.
• Listing 15 (p. 333) . Code for when the population contains only one prey sh.
• Listing 16 (p. 336) . Separate the prey sh.
• Listing 17 (p. 337) . The remainder of the inner loop.
• Listing 18 (p. 338) . Save the primary prey sh object and do another iteration.
• Listing 19 (p. 338) . Prey sh objects react to the predator.
• Listing 20 (p. 339) . Prey sh object takes evasive action.
• Listing 21 (p. 339) . Test the separation again.
• Listing 22 (p. 340) . Restore the prey sh to the population.
• Listing 23 (p. 341) . Keep the prey sh in the playing eld.
• Listing 24 (p. 342) . Erase the o-screen image and draw the large circle.
• Listing 25 (p. 343) . Draw the prey sh on the o-screen image.
• Listing 26 (p. 344) . Cause the predator to slowly circle the cluster of prey sh.
• Listing 27 (p. 345) . Execute the attack.
• Listing 28 (p. 346) . Draw the predator on the o-screen image.
• Listing 29 (p. 346) . Copy o-screen image, insert time delay, etc.

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 311

• Listing 30 (p. 353) . Source code for the game-math library named GM01.
• Listing 31 (p. 355) . Source code for the game program named GM01test08.
• Listing 32 (p. 357) . Source code for the program named GM01test04.
• Listing 33 (p. 359) . Source code for the program named GM01test03.
• Listing 34 (p. 361) . Source code for the program named StringArt04.

1.18.3 Preview

It's time to kick back and have a little fun with what you have learned. In this module, I will present four
programs, (one of which is an interactive 3D game) , that use the current capabilities of the game-math
library to produce some fairly serious animation. The programs are named:

• GM01test08
• GM01test04
• GM01test03
• StringArt04

I will explain the game program in detail and will provide a brief description of the other three programs.
GM01test08
The rst three programs are based on an articial life 92 concept frequently referred to as boids 93 ,
which is "a computer model of coordinated animal motion such as bird ocks and sh schools."

note: Flocking sh: I got the idea for this game while watching a segment of a documentary
series named Blue Earth on one of the cable channels. I even surprised myself as to how well I was
able to simulate some of the scenes in that TV program using programming concepts similar to
those used by Reynolds in boids.

A ocking game program

Although the ocking algorithms won't be the same as those used in the original boids program written
by Reynolds, the general concepts will be similar.
The rst program named GM01test08 is an interactive 3D game program based on the ocking
behavior of sh. This game simulates a school of prey sh being attacked and eaten by a predator. The
objective for the player is to cause the predator to catch and eat all of the prey sh in a minimum amount
of time.
A preview
I will get into a lot more detail about the game aspects of the program later. For a preview, Image 1 (p.
312) shows the instant in time when a school of 500 prey sh (shown in red) have just been attacked by
the blue predator shown near the center right.
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Image 1: A school of red prey sh being attacked by a blue predator.

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The predator in Image 1 (p. 312) has penetrated the school of sh by swimming from left to right, eating
sh all along the way, and has emerged from the right side of the school. The prey sh, which were originally
in a small tight cluster, have reacted to the presence of the predator by scattering in an attempt to avoid
being eaten.
Fully three-dimensional

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This game program is fully three-dimensional. Any or all of the sh are capable of swimming in any
direction at any time in the 3D world. This is evidenced by the prey sh near the center that appear to have
very short or non-existent tails. The sh that appear to have no tails actually have tails that are the same
length as the tails on all of the other sh. These sh appear to have no tails because they are swimming
either directly toward or directly away from the viewer. I will have more to say about this later.
GM01test04 and GM01test03
These two programs provide essentially the same behavior (as one another) , except that one is a 2D
program and the other is a 3D program. They are not game programs. Rather, they are demonstration
programs that show another aspect of ocking behavior. In these two programs, a large number of predators
pursue a single prey object.
A screen shot of the animated output from the 2D version is shown in Image 2 (p. 314) and a screen
shot of the output from the 3D version is shown in Image 3 (p. 315) .

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Image 2: Screen shot of the graphic output from GM01test04.

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Image 3: Screen shot of the graphic output from GM01test03.

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I included these two programs in this module primarily to provide a good comparison between 2D and
3D, both from a programming viewpoint and a behavior viewpoint.
Eight predator objects and one prey object
In both versions shown in Image 2 (p. 314) and Image 3 (p. 315) , you see eight predator objects (colored
black) pursuing a red prey object. The actual length of every predator object is the same as the length
of every other predator object and the length of the prey object is the same as the length of the predator
objects.
Some signicant dierences

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At rst glance, the two versions may look the same. However, they are signicantly dierent. In Image 2
(p. 314) , the prey and the predators are constrained to move in a single plane. Hence, the apparent length
of each predator is the same as the length of every other predator and is also the same as the length of the
prey regardless of the direction in which the object is moving.
However, in Image 3 (p. 315) , the predators and the prey are free to move in any direction in a 3D
world. As a result, at any point in time, the objects may be moving parallel to or at an angle to the x-y
plane. When the 3D world is projected onto the viewing plane, those objects that are moving at an angle
to the viewing plane will be foreshortened. In the extreme case, (as shown earlier in Image 1 (p. 312) ) ,
when an object is moving directly toward or directly away from the viewer, its apparent length will go to
zero. (At least one predator is almost in that state in Image 3 (p. 315) .)
In Image 3 (p. 315) the apparent lengths of the predator and prey objects are all dierent indicating
that they are all moving in slightly dierent directions in the 3D world.
The ocking algorithms in these two programs are much simpler than the algorithm used in Image 1 (p.
312) . I encourage you to experiment with the ocking algorithms for these two programs to see what you
can produce that is new and dierent from my version of the two programs.
StringArt04
The fourth program named StringArt04 is completely dierent from the other three programs. In a
previous module, I presented and explained a program that rotates a disk around an arbitrary anchor point
in 3D space with the ability to rotate by dierent angles around each of the three axes. It can be very
dicult to visualize exactly what is happening with such complex rotations. This program animates the
rotation process and runs it in slow motion so that you can see exactly what is happening as the disk moves
and rotates from its initial position and orientation to its nal position and orientation.
For example. set the values as follows, click the Animate button, and watch the rotations take place.

• Number Points = 24
• Number Loops = 10
• Rotate around Z (deg) = 360
• Rotate around X (deg) = 360
• Rotate around Y (deg) = 360
• X anchor point = 50
• Y anchor point = 0
• Z anchor point = 0

This should give you a good idea as to the process. Then change the parameters to other values, click the
button, and observe the results.
It is also useful to set only one of the rotation angles to a non-zero value and watch the rotation around
a line parallel to that axis take place.
A stop-action screen shot
Image 4 (p. 317) shows a screen shot of the disk in motion somewhere between the beginning and the
end of its very complex trajectory for one particular set of rotation and anchor point parameters.

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Image 4: Screen shot of the graphic output from StringArt04.

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Exercises
I will also provide exercises for you to complete on your own at the end of the module. The exercises will
concentrate on the material that you have learned in this and previous modules.

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1.18.4 Discussion and sample code

1.18.4.1 The game-math library named GM01

The game-math library named GM01 has not been modied since I presented and explained it in an
earlier module titled GAME 2302-0135: Venturing into a 3D World 94 . A copy of the source code for the
library is provided in Listing 30 (p. 353) for your convenience. Since I have explained the code in the library
in earlier modules, I won't repeat those explanations here.
A link to a zip le containing documentation for the library was provided in the earlier 95 module.

1.18.4.2 The game program named GM01test08

This is an interactive 3D game program. In fact, this is the rst game program that I have presented in this
collection on game math. This game simulates a school of prey sh being attacked and eaten by a predator.
The objective for the player is to cause the predator to eat all of the prey sh in a minimum amount of time.
Although the story line of the game is rather simple, the math involved is not simple at all.
Player initiates attacks
The player in this game initiates a series of attacks by the predator by clicking the Attack button
shown in Image 5 (p. 319) . The winning strategy for the player is to time the attacks in such a way as to
minimize the elapsed time required for the predator to eat all of the prey sh. The nal elapsed time depends
on both strategy and chance. In other words, as is the case in many games, this game is part strategy and
part chance.
A swirling cluster of prey sh
The prey sh, (shown in red) , tend to swim in a large swirling cluster as shown in Image 5 (p. 319)
when they aren't being harassed by the predator.
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Image 5: Prey sh in a large swirling cluster.

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Predator behavior
The predator, (shown in blue in Image 5 (p. 319) ) , swims around the cluster, darting into and through
the cluster when the user clicks the Attack button. During an attack, the predator attempts to eat as
many prey sh as possible. When the predator attacks, the prey sh tend to scatter (as shown in Image 1
(p. 312) ) , breaking up their tight formation and making it more dicult for the predator to catch them.

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If the predator is allowed to swim around them again for a short period following an attack, they will form
back into a cluster.
Proper timing is important
The attacks should be timed so that the prey sh are in a reasonably tight cluster at the beginning of
each attack so that multiple prey sh will be eaten during the attack. However, allowing too much time
between attacks is detrimental because it increases the total elapsed time. Thus, the player must make
a tradeo between elapsed time between attacks and the tightness of the cluster at the beginning of each
attack. Another disadvantage of waiting too long between attacks will be explained later.
The graphical user interface
In addition to some other controls, the GUI provides an Attack button and an elapsed-time/kill-count
indicator, shown in the bottom right in Image 5 (p. 319) . At any point in time, this indicator displays the
elapsed time in milliseconds when the most recent prey sh was eaten along with the total number of prey
sh that have been eaten. The two values are separated by a "/" character.
When all of the prey sh have been eaten by the predator, the elapsed time indicator shows the time in
milliseconds required for the predator to catch and eat all of the prey sh. It also shows the number of prey
sh that were eaten, which should match the value that the player entered into the upper-right text eld
before starting the game. (This eld contains 500 in Image 1 (p. 312) and 200 in Image 5 (p. 319) ) .
Not initially in attack mode
When the player clicks the Start button and the game begins, the predator is not in attack mode.
Rather, the predator swims around the school of prey sh encouraging them to bunch up into a smaller and
tighter cluster as shown in Image 5 (p. 319) . The purpose of this behavior is to increase the number of sh
that will be eaten when an attack is made.
The attack will be more or less successful
This circling behavior on the part of the predator continues until the player clicks the Attack button,
at which time the predator enters the attack mode and makes an attack on the cluster as shown in Image 1
(p. 312) . If the player clicks the Attack button too early, or doesn't wait long enough between attacks,
the prey sh will be in a loose cluster and the predator will eat very few sh during the attack.
The predator always has an impact
Even when the predator is not in attack mode, its presence has a signicant eect on the behavior of the
school of prey sh. As the predator swims around the prey sh, they tend to bunch up into a smaller and
tighter cluster, but when the predator swims too close, the prey sh tend to panic and scatter, breaking up
the tight cluster as shown in Image 6 (p. 321) .
Therefore, if the player waits too long to click the Attack button or waits too long between attacks, the
predator will have spiraled in so close to the prey sh that they will break formation and begin to scatter,
making it dicult for the predator to eat a large number of sh during the next attack. This is the other
disadvantage of waiting too long to attack that I mentioned earlier (p. 320) .
Formation starting to break up due to closeness of the predator
Image 6 (p. 321) shows the formation starting to break up because the predator has strayed too close
to the cluster of prey sh. (The sh in the upper right of the formation have pulled out of the cluster and
have started to ee the predator.)

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Image 6: Formation starting to break up due to closeness of the predator.

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An eective defense mechanism

The prey sh have a fairly eective defense mechanism and can do a reasonably good job of escaping the
predator. The predator can increase the odds of catching the prey sh by attacking very fast. (You can
modify the code that controls the speed of the attack.) If the predator goes into the formation slowly, the
prey sh will simply run away as is starting to be the case in Image 6 (p. 321) .

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note: Cleaning up the leftovers: The nal three or four prey sh are often the most dicult
to catch because they have more room to run without colliding with another sh.

Captured sh are removed from the population

When the predator is successful in eating a prey sh, that sh is removed from the prey-sh population
causing the prey-sh population to decrease over time. Also, each time the predator eats a prey sh, the
program emits an audible beep to provide feedback to the player.
The other GUI components
In addition to the elapsed time indicator and the Attack button, the GUI contains an input text eld
by which the player can specify the number of prey sh that will be in the population when the game begins.
The GUI also contains a Start button and a Stop button. Finally, the GUI contains check boxes that
allow the player to display points only, direction vectors only, or both for the prey sh. (Only the direction
vector is displayed for the predator.)
Playing the game
In practice, the player species the number of randomly-placed prey sh that will be in the population
and clicks the Start button to start the game. At this point, the prey sh swim in a large swirling cluster
and the predator swims around them encouraging them to form a tighter cluster as shown in Image 5 (p.
319) .
Prey sh motion is random but each prey sh generally tends to spiral toward the center of the cluster.
When the user clicks the Attack button, the predator turns and swims rapidly into and through the center
of the cluster of prey sh. If the predator manages to get to within a specied distance from a prey sh, that
prey sh will be deemed to have been eaten, and will be removed from the population. However, each prey
sh will sense that the predator is coming and will try to escape. Whether or not an individual prey sh
manages to escape the predator when an encounter between the two occurs is based on a random number
generator.
The Start and Stop buttons
The animation continues until all of the sh have been eaten or the user clicks the Stop button. The
user can click the Stop button at any time, change any of the parameters, and then click the Start
button again to re-start the game with zero elapsed time and dierent parameters.
Displaying the vectors
The animation is most impressive when the direction vectors are displayed for the prey sh because the
vectors provide a lot of visual information about how the prey sh are reacting to the predator.
A spherical playing-eld boundary
In addition to the school of prey sh and the predator, the graphical output also shows a large circle
drawn with broken lines, as shown in Image 5 (p. 319) . This circle represents the intersection of a sphere
and the x-y plane.
The purpose of the sphere, which is centered on the origin, is to provide a soft boundary for keeping the
prey sh and the predator inside the 3D playing eld. The prey sh and the predator all have a tendency to
remain inside the sphere, but they may occasionally stray outside the sphere. If they do, the program code
will encourage them to return to the 3D playing eld inside the sphere.
A 3D display
As mentioned earlier, this game is fully three dimensional. The prey sh and the predator are free to
swim in any direction in 3D space. The tails on the prey sh and the predator appear longest when they are
swimming parallel to the x-y plane. As they change their angle relative to the x-y plane, the tails appear to
become shorter or longer and in some cases, they appear not to have a tail at all. The sh that appear to
have no tails are either swimming directly toward the viewer or swimming directly away from the viewer.
This can best be observed by clicking the Stop button just as the sh scatter during an attack and
freezing the state of the sh in the 3D world as shown in Image 1 (p. 312) . If you examine the image at
that point, you are likely to see some sh with shorter tails than other sh. This is evident by some of the
prey sh near the center of Image 1 (p. 312) that appear to have no tails at all.
Enough talk, let's see some code
A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 31 (p. 355) near the end of the module.

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Portions of this program are very similar to programs that I have explained in earlier modules in this
series. I won't repeat those explanations here. Rather, I will concentrate mostly on the code that is new
and dierent in this module.
Abbreviated constructor for the GUI class
Listing 1 (p. 323) shows an abbreviated constructor for the GUI class. (Much of the code in the
constructor has been explained before, and was deleted from Listing 1 for brevity.)

Listing 1: Abbreviated constructor for the GUI class in GM01test08.

GUI(){//constructor

//Code deleted for brevity

//Register this object as an action listener on all

// three buttons.
startButton.addActionListener(this);
attackButton.addActionListener(this);
stopButton.addActionListener(this);

//Make the drawing color RED at startup.

g2D.setColor(Color.RED);

}//end constructor

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If you examine Listing 31 (p. 355) , you will see that the GUI class implements the ActionListener
interface. Therefore, an object of the GUI class can be registered as an action listener on a button. Listing
1 (p. 323) registers the object of the GUI class as a listener on all three of the buttons shown in Image 6
(p. 321) .
Beginning of the actionPerformed method
The actionPerformed method that begins in Listing 2 (p. 324) is called whenever the player clicks
any of the three buttons shown in Image 6 (p. 321) .

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Listing 2: Beginning of the actionPerformed method in GM01test08.

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){

if(e.getActionCommand().equals("Start") && !animate){

//Service the Start button.

//Get several user input values.

numberPoints = Integer.parseInt(
numberPointsField.getText());

if(drawPointsBox.getState()){
drawPoints = true;
}else{
drawPoints = false;
}//end else

if(drawVectorsBox.getState()){
drawVectors = true;
}else{
drawVectors = false;
}//end else

//Initialize some working variables used in the

// animation process.
animate = true;
baseTime = new Date().getTime();
killCount = 0;

//Enable the Attack button.

attackButton.setEnabled(true);

//Initialize the text in the timer field.

timer.setText("0 / 0");

//Cause the run method belonging to the animation

// thread object to be executed.
new Animate().start();
}//end if

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Servicing the Start button

The code in Listing 2 (p. 324) is executed when the user clicks the Start button. All of this code is also
very similar to code that I have explained in previous modules, so further explanation beyond the embedded
comments should not be necessary. However, I will emphasize two statements in Listing 2 (p. 324) .
The rst statement that I will emphasize (about two-thirds of the way down) enables the Attack

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button. The second statement (at the end) instantiates a new object of the Thread class named
Animate and causes the run method of the animation thread to be executed. I will explain the
animation thread later.
Code that services the Attack button
The code in Listing 3 (p. 325) is executed when the player clicks the Attack button after it is enabled
by the code in Listing 2 (p. 324) .

Listing 3: Code that services the Attack button.

if(e.getActionCommand().equals("Attack") && animate){

attack = true;

predatorVec =
predator.getDisplacementVector(preyCenter).
scale(1.0);

//Disable the Attack button. It will be enabled

// again when the attack is finished.
attackButton.setEnabled(false);
}//end if

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Listing 3 (p. 325) begins by setting the value of the variable named attack to true. As you will see
later, this causes the predator to attack the prey sh in the animation loop.
Control the speed and direction of the predator attack
Then Listing 3 (p. 325) calls the getDisplacementVector method and the scale method of the
game-math library to set the value of the variable named predatorVec to a direction that will be used to
point the predator toward the center of the prey-sh cluster. In Listing 3 (p. 325) , the scale factor is 1.0,
so the application of the scale factor does nothing. However, you can modify this value to control the speed
of the predator during the upcoming attack. If you increase the scale factor, the predator will move faster.
If you decrease the scale factor, the predator will move more slowly.
Temporarily disable the Attack button
Finally, Listing 3 (p. 325) temporarily disables the Attack button so that it will have no eect if the
player clicks it again during the attack. You could also remove this statement, slow down the attack, and
experiment with multiple clicks on the Attack button during the course of an attack to see what happens.
Code that services the Stop button
The code in Listing 4 (p. 326) is executed when the player clicks the Stop button.

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Listing 4: Code that services the Stop button.

if(e.getActionCommand().equals("Stop") && animate){

//This will cause the run method to terminate and

// stop the animation. It will also clear the
// attack flag so that the next time the animation
// is started, the predator won't be in the
// attack mode.
animate = false;
attack = false;
}//end if

}//end actionPerformed

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No explanation beyond the embedded comment should be required for this code.
Beginning of the Animate class and the run method
When the Start button is clicked, the code in Listing 2 (p. 324) instantiates a new object of the
Thread class named Animate and causes the run method belonging to that object to be executed.
Listing 5 (p. 327) shows the beginning of the Animate class and its run method.

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Listing 5: Beginning of the Animate class and the run method.

class Animate extends Thread{

//Declare a general purpose variable of type Point3D.
// It will be used for a variety of purposes.
GM01.Point3D tempPrey;

//Declare two general purpose variables of type

// Vector3D. They will be used for a variety of
// purposes.
GM01.Vector3D tempVectorA;
GM01.Vector3D tempVectorB;
//--------------------------------------------------//

public void run(){

//This method is executed when start is called on
// this Thread object.
//Create a new empty container for the prey objects.
//Note the use of "Generics" syntax.
preyObjects = new ArrayList<GM01.Point3D>();

//Create a new empty container for the vectors. The

// only reason the vectors are saved is so that they
// can be displayed later
displayVectors = new ArrayList<GM01.Vector3D>();

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Importance of the game-math library named GM01

The code in Listing 5 (p. 327) is straightforward and shouldn't require an explanation beyond the
embedded comments. However, I will emphasize the heavy use of the game-math library classes named
GM01.Point3D and GM01.Vector3D in the code in Listing 5 (p. 327) .
This entire game program is heavily dependent on the use of the ColMatrix3D , Point3D ,
Vector3D , and Line3D classes along with some of the static methods in the game-math library named
GM01 . If you were to start from scratch and write this game program without the availability of the
game-math library, the program would be much longer and would be much more complex.
Create the population of prey sh
Listing 6 (p. 328) creates the population of prey sh and positions them at random locations in 3D space.
Listing 6 (p. 328) also stores references to the prey sh objects in the preyObjects container, which was
created in Listing 5 (p. 327) .

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Listing 6: Create the population of prey sh.

for(int cnt = 0;cnt < numberPoints;cnt++){

preyObjects.add(new GM01.Point3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(
100*(random.nextDouble()-0.5),
100*(random.nextDouble()-0.5),
100*(random.nextDouble()-0.5))));

//Populate the displayVectors collection with

// dummy vectors.
displayVectors.add(tempVectorA);
}//end for loop

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In addition, Listing 6 (p. 328) populates a container named displayVectors that was also created in
Listing 5 (p. 327) to store a direction vector belonging to each prey sh. This container is populated with
dummy vectors in Listing 6 (p. 328) , simply to set the size of the container to be the same as the size of
the container containing references to the prey sh objects. (There is probably a more ecient way to set
the size of that container.)
Note that each prey sh object is actually represented by an object of the game-math library class named
GM01.Point3D .
Create and position the predator object
Listing 7 (p. 328) creates an object of the GM01.Point3D class that will represent the predator in
the game.

Listing 7: Create and position the predator object.

predator = new GM01.Point3D(

new GM01.ColMatrix3D(-100,100,-100));

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The initial position given to the predator in Listing 7 (p. 328) causes it to appear in the game near the
top center of the screen when the user clicks the Start button. You could also make the initial position of
the predator random if you think that would improve the game.
A few more housekeeping details
Listing 8 (p. 329) takes care of a few more housekeeping details before the animation actually begins.

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Listing 8: A few more housekeeping details.

//Create a reference point to mark the origin. Among

// other things, it will be used as the center of a
// sphere, which in turn will be used to attempt to
// keep the prey and predator objects from leaving
// the playing field.
GM01.Point3D origin =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(0,0,0));

//Declare some variables that will be used to

// compute and save the average position of all of
// the prey objects.
double xSum = 0;
double ySum = 0;
double zSum = 0;

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Let the show begin

Listing 9 (p. 330) shows the beginning of the animation loop, which will continue to execute for as long
as the value of the variable named animate is true.

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330 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 9: Beginning of the animation loop.

while(animate){
//Compute and save the average position of all the
// prey objects at the beginning of the loop. Save
// the average position in the Point3D object
// referred to by preyCenter.
xSum = 0;
ySum = 0;
zSum = 0;

for(int cnt = 0;cnt < preyObjects.size();cnt++){

tempPrey = preyObjects.get(cnt);
xSum += tempPrey.getData(0);
ySum += tempPrey.getData(1);
zSum += tempPrey.getData(2);
}//end for loop

//Construct a reference point at the average

// position of all the prey objects.
preyCenter = new GM01.Point3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(xSum/preyObjects.size(),
ySum/preyObjects.size(),
zSum/preyObjects.size()));

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The value of animate is set to true by clicking the Start button and is set to false by clicking
the Stop button. Setting the value to false causes the run method to terminate, thereby stopping the
animation.
Attack toward the geometric center
When the predator attacks, it will move to and through the geometric center of the cluster of prey sh,
eating prey sh all along the way. The geometric center of the cluster of prey sh is computed and saved by
the code in Listing 9 (p. 330) as the average location of all the prey sh in the population.
Note that a vector that points to the geometric center may or may not be a good indicator of the best
direction for eating large numbers of prey sh during an attack. In Image 1 (p. 312) , for example, a predator
attacking from the 11:00 o'clock position and heading toward the center would encounter quite a few prey
sh. However, a predator attacking from the 8:00 o'clock position and heading toward the center would
encounter far fewer prey sh.
You will also learn that although the predator will always attack in a direction pointing toward this
geometric center, the positions of the prey sh can change after the center is computed and before the attack
begins, causing the position of the actual geometric center to change, before the predator has an opportunity
to attack. That can decrease the probability of a successful attack by the predator.
These issues form part of the strategy of the game that must be mastered by the player in order to earn
a good score.
Cause all of the prey sh to spiral toward the center
Listing 10 (p. 331) shows the beginning of a fairly complicated algorithm that causes all of the prey sh

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 331

to have a tendency to spiral toward the center of the cluster of prey sh.

Listing 10: Cause all of the prey sh to spiral toward the center.

for(int cnt = 0;cnt < preyObjects.size();cnt++){

if(preyObjects.size() > 1){
//Get the next prey object
tempPrey = preyObjects.get(cnt);
//Find the displacement vector from this prey
// object to the preyCenter
tempVectorA = tempPrey.getDisplacementVector(
preyCenter);

1.234

The code in the body of the for loop that begins in Listing 10 (p. 331) is executed once during each
animation cycle for each of the prey sh in the population of prey sh.
To begin with, the if statement prevents the tendency to spiral toward the geometric center from being
applied when there is only one prey sh remaining in the population. I will leave it as an exercise for the
student to think about this and to decide whether or not this is a good decision.
The code in Listing 10 (p. 331) gets a reference to the next prey sh object in the population and then
gets and saves a reference to a displacement vector pointing from the prey sh to the geometric center.
Create a rotated vector.
Listing 11 (p. 331) creates, scales, and saves a new GM01.Vector3D object having the same component
values as the displacement vector from Listing 11 (p. 331) , but assigning those values to dierent axes.

Listing 11: Create a rotated vector.

tempVectorB = new GM01.Vector3D(

new GM01.ColMatrix3D(
tempVectorA.getData(1),
tempVectorA.getData(2),
tempVectorA.getData(0))).scale(1.2);

1.235

Once again, I will leave it as an exercise for the student to think about the length and direction of such
a vector in relation to the original displacement vector. It might help to begin by drawing some vectors in
2D that swap components and then extending the same thinking to 3D. One thing is for certain, unless all
of the components have the same value, the new vector created in Listing 11 (p. 331) has a dierent length
and direction than the displacement vector created in Listing 10 (p. 331) , and that would be true even if
the vector from Listing 11 (p. 331) had not been scaled.
Move the prey sh object based on the sum of the vectors

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332 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 12 (p. 332) begins by adding the two vectors that were created in Listing 10 (p. 331) and Listing
11 (p. 331) , scaling the vector from Listing 10 (p. 331) before performing the addition. Note that the scale
factors applied to the rotated vector in Listing 11 is dierent from the scale factor applied to the original
displacement vector in Listing 12 (p. 332) . The ratio of these two scale factors inuences the tendency of
the prey sh object to move toward the center relative to its tendency to move around the center.

Listing 12: Move the prey sh object based on the sum of the vectors.

tempVectorA =
tempVectorA.scale(0.9).add(tempVectorB);

tempPrey = tempPrey.addVectorToPoint(
tempVectorA.scale(0.1));

1.236

Then Listing 12 (p. 332) calls the GM01.Point3D.addVectorToPoint method to relocate the prey
sh object to a new position based on the scaled sum of the two vectors. The bottom line is that this will
cause the prey sh object to spiral toward the geometric center that was computed in Listing 9 (p. 330) as
the animation progresses.
Another scale factor is applied to the sum vector before using it to relocate the prey sh object. This
scale factor controls the overall speed of the prey sh. Increasing the scale factor causes the prey sh to
spiral faster. (Increasing the scale factor also causes some interesting patterns to appear and if you increase
it too much, the prey sh will all leave the playing eld.)
Save a clone of the relocated prey sh object
Listing 13 (p. 332) creates a clone of the relocated prey sh object and uses it to replace the original
prey sh object in the container.

Listing 13: Save a clone of the relocated prey sh object.

preyObjects.set(cnt,tempPrey.clone());

1.237

Creating and saving a reference to a clone instead of saving a reference to the relocated prey sh object
may be overkill. However, I simply wanted to guard against the possibility of ending up with a corrupted
object later due to the repeated use of the reference variable. I will leave it up to the student to think about
this and to decide if this was a good or a bad decision.
Save a normalized direction vector
Listing 14 (p. 333) calls the GM01.Vector3D.normalize method to create a vector having a length
of 15 units and the same direction as the vector that was used to relocate the prey sh object.

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Listing 14: Save a normalized direction vector.

displayVectors.set(
cnt,tempVectorA.normalize().scale(15.0));

1.238

This vector is saved and used for drawing later. Drawing this vector in conjunction with the point that
represents the prey sh object produces the tails shown on the prey sh objects in Image 1 (p. 312) .
Code for when the population contains only one prey sh
Listing 15 (p. 333) shows the else clause that matches up with the if statement in Listing 10 (p.
331) . This code is executed when the population has been reduced to only one prey sh object.

Listing 15: Code for when the population contains only one prey sh.

}else{
displayVectors.set(
cnt,new GM01.Vector3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(10,10,0)));
}//end else

}//end loop to spiral prey objects toward center.

1.239

Listing 15 (p. 333) saves a dummy direction vector for drawing later. This is necessary to prevent a null
pointer exception when the user species only one prey sh object and then clicks the Start button.
Not the end of the story
Listing 15 (p. 333) also signals the end of the for loop that causes the prey sh to spiral toward the
center. The code in this for loop is sometimes referred to as a cohesion algorithm in ocking terminology.
It causes the prey sh to stay together as a group.
This is not the end of the story, however. If the code in this cohesion algorithm were the only code
controlling the behavior of the prey sh in this animation, they would simply continue spiraling toward the
center, eventually producing a cluster that looks something like that shown in Image 7 (p. 334) where 100
prey sh are trying to occupy the same location in 3D space.

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334 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 7: 100 prey sh trying to occupy the same location in 3D space.

1.240

Interesting but also boring

While it may be interesting to watch the animation progress to this point, the animation becomes very
boring when all of the prey sh cluster at the center. What we need is an additional algorithm that will
cause each prey sh to attempt to maintain a respectable distance between itself and the other prey sh.
Prey sh maintaining a reasonable separation

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 335

For example, Image 8 (p. 335) shows the result of temporarily making each prey sh immune to the
presence of the predator, telling each prey sh to spiral toward the center, and also telling each prey sh to
maintain a separation of ten units (pixels) between itself and all of the other prey sh.

Image 8: 100 prey sh maintaining a reasonable separation in 3D space.

1.241

A 3D world

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336 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Remember, Image 8 (p. 335) is a 3D world projected onto on a 2D screen display. Even if every prey
sh is separated from every other prey sh by at least ten pixels (which is probably not the case as I will
explain later) , the projection of the 3D world onto the 2D display can make it appear that two or more
prey sh occupy the same location.
Separate the prey sh
Listing 16 (p. 336) shows the beginning of a pair of nested for loops that attempt to keep the prey sh
from colliding with one another by moving each prey sh object away from its close neighbors if necessary.
In ocking terminology, this is often referred to as a separation algorithm.

Listing 16: Separate the prey sh.

GM01.Point3D refPrey = null;

GM01.Point3D testPrey= null;
for(int row = 0;row < preyObjects.size();row++){
refPrey = preyObjects.get(row);
//Compare the position of the reference prey
// object with the positions of each of the
// other prey objects.
for(int col = 0;col < preyObjects.size();col++){
//Get another prey object for proximity test.
testPrey = preyObjects.get(col);

1.242

This algorithm gets a reference to each prey sh object (primary object) and compares its position with
the positions of all the other prey sh objects (secondary objects) . If the primary object is too close to a
secondary object, the primary object is moved away from the secondary object.
Not a perfect algorithm
This is not a perfect algorithm however. A primary object can be moved away from all of its neighbors
early in the execution of the algorithm, but a neighbor could be moved closer to the primary object later in
the execution of the algorithm. While not perfect, the algorithm does a pretty respectable job of keeping
the prey sh separated as evidenced by comparing the positions of the prey sh in Image 7 (p. 334) with
the positions of the prey sh in Image 8 (p. 335) . This separation algorithm was disabled in Image 7 (p.
334) and was enabled in Image 8 (p. 335) .
Gets two objects that will be compared
Listing 16 (p. 336) gets a reference to a primary prey sh object in the outer loop that iterates on the
counter named row and gets a reference to one of the secondary prey sh objects to which it will be
compared in the inner loop that iterates on the counter named col .
The remainder of the inner loop
Listing 17 (p. 337) shows the remainder of the inner loop.

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 337

Listing 17: The remainder of the inner loop.

//Don't test a prey object against itself.

if(col != row){
//Get the vector from the refPrey object to
// the testPrey object.
tempVectorA = refPrey.
getDisplacementVector(testPrey);

//If refPrey is too close to testPrey, move

// it away from the testPrey object.
if(tempVectorA.getLength() < 10){
//Move refPrey away from testPrey by a
// small amount in the opposite direction.
refPrey = refPrey.addVectorToPoint(
tempVectorA.scale(0.2).negate());

}//end if on proximity test

}//end if col != row
}//end loop on col

1.243

It wouldn't make any sense to compare the position of a prey sh with itself, so the if statement in
Listing 17 (p. 337) prevents that from happening.
Code is relatively straightforward
Since you already know how to use most of the methods in the game-math library, you should have no
diculty understanding the code in Listing 17 (p. 337) . This code:

• gets the displacement vector that denes the separation between the primary object and the secondary
object,
• compares the length of that vector with 10 units, and
• moves the primary prey sh object in the opposite direction by 20-percent of the length of the separation
vector if the separation is less than 10 units.

As mentioned earlier, however, moving the primary sh object away from one prey sh could cause it to be
moved closer to a dierent prey sh object, so the separation algorithm is far from perfect.
Listing 17 (p. 337) signals the end of the inner loop that began in Listing 16 (p. 336) .
Save the primary prey sh object and do another iteration
The primary prey sh object may or may not have been moved. Regardless, a clone of that object is
created and saved in the container that contains the prey-sh population in Listing 18 (p. 338) .

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338 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 18: Save the primary prey sh object and do another iteration.

preyObjects.set(row,refPrey.clone());
}//end loop on row

1.244

After the object is saved in Listing 18 (p. 338) , control is transferred back to the top of the outer for
loop in Listing 16 (p. 336) and the next prey sh object in the population is compared with all of the other
prey-sh objects in the population, making corrections to the position of the prey sh as necessary.
Prey sh objects react to the predator
As I mentioned earlier, each prey sh object has a reasonably good defense mechanism to avoid being
eaten by the predator. However, in the nal analysis, whether or not a prey sh will escape when it encounters
the predator face to face is a random process. To some extent, success or failure to escape depends on how
quickly the prey sh senses the presence of the predator.
Listing 19 (p. 338) is the beginning of a for loop in which the proximity of each prey sh to the predator
is tested and evasive action on the part of the prey sh is taken if the distance between the two is less than
50 units.

Listing 19: Prey sh objects react to the predator.

for(int cnt = 0;cnt < preyObjects.size();cnt++){

tempPrey = preyObjects.get(cnt);

//Get a displacement vector from the prey object

// to the predator.
tempVectorA = tempPrey.getDisplacementVector(
predator);

1.245

The code in Listing 19 (p. 338) gets the next prey sh in the population and gets a displacement vector
describing the separation of the prey sh from the predator.
Prey sh object takes evasive action
If the prey sh is at least 50 units away from the predator, the prey sh simply goes on swimming without
concern for the predator. However, if the prey sh is less than 50 units away from the predator, the prey
sh takes evasive action in an attempt to escape the predator. The evasive action is accomplished in Listing
20 (p. 339) , and this is where some of the random behavior comes into play.

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 339

Listing 20: Prey sh object takes evasive action.

if(tempVectorA.getLength() < 50){

tempVectorA = tempVectorA.negate().scale(
random.nextDouble());
tempPrey =
tempPrey.addVectorToPoint(tempVectorA);

1.246

The prey sh moves by a random distance

In Listing 20 (p. 339) , the negative of the displacement vector separating the prey sh from the predator
is scaled by a random value ranging from 0 to 1. Then the prey sh is moved by the distance and direction
specied by the resulting vector. If the random value is 0, the prey sh won't be moved at all. If the random
value is 1, the distance between the prey sh and the predator will be doubled. For values between 0 and 1,
the prey sh will be moved dierent distances away from the predator.
Did the prey sh escape?
Once the prey sh has taken the evasive action and has (possibly) moved away from the predator, the
separation between the prey sh and the predator is tested again in Listing 21 (p. 339) .

Listing 21: Test the separation again.

tempVectorA =
tempPrey.getDisplacementVector(predator);

if(tempVectorA.getLength() < 25){

tempPrey = preyObjects.remove(cnt);
displayVectors.remove(cnt);
Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().beep();
killCount++;
timer.setText(
""
+ (new Date().getTime() - baseTime)
+ " / "
+ killCount);

1.247

If the new separation is at least 25 units, the escape attempt is deemed successful and the prey sh will
continue to live. (You can decrease or increase the threshold distance used in the test in Listing 21 (p. 339)
to cause the prey sh object to be more or less successful in the escape attempt. If you make the threshold
distance small enough, the prey sh will almost always escape.)
When the escape attempt is not successful...

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340 CHAPTER 1. MATH

When the escape attempt is not successful, the remaining code in Listing 21 (p. 339) is executed. The
prey sh is deemed to have been eaten by the predator. Therefore, the prey sh and its direction vector are
removed from the containers that contain them. This causes the prey sh to be removed from the population.
In addition, the program sounds a beep to notify the user of the successful attack by the predator and
the kill count that is displayed in the bottom right of Image 1 (p. 312) is incremented by one.
Display elapsed time and number of sh eaten
Finally, the code in Listing 21 (p. 339) displays the elapsed time in milliseconds since the Start button
was clicked along with the number of sh that have been eaten. Note that the value that is displayed is the
elapsed time when the most recent prey sh was eaten by the predator and is not the total elapsed time
since the Start button was clicked. (The elapsed time value won't change again until another prey sh
is eaten.)
When all of the prey sh have been eaten, the nal time that is displayed is the time that was required
for the predator to eat all of the sh in the population and the nal kill count that is displayed is the same of
the original number of prey sh in the population. (Also note that the player must click the Stop button
before starting a new game. Fixing this inconvenience will be a good exercise for the student.)
When the escape attempt is successful...
When the escape attempt is successful, a clone of the prey sh in its new location is stored in the prey-
Objects container and a normalized version of the sh's direction vector is stored in the displayVectors
container as shown in Listing 22 (p. 340) .

Listing 22: Restore the prey sh to the population.

}else{
//The escape attempt was successful. Restore
// a clone of the prey object in its new
// location along with its direction vector
// to the population.
preyObjects.set(cnt,tempPrey.clone());
//Save a normalized version of the direction
// vector for drawing later. It will
// overwrite the previously saved vector and
// if you watch closely it will show the
// prey object running away from the
// predator.
displayVectors.set(
cnt,tempVectorA.normalize().scale(15.0));
}//end else
}//end if distance < 50
}//end for loop on population

1.248

Listing 22 (p. 340) also signals the end of the for loop that began in Listing 19 (p. 338) .
Keep the prey sh in the playing eld
I have one more section of code to explain that deals with the behavior of the prey sh during each
iteration of the animation loop. The code in Listing 23 (p. 341) causes prey sh that stray outside the
playing eld to return to the playing eld.

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 341

Listing 23: Keep the prey sh in the playing eld.

for(int cnt = 0;cnt < preyObjects.size();cnt++){

tempPrey = preyObjects.get(cnt);

if(tempPrey.getDisplacementVector(origin).
getLength() > 0.5*osiHeight){

tempVectorA =
tempPrey.getDisplacementVector(origin);
tempPrey = tempPrey.addVectorToPoint(
tempVectorA.scale(0.1));
preyObjects.set(cnt,tempPrey.clone());
}//end if prey object is out of bounds
}//end for loop to process each prey object

1.249

The playing eld is the interior of a sphere

The playing eld is dened to be the interior of a sphere that is centered on the origin with a radius that
is one-half the height of the o-screen image. The for loop in Listing 23 (p. 341) iterates once for each
prey sh remaining in the population. The if statement in Listing 23 (p. 341) tests to determine if a prey
sh is outside of the sphere.
If the prey sh is outside the sphere, the code in Listing 23 (p. 341) gives that prey sh a nudge back
toward the origin and saves a clone of the prey sh in its new location.
Erase the o-screen image and draw the large circle
Listing 24 (p. 342) erases the o-screen image and draws the large circle that denes the playing eld
shown in Image 1 (p. 312) .

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342 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 24: Erase the o-screen image and draw the large circle.

//Erase the screen

g2D.setColor(Color.WHITE);
GM01.fillRect(g2D,-osiWidth/2,osiHeight/2,
osiWidth,osiHeight);

//Draw a broken-line circle that represents the

// intersection of the spherical boundary with the
// x-y plane. Although the prey objects and the
// predator can stray outside this sphere, they
// prefer to be inside the sphere.
GM01.Point3D tempPointA = new GM01.Point3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(osiHeight/2,0,0));
GM01.Point3D tempPointB;
//The circle is defined by 39 points around the
// circumference.
g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
for(int cnt = 0;cnt < 39;cnt++){
tempPointB =
new GM01.Point3D(new GM01.ColMatrix3D(
osiHeight/2*Math.cos((cnt*360/39)*Math.PI/180),
osiHeight/2*Math.sin((cnt*360/39)*Math.PI/180),
0));

//Connect every third pair of points with a line

if(cnt%3 == 0){
new GM01.Line3D(
tempPointA,tempPointB).draw(g2D);
}//end if
//Save the old point.
tempPointA = tempPointB;
}//end for loop

//Draw the final line required to close the circle

new GM01.Line3D(tempPointA,new GM01.Point3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(
osiHeight/2,0,0))).draw(g2D);

1.250

Although somewhat tedious, the code in Listing 24 (p. 342) is straightforward and shouldn't require an
explanation beyond the embedded comments.
Draw the prey sh on the o-screen image
Depending on the states of the two check boxes in Image 1 (p. 312) , Listing 25 (p. 343) draws the
GM01.Point3D objects that represent the prey sh or GM01.Vector3D objects that represent the

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 343

direction vectors for the prey sh, or both, on the o-screen image. (Note that only the vectors were drawn
on the o-screen image in Image 1 (p. 312) .)

Listing 25: Draw the prey sh on the o-screen image.

g2D.setColor(Color.RED);
for(int cnt = 0;cnt < preyObjects.size();cnt++){
tempPrey = preyObjects.get(cnt);
if(drawPoints){
tempPrey.draw(g2D);//draw circle around point
}//end if

if(drawVectors){
//Draw the vector with its tail at the point.
displayVectors.get(cnt).draw(g2D,tempPrey);
}//end if
}//end for loop

1.251

There is nothing new in Listing 25 (p. 343) , so I won't bore you with a detailed explanation of the code.
It's time to deal with the predator
So far, we have been dealing exclusively with code that controls the behavior of the prey sh. The time
has come to deal with the code that controls the behavior of the predator.
Cause the predator to slowly circle the cluster of prey sh
When the player clicks the Attack button, a boolean variable named attack is set to true ,
causing the predator to enter attack mode during the next iteration of the animation loop. However, when
the value of this variable is false , the predator is not in attack mode and its behavior is to swim slowly
around the cluster of prey sh encouraging them to bunch up into a smaller and tighter cluster.
The code that accomplishes this circling behavior is shown in Listing 26 (p. 344) .

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344 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 26: Cause the predator to slowly circle the cluster of prey sh.

//When the predator is not in attack mode, cause

// it to slowly circle the cluster of prey
// objects.
if(!attack){
//Get a displacement vector pointing from the
// predator to the preyCenter.
predatorVec =
predator.getDisplacementVector(preyCenter);

//Create a vector that is rotated relative to

// predatorVec. Note how each component in
// this new vector is set equal to a different
// component in predatorVec
tempVectorB = new GM01.Vector3D(
new GM01.ColMatrix3D(
predatorVec.getData(1),
predatorVec.getData(2),
predatorVec.getData(0))).scale(0.15);

//Scale predatorVec and add the two vectors.

// Then move the predator according to the sum
// of the vectors.
//Moving the prey object in the direction of
// the sum of these two vectors produces a
// motion that causes the predator to
// spiral toward the preyCenter instead of
// simply moving in a straight line toward the
// preyCenter. The scale factors control the
// relative motion between the two directions,
// and are fairly sensitive.
predatorVec =
predatorVec.scale(0.095).add(tempVectorB);

predator = predator.addVectorToPoint(
predatorVec.scale(1.0));

1.252

The code in Listing 26 (p. 344) is very similar to code that I explained earlier in conjunction with the
behavior of the prey sh. Therefore, no explanation beyond the embedded comments should be required.
Execute the attack
When the user clicks the Attack button, the value of the variable named attack is set to true ,
causing the code in Listing 27 (p. 345) to be executed during subsequent iterations of the animation loop.

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 345

Listing 27: Execute the attack.

}else{//attack is true
predator = predator.addVectorToPoint(
predatorVec.scale(0.25));

//Check to see if the predator is outside the

// spherical boundary that defines the playing
// field.
if(predator.getDisplacementVector(origin).
getLength() > 0.5*osiHeight){
//Shift out of attack mode and start circling
// the prey fish again.
attack = false;
attackButton.setEnabled(true);
}//end if
}//end else

1.253

The predator is in attack mode

The predator is in attack mode at the beginning of Listing 27 (p. 345) , and will remain in attack mode
using the same displacement vector to control its speed and direction until it leaves the spherical playing
eld. When it leaves the playing eld, the value of the attack variable will be set to false , causing the
predator to revert to non-attack mode.
As the predator encounters prey sh along its trip toward the edge of the playing eld, the code in Listing
21 (p. 339) (explained earlier) will determine whether those prey sh escape or get eaten by the predator.
Control of speed and direction
The displacement vector that controls the speed and direction of the predator ( predatorVec in
Listing 27 (p. 345) ) is created in the actionPerformed method in Listing 3 (p. 325) in response to a
click on the Attack button.
This vector is constructed to point to the most recently computed geometric center of the cluster of
prey sh. Note however, that the vector may no longer point to the exact center of the cluster because
the exact center of the cluster may have changed since it was last computed. In other words, the position
of the geometric center of the prey-sh cluster changes as the predator attacks and causes the prey sh to
scatter. As programmed, the predator is unable to respond to such changes and continues to move in the
same direction at the same speed until it leaves the playing eld.
In other words, even though the prey sh scatter, the predator is constrained to move in a straight line
across the playing eld once an attack has begun.

note: An interesting upgrade: A program upgrade to cause the predator to accommodate

such changes in the geometric center would be an interesting exercise for the student.

Draw the predator on the o-screen image

Listing 28 (p. 346) sets the drawing color to BLUE and draws the predator's direction vector on the
o-screen image.

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346 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 28: Draw the predator on the o-screen image.

g2D.setColor(Color.BLUE);
//Enable the following statement to draw a circle
// around the point that represents the predator.
//predator.draw(g2D);

//Draw the predator's vector.

predatorVec.normalize().scale(15.0).draw(
g2D,predator);
g2D.setColor(Color.RED);//restore red color

1.254

Copy o-screen image, insert time delay, etc

Listing 29 (p. 346) copies the o-screen image to the canvas and then causes the animation thread to
sleep for 166 milliseconds.

Listing 29: Copy o-screen image, insert time delay, etc.

//Copy the off-screen image to the canvas and then

// do it all again.
myCanvas.repaint();

//Insert a time delay. Change the sleep time to

// speed up or slow down the animation.
try{
Thread.currentThread().sleep(166);
}catch(Exception e){
e.printStackTrace();
}//end catch
}//end animation loop
}//end run method
}//end inner class named Animate

1.255

Listing 29 (p. 346) also signals the end of the animation loop, the end of the run method, and the end
of the inner class named Animate .
That is all of the code that I will explain for this program. You can view the remainder of the code in
Listing 31 (p. 355) near the end of the module.
Not a graphics program
Even though this program produces quite a lot of 3D graphics, and those graphics are important in

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 347

the playing of the game, this is not a graphics program. Rather, it is a 3D data-processing program that
produces graphics as a side eect.
That is not to say that the graphics are unimportant. To the contrary, the graphics provide visual
feedback to the player, which allows the player to implement a strategy for success. Without graphics, the
game would be very boring. However, the programming eort to produce the graphics represents an almost
trivial part of the total programming eort for this game.
An almost trivial part of the programming eort
Exclusive of the code required to draw the large circle shown in Image 1 (p. 312) , all of the graphics
shown in Image 1 (p. 312) , Image 5 (p. 319) , Image 6 (p. 321) , Image 7 (p. 334) , and Image 8 (p. 335)
are produced by only two calls to game-math library methods named draw . In other words, all of the
required graphics are produced by only two statements in the program code. (One additional statement is
required if you want to display the small circles that represent the locations of the prey sh.)
If those two statements are removed, the program will still compile and run, and the game can still be
played. However, without visual feedback, the game isn't much fun. The lack of visual feedback eliminates
the strategy aspect of the game, causing it to be solely a game of chance. Be that as it may, with or without
visual feedback, the player can still click the Start button and then repetitively click the Attack button
until the display in the bottom-right of Image 1 (p. 312) shows that all of the prey sh have been eaten.
Why am I telling you this?
I'm telling you this to emphasize that the essential skills required to program this game (and probably
most games for that matter) consist of skills in mathematics, programming logic, and several other technical
areas. The ability to produce on-screen graphics is necessary for an enjoyable game, but, (given a good
game-math library that supports graphics) , producing on-screen graphics is almost a trivial part of the pro-
gramming eort. In this collection of modules, you need to be mainly concentrating on learning mathematics
and programming logic and treating the production of on-screen graphics almost as an afterthought.

1.18.4.3 The program named GM01test04

This animation program is designed to exercise many of the 2D features of the GM01 game-math library.
The animation is generally based on the idea of a ocking behavior similar to that exhibited by birds and
sh. A set of GM01.Point2D objects is created with random locations to act as predators. An additional
GM01.Point2D object is also created to play the part of a prey object.
The prey object is drawn in red while the predators are drawn in black as shown in Image 2 (p. 314)
. An algorithm is executed that attempts to cause the predators to chase the prey object without colliding
with one another.
Even though the algorithm causes the predators to chase the prey object, it also tries to keep the predators
from colliding with the prey object.
The user input GUI
A GUI is provided that contains an input text eld for the number of predators plus a Start button
and a Stop button. The GUI also contains check boxes that allow the user to elect to display points only,
direction vectors only, or both. (Both the point and the direction vector is always displayed for the prey
object.)
The user species the number of randomly-placed predators and clicks the Start button, at which time
the animation begins and the predators start chasing the prey object. Prey-object motion is random.
The animation continues until the user clicks the Stop button. The user can click the Stop button,
change any of the input parameters, and then click the Start button again to re-start the animation with
dierent parameters such as the number of predator objects.
Swimming in formation
An unexpected result is that the algorithm seems to cause the predators to come together and swim in
formation while chasing the prey object. The most common formation is hexagonal as shown in Image 9 (p.
348) , which shows 12 predators swimming in a hexagonal formation.
(Note that some of the twelve predators are hidden by other predators.)

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348 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 9: Twelve predators swimming in a hexagon formation in GM01test04.

1.256

Other formations appear as well

Some triangles, diamonds, and incomplete hexagons also appear. For example, Image 10 (p. 349) shows
six predators swimming in a diamond formation.

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 349

Image 10: Six predators swimming in a diamond formation.

1.257

No explanation for this behavior

I haven't given the matter a lot of thought, but at this point, I have no explanation for this behavior.
Note that the tendency to swim in formation is more visually obvious when only the points are displayed.
When the vectors are displayed, it is more dicult to pick out the formation.
Dogged determination
On the other hand, the animation is most impressive when the direction vectors are displayed, with or
without points, because the vectors illustrate the dogged determination and undying focus that the predators
maintain while chasing the prey object.
Won't explain the code

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350 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Once you understand the code in the program named GM01test08 that I explained earlier in this
module, you should have no diculty understanding the code in this program. Therefore, I won't explain
the code in this program. I included this program in this module mainly to illustrate the dierences between
2D and 3D from both a visual and programming viewpoint.
A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 32 (p. 357) near the end of the module.

1.18.4.4 The program named GM01test03

This is a 3D update of the 2D program named GM01test04 discussed above.
A comparison of programming requirements
Basically all that was required to perform the update was to specify 3D classes from the game-math
library in place of the 2D classes used in the 2D version of the program. In some cases, this in turn required
that argument lists for constructors and methods be expanded from two dimensions to three dimensions.
Just about everything else took care of itself.
A comparison of these two programs illustrates the value of the game-math library named GM01 and
the ease with which you can switch back and forth between 2D and 3D programming when using the library.
A comparison of visual behavior
The visual behavior of this 3D version, as shown in Image 3 (p. 315) , is more realistic than the 2D
version. This is particularly true when the prey object gets in the middle of the predators and the display
is showing vectors. In the 2D version, a predator is constrained to swing around only in the plane of the
screen. However, in this 3D version, a predator is not subject to that constraint and is free to swing around
in the most appropriate way as the prey object passes by.
This constraint causes the motion in the 2D version to be less uid than the motion in the 3D version.
This can best be demonstrated with only one predator because that makes it easy to see the behavior of an
individual predator as the animation is running.
No swimming in formation
One very interesting thing that I have noticed is that unlike the 2D version, the predators in this 3D
version don't seem to have a tendency to form up and swim in formation while chasing the prey object.
This may be because they have more options in terms of avoiding collisions while giving chase. However,
that is pure speculation on my part since I don't know why the predators tend to swim in formation in the
2D version anyway. (It is also possible that the predators form into a 3D formation, which isn't visually
obvious in the 2D projection.)
Won't explain the code
As is the case with the earlier program named GM01test04 , once you understand the code in the
program named GM01test08 , you should have no diculty understanding the code in this program.
Therefore, I won't explain the code in this program. I included this program and the earlier 2D version
in this module mainly to illustrate the dierences between 2D and 3D from both a visual viewpoint and
programming viewpoint.
A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 33 (p. 359) near the end of the module.

1.18.4.5 The program namedStringArt04

This program animates the behavior of the earlier program named StringArt03 that I explained in an
earlier module. See the comments at the beginning of that program for a description of both programs.
The only signicant dierence in the behavior of the two programs is that this program slows the rotation
process down and animates it so that the user can see it happening in slow motion. Of course, quite a few
changes were required to convert the program from a static program to an animated program.
However, if you understand the code in the earlier program named StringArt03 and you understand
the code in the program named GM01test08 that I explained earlier in this module, you should have no
diculty understanding the code in the program named StringArt04 . Therefore, I won't explain the
code in this program. A screen shot of the program in action is shown in Image 4 (p. 317) . A complete
listing of the program is provided in Listing 34 (p. 361) .

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 351

Visual output
When viewing the output, remember that the program executes the rotations around the axes sequentially
in the following order:

• z-axis
• x-axis
• y-axis

1.18.5 Homework assignment

The homework assignment for this module was to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter6 - Scaling and
Unit Vectors .
The homework assignment for the next module is to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 10, Angle
between 3D Vectors .
In addition to studying the Kjell material, you should read at least the next two modules in this collection
and bring your questions about that material to the next classroom session.
Finally, you should have begun studying the physics material 96 at the beginning of the semester and you
should continue studying one physics module per week thereafter. You should also feel free to bring your
questions about that material to the classroom for discussion.

1.18.6 Run the programs

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 30 (p. 353) through Listing 34 (p. 361) . Compile the code
and execute it in conjunction with the game-math library named GM01 provided in Listing 30 (p. 353)
. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make certain that
you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

1.18.7 Summary

In this module, you learned how to write your rst interactive 3D game using the game-math library named
GM01 . You also learned how to write a Java program that simulates ocking behavior such as that
exhibited by birds and sh and you learned how to incorporate that behavior into the game. Finally,
you examined three other programs that illustrate various aspects of both 2D and 3D animation using the
game-math library.

1.18.8 What's next?

In the next module, you will learn the fundamentals of the vector dot product in both 2D and 3D. You
will learn how to update the game-math library to support various aspects of the vector dot product, and
you will learn how to write 2D and 3D programs that use the vector dot product methods in the game-math
library.

1.18.9 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0140: Our First 3D Game Program
• File: Game0140.htm
• Published: 10/20/12
96 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/

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352 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.18.10 Complete program listings

Complete listings of the programs discussed in this module are shown in Listing 30 (p. 353) through Listing
34 (p. 361) below.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 353

Listing 30: Source code for the game-math library named GM01.

/*GM01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/24/08

This is a major upgrade to the game-math library. This

version upgrades the version named GM2D04 to a new version
named simply GM01.

The primary purpose of the upgrade was to add 3D

capability for all of the 2D features provided by the
previous version. Because both 2D and 3D capabilities
are included, it is no longer necessary to differentiate
between the two in the name of the class. Therefore, this
version is named GM01.

Adding 3D capability entailed major complexity in one

particular area: drawing the objects. It is difficult to
draw a 3D object on a 2D screen. This requires a
projection process to project each point in the 3D object
onto the correct location on a 2D plane. There are a
variety of ways to do this. This 3D library uses an
approach often referred to as an oblique parallel
projection. See the following URL for technical
information on the projection process:

http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/∼pbourke/geometry/
classification/

In addition to adding 3D capability, this version also

eliminates the confusion surrounding the fact that the
default direction of the positive y-axis is going down
the screen instead of up the screen as viewers have become
accustomed to. When you use this library, you can program
under the assumption that the positive direction of the
y-axis is up the screen, provided you funnel all of your
drawing tasks through the library and don't draw
directly on the screen.

The name GMnn is an abbreviation for GameMathnn.

See the file named GM2D01.java for a general description

of the game-math library. The library has been updated
several times. This file is an update of GM2D04.

In addition to the updates mentioned above, this update

cleaned up some lingering areas of code inefficiency,
using the simplest available method to draw on an
off-screen image. In addition, the following new methods
were added:
Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
The following methods are new static methods of the class
named GM01. The first method in the list deals with the
problem of displaying a 3D image on a 3D screen.
354 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 355

Listing 31: Source code for the game program named GM01test08.

/*GM01test08.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/28/08.

This is an interactive 3D game program This game

simulates a school of prey fish being attacked and eaten
by a predator. The objective for the player is to cause
the predator to catch and eat all of the prey fish in a
minimum amount of time.

The strategy is for the player to initiate a series of

attacks by the predator, properly timed so as to minimize
the elapsed time required for the predator to catch and
eat all of the prey fish. The final elapsed time depends
both on player strategy and random chance. In other words,
as is the case in many games, this game is part strategy
and part chance.

The prey fish, (shown in red), swim in a large swirling

cluster. The predator, (shown in blue), swims around the
cluster, darting into the cluster on command to catch and
eat as many prey fish as possible during each attack.

When the predator attacks, the prey fish tend to scatter,

breaking up their tight formation and making it more
difficult for the predator to catch them. However, if the
predator is allowed to swim around them again for a short
period following an attack, they will form back into a
cluster. The attacks should be timed so that the prey fish
are in a reasonably tight cluster at the beginning of each
attack so that multiple prey fish will be caught and
eaten during the attack. However, allowing too much time
between attacks is detrimental to minimizing the total
elapsed time. Thus, the player must make a tradeoff
between elapsed time between attacks and the tightness of
the cluster during the attacks. Another disadvantage of
waiting too long between attacks is explained below.

In addition to some other controls, the GUI provides an

Attack button and an elapsed-time/kill-count indicator.
At any point in time, this indicator displays the elapsed
time in milliseconds when the most recent prey fish was
caught along with the total number of prey fish that have
been caught and eaten. The two values are separated by
a "/" character.

When all of the prey fish have been caught and eaten by
the predator, the elapsed time indicator shows the time
in milliseconds required to catch and eat all of the prey
fish. It also shows the number of prey fish that were
Availableshould
caught and eaten, which for free match
at Connexions
one of <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
the player
input values.

Initially, when the player clicks the Start button, the

356 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 357

Listing 32: Source code for the program named GM01test04.

/*GM01test04.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/25/08.

This animation program is designed to test many of the 2D

features of the GM01 game-math library.

The animation is generally based on the idea of a

flocking behavior similar to that exhibited by birds.

A set of Point2D objects is created with random locations.

An additional Point2D object known at the target is also
created. The target is drawn in red while the pursuers
are drawn in black.

An algorithm is executed that attempts to cause the points

to chase the target without colliding with one another.
Even though the algorithm causes the points to chase the
target, it also tries to keep the points from colliding
with the target.

A GUI is provided that contains an input text field for

the number of points plus a Start button and a Stop
button. The GUI also contains check boxes that allow the
user to elect to display points only, direction vectors
only, or both. (The point and the direction vector is
always displayed for the target.)

The user specifies the number of randomly-placed points

and clicks the Start button, at which time the animation
begins and the points start chasing the target. Target
motion is random. The animation continues until the user
clicks the Stop button. The user can click the Stop
button, change the number of points, and then click Start
again to re-start the animation with a different number
of points chasing the target.

The algorithm seems to cause the points to come together

and fly in formation while chasing the target. The most
common formation is hexagonal but sometimes triangles and
incomplete hexagons also appear. I have no explanation for
this behavior. The tendency to fly in formation is more
visually obvious when only the points are displayed.

On the other hand, the animation is most impressive when

the direction vectors are displayed, with or without
points, because the vectors illustrate the dogged
determination and undying focus that the pursuers maintain
while chasing the target.

Available
Tested using JDK 1.6 underforWinXP.
free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
358 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 359

Listing 33: Source code for the program named GM01test03.

/*GM01test03.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/25/08.

This is a 3D update from the 2D version named GM01test04.

Basically all that was required to perform the update was
to specify 3D classes from the game-math library in place
of the 2D classes used in the 2D version. Virtually
everything else took care of itself.

The visual behavior of this 3D version is more realistic

than the 2D version. This is particularly true when the
target gets in the middle of the pursuers and the display
is showing both points and vectors. In this 3D version,
a pursuer is free to swing around in any plane as the
target passes by whereas in the 2D version, a pursuer is
constrained to swing around only in the plane of the
screen. That causes the motion to be less fluid. This is
best demonstrated with only one pursuer because that makes
it easy to see the behavior of an individual pursuer.

One thing that I did notice, is that unlike the 2D

version, the pursuers in this 3D version don't seem to
have a tendency to form up and fly in formation while
chasing the target. This may be because they have more
options in terms of avoiding collisions while giving
chase, but that is pure speculation since I don't know
why they tend to fly in formation in the 2D version.

This animation program is designed to test many of the 3D

features of the GM01 game-math library.

The animation is generally based on the idea of a

flocking behavior similar to that exhibited by birds.

A set of Point3D objects is created with random locations.

An additional Point3D object known at the target is also
created. The target is drawn in red while the pursuers
are drawn in black.

An algorithm is executed that attempts to cause the points

to chase the target without colliding with one another.
Even though the algorithm causes the points to chase the
target, it also tries to keep the points from colliding
with the target.

A GUI is provided that contains an input text field for

the number of points plus a Start button and a Stop
button. The GUI also contains check boxes that allow the
Available points
user to elect to display for free atonly,
Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
direction vectors
only, or both. (Both the point and the direction vector
are always displayed for the target.)
360 CHAPTER 1. MATH

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 361

Listing 34: Source code for the program named StringArt04.

/*StringArt04.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 03/03/08

This program animates the behavior of the earlier program

named StringArt03. See the comments at the beginning of
that program for a description of both programs. The only
significant difference in the behavior of the two
programs is that this program slows the rotation process
down so that the user can see it happening in real time.
Of course, quite a few changes were required to convert
the program from a static program to an animated program.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

class StringArt04{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class StringArt04
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame implements ActionListener{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 300;
int vSize = 470;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas
Graphics2D g2D;//off-screen graphics context.

JTextField numberPointsField;//User input field.

JTextField loopsField;//User input field.
int numberPoints = 6;//Can be modified by the user.
int loopLim = 1;//Can be modified by the user.

JTextField zRotationField;//User input field

JTextField xRotationField;//User input field
JTextField yRotationField;//User input field
double zRotation;//Rotation around z in degrees.
double xRotation;//Rotation around x in degrees.
double yRotation;//Rotation around y in degrees

Available for free at Connexions

JTextField xAnchorPointField;//User input<http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
field
JTextField yAnchorPointField;//User input field
JTextField zAnchorPointField;//User input field
double xAnchorPoint;//Rotation anchor point.
362 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.18.11 Exercises

1.18.11.1 Exercise 1
Using Java and the game-math library named GM01 , or using a dierent programming environment of
your choice, write a program that creates the wireframe drawing of half of a sphere protruding upward from
the x-z plane as shown in Image 11 (p. 363) . The north and south poles of the sphere lie on the y-axis.
The x-z plane intersects the sphere at the equator and only the northern hemisphere is visible.
Cause your name to appear in the screen output in some manner.

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 363

Image 11: Screen output from Exercise 1.

1.263

1.18.11.2 Exercise 2
Using Java and the game-math library named GM01 , or using a dierent programming environment of
your choice, write a program that demonstrates your ability to animate two or more objects and have them
moving around in a 3D world.
Cause your name to appear in the screen output in some manner.

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364 CHAPTER 1. MATH

1.18.11.3 Exercise 3
Beginning with a 3D world similar to the one that you created in Exercise 2 (p. 363) , demonstrate your
ability to cause your program to recognize when two of your animated objects collide and to do something
that can be noticed by a human observer when the collision occurs.
Cause your name to appear in the screen output in some manner.

1.18.11.4 Exercise 4
Beginning with a program similar to the one that you wrote in Exercise 1 (p. 362) , create a wireframe
drawing of a complete sphere as shown in Image 12 (p. 365) . The north and south poles of the sphere lie on
the y-axis. As before, the x-z plane intersects the sphere at the equator, but in this case, the entire sphere
is visible.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 365

Image 12: Screen output from Exercise 4.

1.264

1.18.11.5 Exercise 5
Beginning with a program similar to the one that you wrote in Exercise 1 (p. 362) , create a wireframe
drawing of one-eighth of a sphere as shown in Image 13 (p. 366) . The north and south poles of the sphere
lie on the y-axis. As before, the x-z plane intersects the sphere at the equator. In this case, only that portion
of the sphere described by positive coordinate values is visible.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

366 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Cause your name to appear in the screen output in some manner.

Image 13: Screen output from Exercise 5.

1.265

-end-

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 367

1.19 GAME 2302-0145: Getting Started with the Vector Dot

Product97
1.19.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 367)

· Viewing tip (p. 369)
* Images (p. 369)
* Listings (p. 370)
• Preview (p. 370)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 385)
· The game-math library named GM02 (p. 385)
· The program named DotProd2D01 (p. 387)
· The program named DotProd2D02 (p. 390)
· The program named DotProd3D01 (p. 392)
· The program named DotProd3D02 (p. 393)
· Interpreting the vector dot product (p. 394)
· More than three dimensions (p. 394)
• Documentation for the GM02 library (p. 394)
• Homework assignment (p. 395)
• Run the programs (p. 395)
• Summary (p. 395)
• What's next? (p. 395)
• Miscellaneous (p. 396)
• Complete program listings (p. 397)
• Exercises (p. 407)
· Exercise 1 (p. 407)
· Exercise 2 (p. 408)
· Exercise 3 (p. 410)

1.19.2 Preface

This module is one in a collection of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications
for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
What you have learned
In the previous module, you learned how to write your rst interactive 3D game using the game-math
library. You also learned how to write a Java program that simulates ocking behavior such as that exhibited
by birds and sh and how to incorporate that behavior into a game. Finally, you examined three other
programs that illustrate various aspects of both 2D and 3D animation using the game-math library.
What you will learn
This module is the rst part of a two-part mini-series on the vector dot product . By the time you
nish both parts, you will have learned

• the fundamentals of the vector dot product in both 2D and 3D,

• how to update the game-math library to support various aspects of the vector dot product, and
• how to write 2D and 3D programs that use the vector dot product for various applications such as the
back-face culling procedure that was used to convert the image in Image 1 (p. 368) to the image in
Image 2 (p. 369) .
97 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45018/1.2/>.

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Image 1: A 3D image before back-face culling.

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Image 2: The 3D image after back-face culling.

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1.19.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

1.19.2.1.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 368) . A 3D image before back-face culling.
• Image 2 (p. 369) . The 3D image after back-face culling.
• Image 3 (p. 371) . Two vectors with their tails at the origin, program DotProd2D02.
• Image 4 (p. 373) . Dot product of two vectors with the same orientation in 2D.
• Image 5 (p. 374) . Dot product of two vectors with the same orientation in 3D.
• Image 6 (p. 375) . Dot product of a 3D vector with an identical vector.
• Image 7 (p. 376) . Dot product of vectors with opposite orientations.
• Image 8 (p. 378) . The dot product of perpendicular vectors in 2D.
• Image 9 (p. 379) . A general formulation of 2D vector perpendicularity.
• Image 10 (p. 380) . Another interesting 2D case of perpendicular vectors.
• Image 11 (p. 382) . A general formulation of 3D vector perpendicularity.
• Image 12 (p. 383) . A pair of perpendicular 3D vectors.
• Image 13 (p. 384) . Another pair of perpendicular 3D vectors.
• Image 14 (p. 388) . GUI for the program named DotProd2D01.

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• Image 15 (p. 393) . A screen shot of the output from the program named DotProd3D01.
• Image 16 (p. 396) . Six (magenta) vectors that are perpendicular to a given (black) vector.
• Image 17 (p. 408) . Output from Exercise 1.
• Image 18 (p. 410) . Output from Exercise 2.
• Image 19 (p. 412) . Output from Exercise 3.

1.19.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 386) . Source code for the method named GM02.ColMatrix3D.dot.
• Listing 2 (p. 386) . Source code for the method named GM02.Vector3D.dot.
• Listing 3 (p. 387) . Source code for the method named GM02.Vector3D.angle.
• Listing 4 (p. 389) . The actionPerformed method in the program named DotProd2D01.
• Listing 5 (p. 390) . Format the dot product value for display in the GUI.
• Listing 6 (p. 391) . Beginning of the actionPerformed method in the program named DotProd2D02.
• Listing 7 (p. 392) . Compute the dot product and the angle between the two vectors.
• Listing 8 (p. 398) . Source code for the game-math library named GM02.
• Listing 9 (p. 400) . Source code for the program named DotProd2D01.
• Listing 10 (p. 402) . Source code for the program named DotProd2D02.
• Listing 11 (p. 404) . Source code for the program named DotProd3D01.
• Listing 12 (p. 406) . Source code for the program named DotProd3D02.

1.19.3 Preview

The homework assignment for this module was to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 10, Angle
between 3D Vectors .
I won't repeat everything that Dr. Kjell has to say. However, there are a few points that I will summarize
in this section.
Basic denition of the vector dot product
The vector dot product is a special way to multiply two vectors to produce a real result. A description
of the vector dot product follows.

note: The vector dot product: the vector dot product of two vectors is the product of the
lengths of the vectors multiplied by the cosine of the angle between them

By the angle between them , I mean the angle that would be formed if you were to draw the two vectors
with their tails in the same location.
For example, Image 3 (p. 371) shows a black vector and a magenta vector drawn with their tails at the
origin. Eyeballing the picture suggests that the angle between the two vectors is forty or fty degrees.

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Image 3: Two vectors with their tails at the origin, program DotProd2D02.

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Can do more than eyeball

Fortunately, we can do more than eyeball the angle between two vectors. Image 3 (p. 371) shows the
screen output produced by the program named DotProd2D02 that I will explain in this module.
DotProd2D02 is a 2D program. I will also explain a 3D version named DotProd3D02 in this module
as well.
In Image 3 (p. 371) , the top four user input elds allow the user to enter the x and y coordinate values
of two vectors according to the labels that identify those elds. When the user clicks the OK button, the
rst vector is drawn in black with its tail at the origin and the second vector is drawn in magenta with its
tail at the origin. The dot product of the two vectors is computed and displayed in the bottom left text

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eld, and the angle between the two vectors is computed and displayed in the bottom right text eld.
Don't need to know the angle between the vectors
Upon seeing the description of the dot product given above (p. 370) , you may reasonably be concerned
about needing to know the angle between the vectors before you can compute the dot product. Fortunately,
as you will see later (p. 377) , it is possible to compute the dot product of two vectors without knowing
the angle. In fact, being able to compute the dot product is one way to determine the angle between two
vectors.
As you can see, the value of the dot product of the two vectors shown in Image 3 (p. 371) is 6000 and
the angle between the vectors is 49.3987 degrees. You will learn how those values were computed shortly.
Major properties of the dot product
Here are some of the major properties of the dot product of two vectors:

1. The dot product of two vectors with the same orientation is the product of their lengths.
2. The length of a vector is the square root of the dot product of the vector with itself.
3. The dot product of two vectors having opposite orientations is the negative of the product of their
lengths.
4. The dot product of perpendicular vectors is zero.
5. The angle between two vectors is the same as the angle between normalized versions of the vectors,
which is equal to the arc cosine of the dot product of the normalized vectors.

As you will see later, these properties apply to both 2D and 3D vectors. In many cases, they also apply to
vectors having more than three dimensions as well.
Dot product of two vectors with the same orientation in 2D
Image 4 (p. 373) illustrates the rst property in the above list: The dot product of two vectors with
the same orientation is the product of their lengths.

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Image 4: Dot product of two vectors with the same orientation in 2D.

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You may recall from some earlier experience that when a right triangle has sides with lengths of 30 and
40, the length of the hypotenuse is 50. That is the case for the magenta vector shown in Image 4 (p. 373)
. Similarly, when the sides of the triangle are 60 and 80, the length of the hypotenuse is 100, as is the case
for the black vector in Image 4 (p. 373) .
From the property given above, we know that the dot product of the black and magenta vectors shown
in Image 4 (p. 373) is 5000, which agrees with the value shown in the Dot Prod output eld in Image 4
(p. 373) .
Dot product of two vectors with the same orientation in 3D
Image 5 (p. 374) shows the dot product of two vectors with the same orientation in 3D. The image in

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Image 5 (p. 374) was produced by the program named DotProd3D02 .

Image 5: Dot product of two vectors with the same orientation in 3D.

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Manually calculate the value of the dot product

You may need to get your calculator out to manually compute the lengths of the two vectors in Image 5
(p. 374) . Computing the lengths as the square root of the sum of the squares of the three components of
each vector gives me the following lengths:

• Black length = 141.42

• Magenta length = 70.71

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Rounding the product of the two lengths gives the dot product value of 10000, which matches the value
shown in the bottom left output eld in Image 5 (p. 374) .
The length of a vector
Image 6 (p. 375) illustrates the second property in the above list (p. 372) : The length of a vector is
the square root of the dot product of the vector with itself .

Image 6: Dot product of a 3D vector with an identical vector.

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Image 6 (p. 375) displays two vectors having the same coordinate values as the black vector in Image 5
(p. 374) . (The black vector is hidden by the magenta vector in Image 6 (p. 375) .) Because these two
vectors have identical coordinate values, the dot product of these two vectors is the same as the dot product

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of either vector with itself.

We concluded earlier that the length of each of these vectors is 141.42. This length is the square root
of the dot product of the vector with itself. Squaring and rounding this length gives a dot product value of
20000, which matches the value shown in the bottom left output eld in Image 6 (p. 375) .
Dot product of vectors with opposite orientations
Image 7 (p. 376) illustrates the third property of the dot product given above (p. 372) : The dot
product of two vectors having opposite orientations is the negative of the product of their lengths .

Image 7: Dot product of vectors with opposite orientations.

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The two vectors shown in Image 7 (p. 376) have the same absolute coordinates as the two vectors shown

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in Image 5 (p. 374) . However, the algebraic signs of the coordinates of the magenta vector in Image 7
(p. 376) were reversed relative to Image 4 (p. 373) , causing the magenta vector to point in the opposite
direction from the black vector. (Note that the angle between the two vectors, as reported by the program
is zero degrees in Image 5 (p. 374) and is 180 degrees in Image 7 (p. 376) .)
The point here is that the dot product of the two vectors in Image 7 (p. 376) is the negative of the dot
product of the two vectors in Image 5 (p. 374) . This property will be used in another program in the second
part of this two-part miniseries to achieve the back-face culling shown in Image 1 (p. 368) .
The computational simplicity of the vector dot product
If you have studied the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 10, Angle between 3D Vectors you have learned
that the dot product of two vectors can be computed as the sum of products of the corresponding x, y, and
z components of the two vectors. In particular, in the 2D case , the dot product is given by:
2D dot product = x1*x2 + y1*y2
Similarly, in the 3D case , the dot product is given by:
3D dot product = x1*x2 + y1*y2 + z1*z2
Note that these two formulations don't require the program to know anything about the angle between
the two vectors, as is the case in the earlie (p. 370) r denition.
The dot product of perpendicular vectors in 2D
The dot product has many uses in game programming, not the least of which is determining if two vectors
are perpendicular.
Image 8 (p. 378) illustrates the fourth property in the above list (p. 372) : The dot product of
perpendicular vectors is zero . This is an extremely important property in that it allows game programs
to easily determine if two vectors are perpendicular. I will begin with a 2D discussion because the topic of
perpendicularly of vectors is less complicated in 2D than in 3D .

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Image 8: The dot product of perpendicular vectors in 2D.

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By eyeballing Image 8 (p. 378) , you can see that the magenta vector is probably perpendicular to the
black vector. Looking at the output elds at the bottom left and the bottom right in Image 8 (p. 378) , you
will see that the dot product of the two vectors is zero and the angle between the two vectors is 90 degrees.
Restating the perpendicularity property
Most of us learned in our earlier mathematics classes that the angle between perpendicular lines is 90
degrees. Therefore, the angle between perpendicular vectors must be 90 degrees. (See a denition of
perpendicularity 98 .)
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Most of us also learned in our trigonometry classes that the cosine of 90 degrees is 0.0. Since, by denition
(p. 370) , the value of the dot product of two vectors is the product of the lengths of the vectors multiplied by
the cosine of the angle between them , and the angle must be 90 degrees for two vectors to be perpendicular,
then the dot product of perpendicular vectors must be zero as stated by the fourth property in the above
list of properties (p. 372) .
An innite number of perpendicular vectors
By observing Image 8 (p. 378) , it shouldn't be too much of a stretch for you to recognize that there
are an innite number of dierent vectors that could replace the magenta vector in Image 8 (p. 378) and
be perpendicular to the black vector. However, since we are discussing the 2D case here, all of those vectors
must lie in the same plane and must have the same orientation (or the reverse orientation) as the magenta
vector. In other words, all of the vectors in the innite set of vectors that are perpendicular to the black
vector must lie on the line dened by the magenta vector, pointing in either the same direction or in the
opposite direction. However, those vectors can be any length and still lie on that same line.
A general formulation of 2D vector perpendicularity
By performing some algebraic manipulations on the earlier (p. 377) 2D formulation of the dot product,
we can formulate the equations shown in Image 9 (p. 379) that dene the innite set of perpendicular vectors
described above.

Image 9: A general formulation of 2D vector perpendicularity.

dot product = x1*x2 + y1*y2

If the two vectors are perpendicular:

x1*x2 + y1*y2 = 0.0

x1*x2 = -y1*y2
x2 = -y1*y2/x1

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As you can see from Image 9 (p. 379) , we can assume any values for y1, y2, and x1 and compute a value
for x2 that will cause the two vectors to be perpendicular.
A very interesting case
One very interesting 2D case is the case shown in Image 8 (p. 378) . In this case, I initially specied
one of the vectors to be given by the coordinate values (50,100). Then I assumed that y2 is equal to x1 and
computed the value for x2. The result is that the required value of x2 is the negative of the value of y1.
Thus, in the 2D case, we can easily dene two vectors that are perpendicular by

• swapping the coordinate values between two vectors and

• negating one of the coordinate values in the second vector

The actual direction that the second vector points will depend on which value you negate in the second
vector.
Another interesting 2D case of perpendicular vectors
Another interesting 2D case is shown in Image 10 (p. 380) .

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Image 10: Another interesting 2D case of perpendicular vectors.

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In Image 10 (p. 380) , I assumed the same coordinate values for the black vector as in Image 8 (p. 378) .
Then I assumed that the values of the y-coordinates for both vectors are the same. Using those values along
with the equation in Image 8 (p. 378) , I manually computed a required value of -200 for the x-coordinate
of the magenta vector. I entered that value into the eld labeled VectorBx = in Image 10 (p. 380) and
clicked the OK button.
And the result was...
You can see that the value of the dot product of the two vectors in Image 10 (p. 380) is 0.0, and the
angle between the two vectors is 90 degrees. Therefore, although the magenta vector in Image 10 (p. 380) is
much longer than the magenta vector in Image 8 (p. 378) , the magenta vector in Image 10 (p. 380) is still

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perpendicular to the black vector. Thus, Image 8 (p. 378) and Image 10 (p. 380) show two of the innite
number of magenta vectors that are perpendicular to the black vector in those images.
The dot product of perpendicular vectors in 3D
As I mentioned earlier, the topic of perpendicularity in 3D is more complicated (p. 377) than is the case
in 2D. As is the case in 2D, there are an innite number of vectors that are perpendicular to a given vector
in 3D. In 2D, the innite set of perpendicular vectors must have dierent lengths taken in pairs, and the
vectors in each pair must point in opposite directions.
An innite number of perpendicular vectors having the same length
However, in 3D there are an innite number of vectors having the same length that are perpendicular
to a given vector. All of the perpendicular vectors having the same length must point in dierent directions
and they must all lie in a plane that is perpendicular to the given vector.
Perpendicular vectors having dierent lengths may point in the same or in dierent directions but they
also must lie in a plane that is perpendicular to the given vector.
A wagon-wheel analogy
Kjell explains the situation of an innite set of 3D vectors that are perpendicular to a given vector by
describing an old-fashioned wagon wheel with spokes that emanate directly from the hub and extend to the
rim of the wheel. The hub surrounds the axle and each of the spokes is perpendicular to the axle. Depending
on the thickness of the spokes, a large (but probably not innite) number of spokes can be used in the
construction of the wagon wheel.
Another wheel at the other end of the axle
In this case, the wagon wheel lies in a plane that is perpendicular to the axle. There is normally another
wheel at the other end of the axle. Assuming that the axle is straight, the second wheel is in a dierent plane
but that plane is also perpendicular to the axle. Thus, the spokes in the second wheel are also perpendicular
to the axle.
If there were two identical wheels at each end of the axle for a total of four wheels (the predecessor to
the modern 18-wheel tractor trailer) , the spokes in all four of the wheels would be perpendicular to the
axle. Again, the point is that there are an innite number of vectors that are perpendicular to a given vector
in 3D.
A general formulation of 3D vector perpendicularity
By performing some algebraic manipulations on the earlier (p. 377) 3D formulation of the dot product,
we can develop the equations shown in Image 11 (p. 382) that describe an innite set of vectors that are
perpendicular to a given vector.

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Image 11: A general formulation of 3D vector perpendicularity.

dot product = x1*x2 + y1*y2 + z1*z2

If the two vectors are perpendicular:

x1*x2 + y1*y2 + z1*z2 = 0.0

x1*x2 = -(y1*y2 + z1*z2)

x2 = -(y1*y2 + z1*z2)/x1

or

y2 = -(x1*x2 + z1*z2)/y1

or

z2 = -(x1*x2 + y1*y2)/z1

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(Although I didn't do so in Image 11 (p. 382) , I could have written three more equations that could be
used to solve for x1, y1, and z1 if the given vector is notated as x2, y2, and z2.)
No simple case
Unlike with 2D vectors, (to my knowledge) , there is no case that simply allows you to swap coordinate
values and change the sign on one of them to produce a vector that is perpendicular to another vector.
However, given the equations in Image 11 (p. 382) , and given values for x1, y1, and z1, we can assume
values for y2 and z2 and determine the value for x2 that will cause the two vectors to be perpendicular.
While this is a fairly tedious computation with a hand calculator, it is very easy to write Java code to
perform the computation. Therefore, given a 3D vector, it is fairly easy to write Java code that will compute
an innite number of vectors that are perpendicular to the given vector.
A pair of perpendicular 3D vectors
Image 12 (p. 383) and Image 13 (p. 384) each show a magenta 3D vector that is part of the innite set
of vectors that are all perpendicular to the black 3D vector. In Image 12 (p. 383) , y1 was assumed to be
equal to y2, and z1 was assumed to be equal to z2. For an x1 value of 25, a value of -125 was required to
cause the magenta vector to be perpendicular to the black vector.

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Image 12: A pair of perpendicular 3D vectors.

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Another pair of perpendicular 3D vectors

In Image 13 (p. 384) , x1 was assumed to be equal to x2, and z1 was assumed to be equal to z2.

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Image 13: Another pair of perpendicular 3D vectors.

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For a y1 value of 50, a y2 value of - 25 was required to cause the magenta vector to be perpendicular to
the black vector.
The black vector didn't change
Note that the black vector is the same in Image 12 (p. 383) and Image 13 (p. 384) . However, the
magenta vectors are dierent in Image 12 (p. 383) and Image 13 (p. 384) . They represent just two of the
innite set of vectors that are perpendicular to the black vector. (They are two of the vectors in the innite
set of perpendicular vectors that are relatively easy to compute using program code.)
Computing the angle between two vectors
The fth property in the previous list (p. 372) reads: The angle between two vectors is the same as the

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angle between normalized versions of the vectors, which is equal to the arc cosine of the dot product of the
normalized vectors.
In other words, given two vectors, we can compute the angle between the two vectors by rst normalizing
each vector and then computing the dot product of the two normalized vectors.
(By normalizing, I mean to change the coordinate values such that the direction of the vector remains
the same but the length of the vector is converted to 1.0.)
The dot product is equal to the cosine of the angle. The actual angle can be obtained by using one of
the methods of the Math class to compute the arc cosine of the value of the dot product.
Used to compute the output angle in the programs
This is the procedure that is used by the programs in this module to compute and display the angle
between two vectors as illustrated by the contents of the output elds labeled Ang(deg) or Angle (deg)
= in many of the images in this module.
I will have more to say about this topic as I explain the code in the upgraded game-math library named
GM02 as well as the following four programs that demonstrate the use of the upgraded game-math library:
• DotProd2D01
• DotProd2D02
• DotProd3D01
• DotProd3D02

I will also provide exercises for you to complete on your own at the end of the module. The exercises will
concentrate on the material that you have learned in this module and previous modules.

1.19.4 Discussion and sample code

1.19.4.1 The game-math library named GM02

In this section, I will present and explain an updated version of the game-math library named GM02 .
This game-math library is an update to the game-math library named GM01 . The main purpose of
this update was to add vector dot product and related capabilities, such as the computation of the angle
between two vectors to the library.
The following methods are new instance methods of the indicated static top-level classes belonging to
the class named GM02 .

• GM02.ColMatrix2D.dot - computes dot product of two ColMatrix2D objects.

• GM02.Vector2D.dot - computes dot product of two Vector2D objects.
• GM02.Vector2D.angle - computes angle between two Vector2D objects.
• GM02.ColMatrix3D.dot - computes dot product of two ColMatrix3D objects
• GM02.Vector3D.dot - computes dot product of two Vector3D objects.
• GM02.Vector3D.angle - computes angle between two Vector3D objects.
Will only explain the new 3D methods
I have explained much of the code in the game-math library in previous modules, and I won't repeat
those explanations here. Rather, I will explain only the new 3D code in this module. Once you understand
the new 3D code, you should have no diculty understanding the new 2D code.
You can view a complete listing of the updated game-math library in Listing 8 (p. 398) near the end of
the module.
Source code for the method named GM02.ColMatrix3D.dot
Listing 1 (p. 386) shows the source code for the new instance method named GM02.ColMatrix3D.dot
. If you have studied the Kjell tutorials, you have learned that the dot product can be applied not only to
two vectors, but can also be applied to the column matrix objects that are used to represent the vectors.
Listing 1 (p. 386) computes the dot product of two ColMatrix3D objects and returns the result as type
double.

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Listing 1: Source code for the method named GM02.ColMatrix3D.dot.

public double dot(GM02.ColMatrix3D matrix){

return getData(0) * matrix.getData(0)
+ getData(1) * matrix.getData(1)
+ getData(2) * matrix.getData(2);
}//end dot

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This is one of those cases where it is very easy to write the code once you understand the code that you
need to write. Listing 1 (p. 386) implements the equation for the 3D dot product that I provided earlier (p.
377) and returns the result of the computation as type double .
Source code for the method named GM02.Vector3D.dot
Listing 2 (p. 386) shows the source code for the method named GM02.Vector3D.dot . This method
computes the dot product of two Vector3D objects and returns the result as type double .

Listing 2: Source code for the method named GM02.Vector3D.dot.

public double dot(GM02.Vector3D vec){

GM02.ColMatrix3D matrixA = getColMatrix();
GM02.ColMatrix3D matrixB = vec.getColMatrix();
return matrixA.dot(matrixB);
}//end dot

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Once again, the code is straightforward. All Vector3D objects instantiated from classes in the game-
math library are represented by objects of the ColMatrix3D class. Listing 2 (p. 386) gets a reference to
the two ColMatrix3D objects that represent the two vectors for which the dot product is needed. Then
it calls the GM02.ColMatrix3D.dot method shown earlier in Listing 1 (p. 386) to get and return the
value of the dot product of the two vectors.
Source code for the method named GM02.Vector3D.angle
Listing 3 (p. 387) shows the source code for the method named GM02.Vector3D.angle . This method
computes and returns the angle between two Vector3D objects. The angle is returned in degrees as type
double .

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Listing 3: Source code for the method named GM02.Vector3D.angle.

public double angle(GM02.Vector3D vec){

GM02.Vector3D normA = normalize();
GM02.Vector3D normB = vec.normalize();
double normDotProd = normA.dot(normB);
return Math.toDegrees(Math.acos(normDotProd));
}//end angle

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You need to understand trigonometry here

If you understand trigonometry, you will nd the code in Listing 3 (p. 387) straightforward. If not,
simply take my word for it that the method shown in Listing 3 (p. 387) behaves as described above.
The method begins by calling the normalize method on each of the two vectors for which the angle
between the vectors is needed. (See the denition of the normalize method in Listing 8 (p. 398) .)
Then Listing 3 (p. 387) computes the dot product of the two normalized vectors. The value of the dot
product is the cosine of the angle between the two original vectors.
After that, Listing 3 (p. 387) calls the acos method of the Math class to get the arc (inverse) cosine
(see Inverse Cosine 99 ) of the dot product value. The acos method returns the angle in radians.
Finally, Listing 3 (p. 387) calls the toDegrees method of the Math class to convert the angle from
radians to degrees and to return the angle in degrees as type double .
That completes the discussion of the updates to the game-math library resulting in the new library named
GM02 .

1.19.4.2 The program named DotProd2D01

To understand this program, you need to understand the material in the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 8
- Length, Orthogonality, and the Column Matrix Dot product .
The purpose of this program is simply to conrm proper operation of the GM02.ColMatrix2D.dot
method. The program output is shown in Image 14 (p. 388) .
99 http://mathworld.wolfram.com/InverseCosine.html

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388 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 14: GUI for the program named DotProd2D01.

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A graphical user interface

The program creates a GUI that allows the user to enter the rst and second values for each of a pair of
ColMatrix2D objects into four text elds. The GUI also provides a button labeled OK . When the user
clicks the OK button, the dot product of the two ColMatrix2D objects is computed. The resulting
value is formatted to four decimal digits and displayed in a text eld in the lower left of the GUI.
Similar to previous programs
Much of the code in this program is similar to code that I have explained in earlier modules, so I won't
repeat those explanations here. I will explain only the code contained in the actionPerformed method
that is new to this module. A complete listing of this program is shown in Listing 9 (p. 400) .
The actionPerformed method in the program named DotProd2D01
The beginning of the actionPerformed method is shown in Listing 4 (p. 389) . This method is called
to respond to a click on the OK button shown in Image 14 (p. 388) .

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 389

Listing 4: The actionPerformed method in the program named DotProd2D01.

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){

//Create two ColMatrix2D objects.
GM02.ColMatrix2D matrixA = new GM02.ColMatrix2D(
Double.parseDouble(colMatA0.getText()),
Double.parseDouble(colMatA1.getText()));

GM02.ColMatrix2D matrixB = new GM02.ColMatrix2D(

Double.parseDouble(colMatB0.getText()),
Double.parseDouble(colMatB1.getText()));

//Compute the dot product.

double dotProd = matrixA.dot(matrixB);

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Listing 4 (p. 389) begins by instantiating a pair of GM02.ColMatrix2D objects using data provided
by the user in the top four elds shown in Image 14 (p. 388) .
Then Listing 4 (p. 389) calls the dot method on the object referred to by matrixA , passing the
object referred to by matrixB as a parameter. The dot method computes the dot product of the two
column matrix objects, returning the result as type double .
Format the dot product value for display in the GUI
In some cases, the format of the returned value is not very suitable for display in the lower-left eld
in Image 14 (p. 388) . For example, if the value is very small, it is returned in an exponential notation
requiring a large number of digits for display. Similarly, sometimes the dot-product value is returned in a
format something like 0.33333333 requiring a large number of digits to display.
Listing 5 (p. 390) formats the dot product value to make it suitable for display in the text eld in Image
14 (p. 388) . (There may be an easier way to do this, but I didn't want to take the time to gure out what
it is.)

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390 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 5: Format the dot product value for display in the GUI.

//Eliminate exponential notation in the display.

if(Math.abs(dotProd) < 0.001){
dotProd = 0.0;
}//end if

//Convert to four decimal digits and display.

dotProd =((int)(10000*dotProd))/10000.0;
dotProduct.setText("" + dotProd);

}//end actionPerformed

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Eliminate exponential format and format to four decimal digits

Listing 5 (p. 390) begins by simply setting small values that are less than 0.001 to 0.0 to eliminate the
exponential format for very small, non-zero values.
Then Listing 5 (p. 390) executes some code that formats the dot product value to four decimal digits. I
will leave it as an exercise for the student to decipher how this code does what it does.
I recommend that you try it
I recommend that you plug a few values into the input elds, click the OK button, and use your
calculator to convince yourself that the program properly implements the 2D dot product equation shown
earlier (p. 377) .
That concludes the discussion of the program named DotProd2D01 .

1.19.4.3 The program named DotProd2D02

To understand this program, you need to understand the material in the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 9,
The Angle Between Two Vectors .
This program allows the user to experiment with the dot product and the angle between a pair of
GM02.Vector2D objects.
A screen shot of the output from this program is shown in Image 3 (p. 371) . The GUI shown in Image 3
(p. 371) is provided to allow the user to enter four double values that dene each of two GM02.Vector2D
objects. The GUI also provides an OK button as well as two text elds used for display of computed
results.
In addition, the GUI provides a 2D drawing area. When the user clicks the OK button, the program
draws the two vectors, (one in black and the other in magenta) , on the output screen with the tail of each
vector located at the origin in 2D space. The program also displays the values of the dot product of the two
vectors and the angle between the two vectors in degrees.
Once again, much of the code in this program is similar to code that I have explained before. I will
explain only the method named actionPerformed , for which some of the code is new to this module. A
complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 10 (p. 402) .
Beginning of the actionPerformed method in the program named DotProd2D02
This method is called to respond to a click on the OK button in Image 2 (p. 369) .

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 391

Listing 6: Beginning of the actionPerformed method in the program named DotProd2D02.

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){

//Erase the off-screen image and draw the axes.

setCoordinateFrame(g2D);

//Create two ColMatrix2D objects based on the user

// input values.
GM02.ColMatrix2D matrixA = new GM02.ColMatrix2D(
Double.parseDouble(vectorAx.getText()),
Double.parseDouble(vectorAy.getText()));

GM02.ColMatrix2D matrixB = new GM02.ColMatrix2D(

Double.parseDouble(vectorBx.getText()),
Double.parseDouble(vectorBy.getText()));

//Use the ColMatrix2D objects to create two Vector2D

// objects.
GM02.Vector2D vecA = new GM02.Vector2D(matrixA);
GM02.Vector2D vecB = new GM02.Vector2D(matrixB);

//Draw the two vectors with their tails at the origin.

g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
vecA.draw(
g2D,new GM02.Point2D(new GM02.ColMatrix2D(0,0)));

g2D.setColor(Color.MAGENTA);
vecB.draw(
g2D,new GM02.Point2D(new GM02.ColMatrix2D(0,0)));

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Listing 6 (p. 391) gets the four user input values that dene the two vectors and draws them in black
and magenta on the GUI shown in Image 3 (p. 371) . There is nothing new in the code in Listing 6 (p. 391)
.
Compute the dot product and the angle between the two vectors
Listing 7 (p. 392) computes the dot product and the angle between the two vectors by rst calling the
dot method and then the angle method on the object referred to by vecA , passing the object referred
to by vecB as a parameter.

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392 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 7: Compute the dot product and the angle between the two vectors.

//Compute the dot product of the two vectors.

double dotProd = vecA.dot(vecB);

//Output formatting code was deleted for brevity

//Compute the angle between the two vectors.

double angle = vecA.angle(vecB);

//Output formatting code was deleted for brevity

myCanvas.repaint();//Copy off-screen image to canvas.

}//end actionPerformed

1.286

In both cases, the code in Listing 7 (p. 392) formats the returned double values to make them
appropriate for display in the bottom two text elds in Image 3 (p. 371) . This code was deleted from
Listing 7 (p. 392) for brevity.
Conrm that the results are correct
Because this is a 2D display, it is easy to make an eyeball comparison between the drawing of the two
vectors and the reported angle between the two vectors to conrm agreement. However, I recommend that
you use this program to dene several vectors and then use your scientic calculator to conrm that the
results shown are correct.
That concludes the explanation of the program named DotProd2D02 .

1.19.4.4 The program named DotProd3D01

To understand this program, you need to understand the material in the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 8
- Length, Orthogonality, and the Column Matrix Dot product .
The purpose of this program is to conrm proper operation of the ColMatrix3D.dot method. The
program creates a GUI that allows the user to enter three values for each of a pair of ColMatrix3D objects
along with a button labeled OK . When the user clicks the OK button, the dot product of the two
ColMatrix3D objects is computed and displayed.
A screen shot of the output from the program named DotProd3D01
A screen shot of the output from the program named DotProd3D01 is shown in Image 15 (p. 393) .
(Compare Image 15 (p. 393) with Image 14 (p. 388) .)

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Image 15: A screen shot of the output from the program named DotProd3D01.

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Very similar to a previous program

Except for the fact that this program calls the dot method on an object of the GM02.ColMatrix3D
class instead calling the dot method on an object of the GM02.ColMatrix2D class, this program is
essentially the same at the program named DotProd2D01 that I explained earlier. Therefore, you should
have no trouble understanding this program without further explanation from me. A complete listing of this
program is provided in Listing 11 (p. 404) .
That concludes the explanation of the program named DotProd3D01 .

1.19.4.5 The program named DotProd3D02

You need to understand the material in the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 10, Angle between 3D Vectors
to understand this program.
Program output
A screen shot of the output of this program is shown in Image 12 (p. 383) . This program allows the user
to experiment with the dot product and the angle between a pair of GM02.Vector3D objects. A GUI
is provided that allows the user to enter six double values that dene each of two GM02.Vector3D
objects. The GUI also provides an OK button as well as two text elds used for display of the computed
results.
In addition, the GUI provides a 3D drawing area. When the user clicks the OK button, the program
draws the two vectors, (one in black and the other in magenta) , on the output screen with the tail of each
vector located at the origin in 3D space. The program also displays the values of the dot product of the
two vectors and the angle between the two vectors in degrees. (Compare the output of this 3D program in
Image 12 (p. 383) with the output from the 2D program in Image 3 (p. 371) .)
Program code
A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 12 (p. 406) . Almost all of the new and
interesting code in this program is in the method named actionPerformed .
Very similar to a previous program
If you compare the method named actionPerformed in Listing 12 (p. 406) with the actionPer-
formed method for the program named DotProd2D02 in Listing 10 (p. 402) , you will see that they are
very similar. One calls 2D methods in the game-math library while the other calls 3D methods in the same

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394 CHAPTER 1. MATH

library. Therefore, you should have no diculty understanding this program without further explanation
from me.
That concludes the explanation of the program named DotProd3D02 .

1.19.4.6 Interpreting the vector dot product

In eect, the dot product of two vectors provides a measure of the extent to which the two vectors have the
same orientation. If the two vectors are parallel, the dot product of the two vectors has a maximum value of
1.0 multiplied by the product of the lengths of the two vectors. Normalizing the vectors before computing
the dot product will eliminate the eect of the vector lengths and will cause the results to be somewhat
easier to interpret.
If the normalized vectors are parallel and point in the same direction, the dot product of the normalized
vectors will be 1.0. If the normalized vectors are parallel and point in opposite directions, the value of the
dot product will be -1.0. If the vectors are perpendicular, the dot product of the two vectors will be 0.0
regardless of whether or not they are normalized.
For all orientations, the value of the dot product of normalized vectors will vary between -1.0 and +1.0.

1.19.4.7 More than three dimensions

You may have it in your mind that the use of mathematical concepts such as the vector dot product are
limited to the three dimensions of width, height, and depth. If so, that is a false impression. The vector dot
product is very useful for systems with more than three dimensions. In fact, engineers and scientists deal
with systems every day that have more than three dimensions. While it usually isn't too dicult to handle
the math involved in such systems, we have a very hard time drawing pictures of systems with more than
three or four dimensions.
Digital convolution is a good example
I have spent much of my career in digital signal processing where I have routinely dealt with systems
having thirty or forty dimensions. For example, in the module titled Convolution and Frequency Filtering
in Java 100 and some other related modules as well, I describe the process of digital convolution ltering .
One way to think of digital convolution is that it is a running dot product computation between one
vector (the convolution lter) and a series of other vectors, each comprised of successive chunks of samples
from the incoming data. In non-adaptive systems, the vector that represents the convolution lter usually
has a set of xed coordinate values, and there may be dozens and even hundreds of such coordinates. (For
an adaptive system, the values that dene the vector typically change as a function of time or some other
parameter.)
Often, the input data will consist of samples taken from a channel consisting of signal plus noise. The
objective is often to design a vector (the convolution lter) that is parallel to all of the signal components in
the incoming data and is perpendicular to all of the noise components in the incoming data. If that objective
is achieved, the noise will be suppressed while the signal will be passed through to the output.

1.19.5 Documentation for the GM02 library

Click here 101 to download a zip le containing standard javadoc documentation for the library named
GM02 . Extract the contents of the zip le into an empty folder and open the le named index.html in
your browser to view the documentation.
Although the documentation doesn't provide much in the way of explanatory text (see Listing 8 (p. 398)
and the explanations given above) , the documentation does provide a good overview of the organization
and structure of the library. You may nd it helpful in that regard.
100 http://www.developer.com/java/other/article.php/3484591/Convolution-and-Frequency-Filtering-in-Java.htm
101 http://cnx.org/content/m45018/latest/GM02docs.zip

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 395

1.19.6 Homework assignment

The homework assignment for this module was to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 10, Angle
between 3D Vectors .
The homework assignment for the next module is to continue studying that same material.
In addition to studying the Kjell material, you should read at least the next two modules in this collection
and bring your questions about that material to the next classroom session.
Finally, you should have begun studying the physics material 102 at the beginning of the semester and
you should continue studying one physics module per week thereafter. You should also feel free to bring
your questions about that material to the classroom for discussion.

1.19.7 Run the programs

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 8 (p. 398) through Listing 12 (p. 406) . Compile the code
and execute it in conjunction with the game-math library named GM02 provided in Listing 8 (p. 398) .
Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make certain that
you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

1.19.8 Summary

In this module, you learned the fundamentals of the vector dot product in both 2D and 3D. You learned
how to update the game-math library to support various aspects of the vector dot product, and you learned
how to write 2D and 3D programs that use the vector dot product methods in the game-math library.

1.19.9 What's next?

In the next module, which will be the second part of this two-part miniseries on the vector dot product, you
will learn how to use the dot product to compute nine dierent angles of interest that a vector makes with
various elements in 3D space.
You will learn how to use the dot product to nd six of the innite set of vectors that are perpendicular
to a given vector as shown in Image 16 (p. 396) .
102 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/

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396 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 16: Six (magenta) vectors that are perpendicular to a given (black) vector.

1.288

You will also learn how to use the dot product to perform back-face culling as shown in Image 1 (p. 368)
and Image 2 (p. 369) .

1.19.10 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0145: Getting Started with the Vector Dot Product

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 397

• File: Game0145.htm
• Published: 10/21/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.19.11 Complete program listings

Complete listings of the programs discussed in this module are shown in Listing 8 (p. 398) through Listing
12 (p. 406) below

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398 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 8: Source code for the game-math library named GM02.

/*GM02.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/08/08

This is an update to the game-math library named GM01.

The main purpose of this update was to add vector dot

product and related capabilities to the library.

Please see the comments at the beginning of the library

class named GM01 for a general description of the library.

The following methods are new instance methods of the

indicated static top-level classes belonging to the class
named GM02.

GM02.ColMatrix2D.dot - compute dot product of two

ColMatrix2D objects.
GM02.Vector2D.dot - compute dot product of two
Vector2D objects.
GM02.Vector2D.angle - compute angle between two Vector2D
objects.

GM02.ColMatrix3D.dot - compute dot product of two

ColMatrix3D objects
GM02.Vector3D.dot - compute dot product of two
Vector3D objects.
GM02.Vector3D.angle - compute angle between two Vector3D
objects.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.*;

public class GM02{

//----------------------------------------------------//

//This method converts a ColMatrix3D obj to a

// ColMatrix2D object. The purpose is to accept
// x, y, and z coordinate values and transform those
// values into a pair of coordinate values suitable for
// display in two dimensions.
//See http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/∼pbourke/geometry/
// classification/ for technical background on the
// transform from 3D to 2D.
//The transform equations are:
// x2d = x3d + z3d * cos(theta)/tan(alpha)
// y2d = y3d + z3d * sin(theta)/tan(alpha);
//Let theta = 30 degrees and alpha = 45 degrees
//Then:cos(theta)Available
= 0.866 for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
// sin(theta) = 0.5
// tan(alpha) = 1;
//Note that the signs in the above equations depend
 399

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400 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 9: Source code for the program named DotProd2D01.

/*DotProd2D01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 03/04/08

Study Kjell through Chapter 8 - Length, Orthogonality, and

the Column Matrix Dot product.

The purpose of this program is to confirm proper operation

of the ColMatrix2D.dot method.

The program creates a GUI that allows the user to enter

the first and second values for a pair of ColMatrix2D
objects along with a button labeled OK.

When the user clicks the OK button, the dot product

between the two ColMatrix2D objects is computed. The
resulting value is converted to four decimal digits and
displayed in a text field on the GUI.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

class DotProd2D01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class DotProd2D01
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame implements ActionListener{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 150;

JTextField colMatA0 = new JTextField("0.707");

JTextField colMatA1 = new JTextField("0.707");
JTextField colMatB0 = new JTextField("-0.707");
JTextField colMatB1 = new JTextField("-0.707");
JTextField dotProduct = new JTextField();
JButton button = new JButton("OK");

//----------------------------------------------------//

GUI(){//constructor

//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.

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setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
 401

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402 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 10: Source code for the program named DotProd2D02.

/*DotProd2D02.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 03/07/08

This program allows the user to experiment with the dot

product and the angle between a pair of GM02.Vector2D
objects.

Study Kjell through Chapter 9, The Angle Between Two

Vectors.

A GUI is provided that allows the user to enter four

double values that define each of two GM02.Vector2D
objects. The GUI also provides an OK button as well as
two text fields used for display of computed results.

In addition, the GUI provides a 2D drawing area.

When the user clicks the OK button, the program draws the
two vectors, one in black and the other in magenta, on
the output screen with the tail of each vector located at
the origin in 2D space.

The program also displays the values of the dot product

of the two vectors and the angle between the two vectors
in degrees.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

class DotProd2D02{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class DotProd2D02
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame implements ActionListener{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 400;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas
Graphics2D g2D;//off-screen graphics context.
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//User input components.
JTextField vectorAx = new JTextField("50.0");
JTextField vectorAy = new JTextField("100.0");
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404 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 11: Source code for the program named DotProd3D01.

/*DotProd3D01.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 03/04/08

Study Kjell through Chapter 8 - Length, Orthogonality, and

the Column Matrix Dot product.

The purpose of this program is to confirm proper operation

of the ColMatrix3D.dot method.

The program creates a GUI that allows the user to enter

three values for each of a pair of ColMatrix3D objects
along with a button labeled OK.

When the user clicks the OK button, the dot product

between the two ColMatrix3D objects is computed. The
resulting value is converted to four decimal digits and
displayed in a text field on the GUI.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

class DotProd3D01{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class DotProd3D01
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame implements ActionListener{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 470;
int vSize = 150;

JTextField colMatA0 = new JTextField("0.57735");

JTextField colMatA1 = new JTextField("0.57735");
JTextField colMatA2 = new JTextField("0.57735");

JTextField colMatB0 = new JTextField("-0.57735");

JTextField colMatB1 = new JTextField("-0.57735");
JTextField colMatB2 = new JTextField("-0.57735");

JTextField dotProduct = new JTextField();

JButton button = new JButton("OK");

//----------------------------------------------------//
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GUI(){//constructor

//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.

 405

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406 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 12: Source code for the program named DotProd3D02.

/*DotProd3D02.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 03/07/08

This program allows the user to experiment with the dot

product and the angle between a pair of GM02.Vector3D
objects.

Study Kjell through Chapter 10, Angle between 3D Vectors.

A GUI is provided that allows the user to enter six

double values that define each of two GM02.Vector3D
objects. The GUI also provides an OK button as well as
two text fields used for display of computed results.

In addition, the GUI provides a 3D drawing area.

When the user clicks the OK button, the program draws the
two vectors, one black and the other in magenta, on the
output screen with the tail of each vector located at the
origin in 3D space.

The program also displays the values of the dot product

of the two vectors and the angle between the two vectors
in degrees.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

class DotProd3D02{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class DotProd3D02
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame implements ActionListener{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 400;
int vSize = 400;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas
Graphics2D g2D;//off-screen graphics context.

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//User input components.
JTextField vecAx = new JTextField("50.0");
JTextField vecAy = new JTextField("100.0");
JTextField vecAz = new JTextField("0.0");
 407

1.19.12 Exercises

1.19.12.1 Exercise 1
Using Java and the game-math library named GM02 , or using a dierent programming environment of
your choice, write a program that behaves as follows.
When the program starts running, an image similar to Image 17 (p. 408) appears on the screen. Each of
the text elds is blank and the drawing area at the top is also blank.
Each time you click the Replot button, the program generates three random values in the general
range of -128 to 127. The rst two values are used as the x and y values for a vector. The two values are
displayed in the elds labeled VectorAx and VectorAy . Also, the two values are used to create and
draw a black vector with its tail at the origin as shown in Image 17 (p. 408) .
The third random value is used as the x-value for a second vector. It is displayed in the eld labeled
VectorBx . A y-value is computed that will cause that vector to be perpendicular to the black vector.
That value is displayed in the eld labeled VectorBy and the two values are used to draw the magenta
vector shown in Image 17 (p. 408) .
The dot product between the two vectors is computed and displayed in the eld labeled Dot Prod .
The angle between the two vectors is computed and displayed in the eld labeled Angle (deg) .
If the two vectors are perpendicular, the dot product should be close to zero and the angle should be
very close to 90 degrees.
Cause your name to appear in the screen output in some manner.

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408 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 17: Output from Exercise 1.

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1.19.12.2 Exercise 2
Using Java and the game-math library named GM02 , or using a dierent programming environment of
your choice, write a program that behaves as follows.
When the program starts running, an image similar to Image 18 (p. 410) appears on the screen. Each of
the text elds is blank and the drawing area at the top is also blank.
Each time you click the Plot button, the program generates three random values in the general range
of -128 to 127. The rst two values are used as the x and y values for a 3D vector. (Set the z-value for the

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 409

vector to 0.0.) The three values are displayed in the elds labeled VecAx , VecAy , and VecAz .
Also, the three values are used to create and draw a black 3D vector with its tail at the origin as shown in
Image 18 (p. 410) .
The third random value is used as the x value for a second 3D vector. (Set the z-value for the vector to
0.0.) Those two values are displayed in the elds labeled VecBx and VecBz . A y-value is computed that
will cause that vector to be perpendicular to the black vector. That value is displayed in the eld labeled
VecBy and the three values are used to draw the magenta vector shown in Image 18 (p. 410) .
The dot product between the two vectors is computed and displayed in the eld labeled Dot Prod .
The angle between the two vectors is computed and displayed in the eld labeled Angle (deg) .
If the two vectors are perpendicular, the dot product should be close to zero and the angle should be
very close to 90 degrees.
Cause your name to appear in the screen output in some manner.

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410 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 18: Output from Exercise 2.

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1.19.12.3 Exercise 3
Using Java and the game-math library named GM02 , or using a dierent programming environment of
your choice, write a program that behaves as follows.
When the program starts running, an image similar to Image 19 (p. 412) appears on the screen. Each of
the text elds is blank and the drawing area at the top is also blank.
Each time you click the Plot button, the program generates ve random values in the general range
of -128 to 127. The rst three values are used as the x, y, and z values for a vector. The three values are

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 411

displayed in the elds labeled VecAx , VecAy , and VecAz . Also, the three values are used to create
and draw a black vector with its tail at the origin as shown in Image 19 (p. 412) .
The fourth and fth random values are used as the x and y values for a second vector. They are
displayed in the elds labeled VecBx and VecBy . A z-value is computed that will cause that vector
to be perpendicular to the black vector. That value is displayed in the eld labeled VecBz and the three
values are used to draw the magenta vector shown in Image 19 (p. 412) .
The dot product between the two vectors is computed and displayed in the eld labeled Dot Prod .
The angle between the two vectors is computed and displayed in the eld labeled Angle (deg) .
If the two vectors are perpendicular, the dot product should be close to zero and the angle should be
very close to 90 degrees.
Cause your name to appear in the screen output in some manner.

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412 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 19: Output from Exercise 3.

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-end-

1.20 GAME 2302-0150: Applications of the Vector Dot Product103

1.20.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 413)

103 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45022/1.2/>.

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 413

· Viewing tip (p. 415)

* Images (p. 415)
* Listings (p. 415)
• Preview (p. 416)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 416)
· The game-math library named GM02 (p. 416)
· The program named DotProd3D05 (p. 416)
· The program named DotProd3D06 (p. 423)
· The program named DotProd3D04 (p. 428)
· The program named DotProd3D03 (p. 429)
• Homework assignment (p. 430)
• Run the program (p. 430)
• Summary (p. 430)
• What's next? (p. 431)
• Miscellaneous (p. 431)
• Complete program listing (p. 431)
• Exercises (p. 441)
· Exercise 1 (p. 441)
· Exercise 2 (p. 442)

1.20.2 Preface

This module is one in a collection of modules designed for teaching GAME2302 Mathematical Applications
for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
What you have learned
In the previous module, which was the rst part of a two-part miniseries on the vector dot product, you
learned the fundamentals of the vector dot product in both 2D and 3D. You learned how to update the
game-math library to support various aspects of the vector dot product, and you learned how to write 2D
and 3D programs that use the vector dot product methods in the game-math library.
What you will learn
In this module, you will learn how to apply the vector dot product to three dierent applications. You
will learn

• how to use the dot product to compute nine dierent angles of interest that a vector makes with various
elements in 3D space,
• how to use the dot product to nd six somewhat unique vectors of the innite set of vectors that are
perpendicular to a given vector as shown in Image 4 (p. 424) , and
• how to use the dot product to perform back-face culling to convert the image shown in Image 1 (p.
414) to the image shown in Image 2 (p. 415) .

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Image 1: A 3D image before back-face culling.

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Image 2: The 3D image after back-face culling.

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1.20.2.1 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this module in a separate browser window and use the following
links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

1.20.2.1.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 414) . A 3D image before back-face culling.
• Image 2 (p. 415) . The 3D image after back-face culling.
• Image 3 (p. 417) . Screen shot of the output from the program named DotProd3D05.
• Image 4 (p. 424) . Six (magenta) vectors that are perpendicular to a given (black) vector.
• Image 5 (p. 425) . Screen output when one coordinate has a value of zero.
• Image 6 (p. 426) . A general formulation of 3D vector perpendicularity.
• Image 7 (p. 442) . Output from Exercise 1.
• Image 8 (p. 443) . Output from Exercise 2.

1.20.2.1.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 419) . Beginning of the actionPerformed method in the program named DotProd3D05.
• Listing 2 (p. 420) . Create ColMatrix3D objects that represent projections.
• Listing 3 (p. 421) . Create and draw vectors.

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416 CHAPTER 1. MATH

• Listing 4 (p. 422) . Compute and display the nine angles.

• Listing 5 (p. 427) . Beginning of the actionPerformed method for the program named DotProd3D06.
• Listing 6 (p. 428) . Remainder of the actionPerformed method.
• Listing 7 (p. 429) . The method named drawTheCylinder in DotProd3D04.
• Listing 8 (p. 430) . The method named drawTheCylinder in DotProd3D03.
• Listing 9 (p. 432) . Source code for the game-math library named GM02.
• Listing 10 (p. 434) . Source code for the program named DotProd3D05.
• Listing 11 (p. 436) . Source code for the program named DotProd3D06.
• Listing 12 (p. 438) . Source code for the program named DotProb3D04.
• Listing 13 (p. 440) . Source code for the program named DotProb3D03.

1.20.3 Preview

This module will build on what you learned about the vector dot product in the earlier module titled GAME
2302-0145: Getting Started with the Vector Dot Product 104 . In that module, you learned some of the
theory behind the dot product. In this module, you will learn how to use the dot-product methods of the
game-math library to write several applications. I will present and explain the following four programs:

• DotProd3D05 - Demonstrates how the dot product can be used to compute nine dierent angles
of interest that a vector makes with various elements in 3D space.
• DotProd3D06 - Demonstrates the use of the dot product to nd six somewhat unique vectors of
the innite set of vectors that are perpendicular to a given vector. (See Image 4 (p. 424) .)
• DotProd3D04 - Draws the same 3D object as the one drawn in DotProd3D03 but without the
benet of back-face culling. (See Image 1 (p. 414) .)
• DotProd3D03 - Demonstrates use of the vector dot product for back-face culling. (See Image 2
(p. 415) .)

I will also provide exercises for you to complete on your own at the end of the module. The exercises will
concentrate on the material that you have learned in this module and previous modules.

1.20.4 Discussion and sample code

1.20.4.1 The game-math library named GM02

The game-math library has not been modied since the previous module. Therefore, there is nothing new
to discuss and explain insofar as the library is concerned. For your convenience, a complete listing of the
source code for the library is provided in Listing 9 (p. 432) near the end of the module.
A link to a zip le containing documentation for the library is provided in the earlier module titled
GAME 2302-0145: Getting Started with the Vector Dot Product 105 .

1.20.4.2 The program named DotProd3D05

In order to understand this and the following programs, you need to understand the material in the Kjell
tutorial through Chapter 10, Angle between 3D Vectors .
Game programming frequently requires the determination of angles of various types. The purpose of this
program is to demonstrate how the dot product can be used to compute nine dierent angles of interest that
a vector makes with various elements in 3Dspace.
Image 3 (p. 417) shows a screen shot of the graphical user interface provided by this program.
104 http://cnx.org/content/m45018/latest
105 http://cnx.org/content/m45018/latest

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 417

Image 3: Screen shot of the output from the program named DotProd3D05.

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Angles relative to the axes

First, the program computes and displays the angle between a user-specied vector (drawn in black in
Image 3 (p. 417) ) and each of the X, Y, and Z axes. These values are displayed with the labels Angle X
, Angle Y , and Angle Z in Image 3 (p. 417) .
Angles relative to the XY, YZ, and ZX planes
Then the program computes and displays the angle between the vector and each of the XY , YZ , and
ZX planes. In this case, the program computes the smallest possible angle by projecting the vector onto
the plane and then computing the angle between the vector and its projection. These values are displayed
with the labels Angle XY , Angle YZ , and Angle ZX .

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418 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Angles of projections relatives to the axes

Finally, the program computes and displays the angle between the projection of the vector on each of
the three planes and one of the axes that denes each plane. The angle between the projection and the
other axis that denes the plane is 90 degrees minus the computed angle. Specically the values that are
computed and displayed are:

• Projection onto the XY plane relative to the x-axis, displayed with the label Angle PX .
• Projection onto the YZ plane relative to the y-axis, displayed with the label Angle PY .
• Projection onto the ZX plane relative to the z-axis, displayed with the label Angle PZ .

The graphical user interface

All angles are reported as positive angles in degrees. As you can see in Image 3 (p. 417) , a GUI is
provided that allows the user to enter three double values that dene a GM02.Vector3D object. The
GUI also provides an OK button as well as nine text elds that are used to display the computed results
described above. In addition, the GUI provides a 3D drawing area.
When the user clicks the OK button, the program draws the user-specied vector in black with the
tail located at the origin in 3D space. It also draws the projection of that vector in magenta on each of the
XY , YZ , AND ZX planes.
Very similar to previously-explained code
Much of the code in this program is very similar to code that I have explained in previous modules. I won't
repeat those explanations here. Most of the new code is contained in the method named actionPerformed
, so I will explain the code in that method. A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 10 (p.
434) near the end of the module.
Beginning of the actionPerformed method in the program named DotProd3D05
Listing 1 (p. 419) shows the beginning of the actionPerformed method. This method is called to
respond to a click on the OK button shown in Image 3 (p. 417) .

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 419

Listing 1: Beginning of the actionPerformed method in the program named DotProd3D05.

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){

//Erase the off-screen image and draw the axes.

setCoordinateFrame(g2D);

//Create one ColMatrix3D object based on the user

// input values.
GM02.ColMatrix3D matrixA = new GM02.ColMatrix3D(
Double.parseDouble(vecX.getText()),
Double.parseDouble(vecY.getText()),
Double.parseDouble(vecZ.getText()));

//Create ColMatrix3D objects that represent each of

// the three axes.
GM02.ColMatrix3D matrixX =
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(1,0,0);
GM02.ColMatrix3D matrixY =
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(0,1,0);
GM02.ColMatrix3D matrixZ =
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(0,0,1);

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You have seen code similar to that in Listing 1 (p. 419) many times before. Therefore, this code should
not require further explanation beyond the embedded comments.
Create ColMatrix3D objects that represent projections
Listing 2 (p. 420) creates ColMatrix3D objects that represent the projection of the user-specied
vector onto each of the three planes.

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420 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 2: Create ColMatrix3D objects that represent projections.

GM02.ColMatrix3D matrixXY = new GM02.ColMatrix3D(

Double.parseDouble(vecX.getText()),
Double.parseDouble(vecY.getText()),
0);

GM02.ColMatrix3D matrixYZ = new GM02.ColMatrix3D(

0,
Double.parseDouble(vecY.getText()),
Double.parseDouble(vecZ.getText()));

GM02.ColMatrix3D matrixZX = new GM02.ColMatrix3D(

Double.parseDouble(vecX.getText()),
0,
Double.parseDouble(vecZ.getText()));

1.301

Although the actual code in Listing 2 (p. 420) should be familiar to you, the application may be new.
The important thing to note is that the projection onto each of the three planes in Listing 2 (p. 420) is
accomplished by setting one of the coordinate values to zero for each projection. For example, in order to
project the vector onto the XY plane, the value for the z-axis coordinate is set to zero as shown in Listing
2 (p. 420) .
Create and draw vectors
Listing 3 (p. 421) uses the ColMatrix3D objects created in Listing 1 (p. 419) and Listing 2 (p. 420)
to create and draw vectors based on those ColMatrix3D objects.

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 421

Listing 3: Create and draw vectors.

//Use the ColMatrix3D objects to create Vector3D

// objects representing the user-specified vector and
// each of the axes.
GM02.Vector3D vecA = new GM02.Vector3D(matrixA);
GM02.Vector3D vecX = new GM02.Vector3D(matrixX);
GM02.Vector3D vecY = new GM02.Vector3D(matrixY);
GM02.Vector3D vecZ = new GM02.Vector3D(matrixZ);

//Create Vector3D objects that represent the

// projection of the user-specified vector on each of
// the planes.
GM02.Vector3D vecXY = new GM02.Vector3D(matrixXY);
GM02.Vector3D vecYZ = new GM02.Vector3D(matrixYZ);
GM02.Vector3D vecZX = new GM02.Vector3D(matrixZX);

//Draw the projection of the user specified vector on

// each of the three planes.
g2D.setColor(Color.MAGENTA);
vecXY.draw(g2D,new GM02.Point3D(
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(0,0,0)));
vecYZ.draw(g2D,new GM02.Point3D(
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(0,0,0)));
vecZX.draw(g2D,new GM02.Point3D(
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(0,0,0)));

//Draw the user-specified vector with its tail at the

// origin.
g2D.setColor(Color.BLACK);
vecA.draw(g2D,new GM02.Point3D(
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(0,0,0)));

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Once the ColMatrix3D objects have been created to serve each specic purpose, there is nothing new
in Listing 3 (p. 421) . Therefore, no explanation of the code beyond the embedded comments should be
necessary.
Compute and display the nine angles
Listing 4 (p. 422) calls the angle method of the GM02.Vector3D class nine times in succession,
using references to the vectors created in Listing 3 (p. 421) , to compute and display the nine angle values
shown in Image 3 (p. 417) .

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422 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 4: Compute and display the nine angles.

//Compute and display the angle relative to the

// x-axis.
double angle = vecA.angle(vecX);
angleX.setText("" + prepareForDisplay(angle));

//Compute and display the angle relative to the

// y-axis.
angle = vecA.angle(vecY);
angleY.setText("" + prepareForDisplay(angle));

//Compute and display the angle relative to the

// z-axis.
angle = vecA.angle(vecZ);
angleZ.setText("" + prepareForDisplay(angle));

//Compute and display the angle relative to the

// XY plane
angle = vecA.angle(vecXY);
angleXY.setText("" + prepareForDisplay(angle));

//Compute and display the angle relative to the

// YZ plane
angle = vecA.angle(vecYZ);
angleYZ.setText("" + prepareForDisplay(angle));

//Compute and display the angle relative to the

// ZX plane
angle = vecA.angle(vecZX);
angleZX.setText("" + prepareForDisplay(angle));

//Compute and display the angle of the projection onto

// the XY plane relative to the x-axis
angle = vecXY.angle(vecX);
anglePX.setText("" + prepareForDisplay(angle));

//Compute and display the angle of the projection onto

// the YZ plane relative to the y-axis
angle = vecYZ.angle(vecY);
anglePY.setText("" + prepareForDisplay(angle));

//Compute and display the angle of the projection onto

// the ZX plane relative to the z-axis
angle = vecZX.angle(vecZ);
anglePZ.setText("" + prepareForDisplay(angle));

myCanvas.repaint();//Copy off-screen image to canvas.

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}//end actionPerformed

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 423

Once the required vectors had been created in Listing 3 (p. 421) , there is nothing new in the code in
Listing 4 (p. 422) . Therefore, no explanation of Listing 4 (p. 422) should be required beyond the comments
embedded in the code.
The bottom line on the program named DotProd3D05
The bottom line is that because the methods in the game-math library named GM02 were designed
to do most of the hard work, writing application programs such as DotProd3D05 using the game-math
library is not dicult at all. You simply need to understand how to organize your code to accomplish the
things that you need to accomplish.
That concludes the explanation of the program named DotProd3D05 .

1.20.4.3 The program named DotProd3D06

This program demonstrates how the dot product can be used to nd vectors that are perpendicular to a
given vector.
An innite number of possibilities
Recall that you learned in the previous module that there are an innite number of vectors that are
perpendicular to a given vector in 3D. This program computes and displays normalized and scaled versions
of six somewhat unique vectors of the innite set of vectors that are perpendicular to a user specied vector.
The graphic output
The screen output from this program is shown in Image 4 (p. 424) .

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424 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 4: Six (magenta) vectors that are perpendicular to a given (black) vector.

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Output on the command-line screen

In addition to the graphic output shown in Image 4 (p. 424) , the program also displays the values of three
of the perpendicular vectors on the command-line screen along with the angle between the perpendicular
vector and the user-specied vector. The angle should always be 90 degrees or very close to 90 degrees if the
program is working properly. The other three of the six perpendicular vectors are simply negated versions
of the three for which the values are displayed.
Special case of one zero coordinate value
If the user species one of the coordinate values to be zero (or close to zero) , the program only computes
and displays four of the possible vectors in order to avoid performing division by a near-zero value. In this

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 425

case, the orientation of two of the vectors will overlay the orientation of the other two. Because the vectors
are normalized to the same length and occupy the same space, you will only see two vectors instead of four.
This is illustrated in Image 5 (p. 425) where the value of the z-axis coordinate value was set to zero relative
to the value used in Image 4 (p. 424) .

Image 5: Screen output when one coordinate has a value of zero.

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Special case of two coordinates with a value of zero

If the user species two of the coordinate values to be zero or close to zero, the program doesn't produce
a valid result. Instead, it draws a perpendicular vector where all of the coordinate values are zero resulting
in a magenta vector head at the origin. It also displays NaN (Not a Number) for the angle on the command

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426 CHAPTER 1. MATH

line screen.
The graphical user interface
The GUI shown in Image 4 (p. 424) is provided to allow the user to enter three double values that
dene a GM02.Vector3D object. The GUI also provides an OK button in addition to a 3D drawing
area.
When the user clicks the OK button, the program draws the user-specied vector in black with the tail
located at the origin in 3D space. It draws normalized versions of the perpendicular vectors in magenta with
their tails also located at the origin. Each normalized vector is scaled by a factor of 50 before it is drawn to
cause it to be long enough to be seen.
A short review
Before getting into the programming details, we need to review some material from the previous module.
Recall that I did some algebraic manipulations in the previous module and produced the equations shown
in Image 6 (p. 426) .

Image 6: A general formulation of 3D vector perpendicularity.

dot product = x1*x2 + y1*y2 + z1*z2

If the two vectors are perpendicular:

x1*x2 + y1*y2 + z1*z2 = 0.0

x1*x2 = -(y1*y2 + z1*z2)

x2 = -(y1*y2 + z1*z2)/x1

or

y2 = -(x1*x2 + z1*z2)/y1

or

z2 = -(x1*x2 + y1*y2)/z1

1.306

An innite set of perpendicular vectors

The equations in Image 6 (p. 426) describe an innite set of vectors that are all perpendicular to a given
vector. Given these equations, and given the coordinates (x1, y1, and z1) of a vector for which we need to
produce perpendicular vectors, we can assume values for any two of x2, y2, and z2. We can then determine
the value for the other coordinate that will cause the new vector to be perpendicular to the given vector.
That is the procedure that is used by this program to produce three of the perpendicular vectors shown
in Image 4 (p. 424) . The remaining three perpendicular vectors shown in Image 4 (p. 424) are produced
by negating the three vectors that are created using the procedure described above.
Beginning of the actionPerformed method
The only code in this program that is new to this module is contained in the actionPerformed method.
This method is called to respond to a click on the OK button in Image 5 (p. 425) . Therefore, I will
conne my explanation to portions of the actionPerformed method. You can view a complete listing of

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 427

this program in Listing 11 (p. 436) near the end of the module.
The actionPerformed method begins in Listing 5 (p. 427) . Note that I deleted some of the code
early in the method because it is very similar to code that I have explained before.

Listing 5: Beginning of the actionPerformed method for the program named DotProd3D06.

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){

1.307

Behavior of the actionPerformed method

The actionPerformed method contains three sections of code, each of which implements one of the
equations in Image 6 (p. 426) , to compute and draw one of the perpendicular vectors shown in Image 4 (p.
424) . In addition, the code in the actionPerformed method draws the negative of those three vectors
to produce the other three perpendicular vectors shown in Image 4 (p. 424) .
Implement the last equation
Listing 5 (p. 427) implements the last equation from Image 6 (p. 426) , provided that the z-axis coordinate
value for the given vector is greater than 0.001. As mentioned earlier, if the z-axis coordinate value is not
greater than 0.001, the code in Listing 5 (p. 427) is skipped and no eort is made to create and draw that
particular vector. This is done to prevent an attempt to divide by a zero or near-zero value.
A new ColMatrix3D object
Listing 5 (p. 427) creates a new ColMatrix3D object with the x and y-axes coordinate values matching
the corresponding values for the user specied vector. It executes the expression shown in Listing 5 (p. 427)
to compute the value of the z-axis coordinate that will cause the new vector to be perpendicular to the
user-specied vector. (The expression in Listing 5 (p. 427) matches the last equation in Image 6 (p. 426)
.)
A new Vector3D object
Then it uses the ColMatrix3D object described above to create, normalize, scale, and draw the
rst perpendicular vector. Following that, the code negates the perpendicular vector to create another
perpendicular vector that points in the opposite direction.
Along the way, some information is displayed on the command-line screen.
The most important code
The most important code in Listing 5 (p. 427) , insofar as the objective of the program is concerned, is
the expression that computes the z-axis coordinate value that will cause the new vector to be perpendicular
to the user-specied vector.
Remainder of the actionPerformed method
Listing 6 (p. 428) does essentially the same thing two more times to implement the other two equations
shown in Image 6 (p. 426) , creating and drawing four more perpendicular vectors in the process.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

428 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 6: Remainder of the actionPerformed method.

if(Math.abs(yCoor) > 0.001){

tempMatrix = new GM02.ColMatrix3D(
xCoor,-(xCoor*xCoor + zCoor*zCoor)/yCoor,zCoor);
tempVec = new GM02.Vector3D(tempMatrix);
System.out.println(tempVec);
//Normalize and scale the perpendicular vector.
tempVec = tempVec.normalize().scale(50.0);
tempVec.draw(g2D,new GM02.Point3D(
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(0,0,0)));
tempVec.negate().draw(g2D,new GM02.Point3D(
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(0,0,0)));
System.out.println(vecA.angle(tempVec));
}//end if

if(Math.abs(xCoor) > 0.001){

tempMatrix = new GM02.ColMatrix3D(
-(yCoor*yCoor + zCoor*zCoor)/xCoor, yCoor,zCoor);
tempVec = new GM02.Vector3D(tempMatrix);
System.out.println(tempVec);
//Normalize and scale the perpendicular vector.
tempVec = tempVec.normalize().scale(50.0);
tempVec.draw(g2D,new GM02.Point3D(
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(0,0,0)));
tempVec.negate().draw(g2D,new GM02.Point3D(
new GM02.ColMatrix3D(0,0,0)));
System.out.println(vecA.angle(tempVec));
}//end if

myCanvas.repaint();//Copy off-screen image to canvas.

System.out.println();//blank line
}//end actionPerformed
//----------------------------------------------------//

1.308

Listing 6 (p. 428) also causes the o-screen image to be displayed on the canvas.
That concludes the explanation of the program named DotProd3D06 .

1.20.4.4 The program named DotProd3D04

The purpose of this program is to serve as a counterpoint to the program named Prob3D03 , which
demonstrates backface culling. (I will explain the program named Prob3D03 shortly.)
This program draws the 3D object shown in Image 1 (p. 414) , while the program named DotProd3D03
draws the 3D object shown in Image 2 (p. 415) . The dierence between the two is that the object drawn
by this program ( Image 1 (p. 414) ) does not incorporate backface culling to hide the lines on the back

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 429

of the object. The object in Image 2 (p. 415) does incorporate backface culling. The dierence is easy to
see.
This program draws a 3D circular cylinder by stacking 20 circular disks on the x-z plane as shown in
Image 1 (p. 414) . The disks are centered on the y-axis and are parallel to the x-z plane. The thickness of
each disk is 5 vertical units. As mentioned above, there is no backface culling in this program, so all of the
lines that should be hidden show through.
Will discuss in fragments
A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 12 (p. 438) near the end of the module. I will
explain portions of the program using code fragments. However, I won't repeat explanations of code that I
have already explained in this or in earlier modules.
The method named drawTheCylinder
All of the interesting code in this program is contained in the method named drawTheCylinder ,
which is shown in Listing 7 (p. 429) . (Note that some of the code was deleted from Listing 7 (p. 429)
for brevity.) This method is used to set the axes to the center of the o-screen image and to draw a 3D
cylinder that is centered on the y-axis.

Listing 7: The method named drawTheCylinder in DotProd3D04.

private void drawTheCylinder(Graphics2D g2D){

1.309

Behavior of the code

Basically, the code in Listing 7 (p. 429) draws 21 circles, one above the other to represent the edges of
the 20 circular disks. If you understand the trigonometry involved in drawing a circle, you should nd the
code in Listing 7 (p. 429) to be straightforward and no explanation beyond the embedded comments should
be required. If you don't understand the trigonometry, you will simply have to take my word for it that the
expressions in Listing 7 (p. 429) are correct for drawing circles. A study of trigonometry is beyond the scope
of this module.

1.20.4.5 The program named DotProd3D03

The purpose of this program is to demonstrate a practical use of the vector dot product  backface culling.
As before, the program draws a 3D circular cylinder by stacking 20 circular disks on the x-z plane. The disks
are centered on the y-axis and are parallel to the x-z plane. The thickness of each disk is 5 vertical units.
Backface culling is incorporated using the dot product between a vector that is parallel to the viewpoint
of the viewer and a vector that is perpendicular to the line being drawn to form the outline of a circle. The
results are shown in Image 2 (p. 415) .
Will discuss in fragments
A complete listing of this program is provided in Listing 13 (p. 440) near the end of the module. I will
explain portions of the program using code fragments. However, I won't repeat explanations of code that I
have already explained in this or in earlier modules.
The method named drawTheCylinder
As before, all of the interesting code in this program is contained in the method named drawThe-
Cylinder , which is shown in Listing 8 (p. 430) . (Note that some of the code was deleted from Listing 8

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

430 CHAPTER 1. MATH

(p. 430) for brevity.) This method is used to set the axes to the center of the o-screen image and to draw
a 3D cylinder that is centered on the y-axis.

Listing 8: The method named drawTheCylinder in DotProd3D03.

private void drawTheCylinder(Graphics2D g2D){

1.310

The new code and an exercise for the student

The new code in Listing 8 (p. 430) is highlighted by a long explanatory comment near the middle of
Listing 8 (p. 430) . I will leave it as an exercise for the student to think about the rationale that was used
to decide which lines to draw and which lines to suppress depending on the algebraic sign of the dot product
between the two vectors.
Otherwise, no explanation of the code should be necessary beyond the embedded comments.

1.20.5 Homework assignment

The homework assignment for this module was to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 10, Angle
between 3D Vectors.
The homework assignment for the next module is to study the Kjell tutorial through Chapter 11,
Projections.
In addition to studying the Kjell material, you should read at least the next two modules in this collection
and bring your questions about that material to the next classroom session.
Finally, you should have begun studying the physics material 106 at the beginning of the semester and
you should continue studying one physics module per week thereafter. You should also feel free to bring
your questions about that material to the classroom for discussion.

1.20.6 Run the program

I encourage you to copy the code from Listing 9 (p. 432) through Listing 13 (p. 440) . Compile the code and
execute it in conjunction with the game-math library named GM02 in Listing 9 (p. 432) . Experiment
with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make certain that you can explain
why your changes behave as they do.

1.20.7 Summary

In this module, you learned how to apply the vector dot product to three dierent applications. You learned:

• how to use the dot product to compute nine dierent angles of interest that a vector makes with various
elements in 3D space,
• you learned how to use the dot product to nd six of the innite set of vectors that are perpendicular
to a given vector as shown in Image 4 (p. 424) , and
• you learned how to use the dot product to perform back-face culling to convert the image in Image 1
(p. 414) to the image in Image 2 (p. 415) .

106 http://cnx.org/content/m44992/latest/

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 431

1.20.8 What's next?

In the next module, you will learn about rst-person computer games in general, and how to use the game-
math library to write a rst-person game in a 3D world using the game math library.

1.20.9 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0150: Applications of the Vector Dot Product
• File: Game0150.htm
• Published: 10/23/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

1.20.10 Complete program listing

Complete listings of the programs discussed in this module are shown in Listing 9 (p. 432) through Listing
13 (p. 440) below.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

432 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 9: Source code for the game-math library named GM02.

/*GM02.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 02/08/08

This is an update to the game-math library named GM01.

The main purpose of this update was to add vector dot

product and related capabilities to the library.

Please see the comments at the beginning of the library

class named GM01 for a general description of the library.

The following methods are new instance methods of the

indicated static top-level classes belonging to the class
named GM02.

GM02.ColMatrix2D.dot - compute dot product of two

ColMatrix2D objects.
GM02.Vector2D.dot - compute dot product of two
Vector2D objects.
GM02.Vector2D.angle - compute angle between two Vector2D
objects.

GM02.ColMatrix3D.dot - compute dot product of two

ColMatrix3D objects
GM02.Vector3D.dot - compute dot product of two
Vector3D objects.
GM02.Vector3D.angle - compute angle between two Vector3D
objects.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.*;

public class GM02{

//----------------------------------------------------//

//This method converts a ColMatrix3D object to a

// ColMatrix2D object. The purpose is to accept
// x, y, and z coordinate values and transform those
// values into a pair of coordinate values suitable for
// display in two dimensions.
//See http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/∼pbourke/geometry/
// classification/ for technical background on the
// transform from 3D to 2D.
//The transform equations are:
// x2d = x3d + z3d * cos(theta)/tan(alpha)
// y2d = y3d + z3d * sin(theta)/tan(alpha);
//Let theta = 30 degrees and alpha = 45 degrees
//Then:cos(theta)Available
= 0.866 for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
// sin(theta) = 0.5
// tan(alpha) = 1;
//Note that the signs in the above equations depend
 433

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434 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 10: Source code for the program named DotProd3D05.

/*DotProd3D05.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 03/06/08

The purpose of this program is to demonstrate how the dot

product can be used to compute nine different angles of
interest that a vector makes with various elements in 3D
space.

First, the program computes and displays the angle between

a user-specified vector and each of the X, Y, and Z axes.
These values are displayed with the labels Angle X,
Angle Y, and Angle Z.

Then the program computes and displays the angle between

the vector and each of the XY, YZ, and ZX planes. In
this case, the program computes the smallest possible
angle by projecting the vector onto the plane and then
computing the angle between the vector and its projection.
These values are displayed with the labels Angle XY,
Angle YZ, and Angle ZX.

Finally, the program computes and displays the angle

between the projection of the vector on each of the three
planes and one of the axes that defines each plane.
Obviously, the angle between the projection and the other
axis that defines the plane is 90 degrees less the
computed angle. Specifically the values that are computed
and displayed are:

Projection onto the XY plane relative to the x-axis,

displayed with the label Angle PX.

Projection onto the YZ plane relative to the y-axis,

displayed with the label Angle PY.

Projection onto the ZX plane relative to the z-axis,

displayed with the label Angle PZ.

All angles are reported as positive angles in degrees.

Study Kjell through Chapter 10, Angle between 3D Vectors.

A GUI is provided that allows the user to enter three

double values that define a GM02.Vector3D object. The GUI
also provides an OK button as well as nine text fields
used to display the computed results described above.

In addition, the GUI provides a 3D drawing area.

Available
When the user clicks the OK for free at Connexions
button, <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
the program draws the
user-specified vector in black with the tail located at
the origin in 3D space. It also draws the projection of
that vector in magenta on each of the XY, YZ, AND ZX
 435

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436 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 11: Source code for the program named DotProd3D06.

/*DotProd3D06.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 03/09/08

This program demonstrates how the dot product can be used

to find vectors that are perpendicular to a given vector.

The program computes and displays normalized and scaled

versions of six of the infinite set of vectors that are
perpendicular to a user specified vector.

If the user specifies one of the coordinates to be zero

or close to zero, the program only computes and displays
four of the possible vectors in order to avoid performing
division by a near-zero value. For a value of zero, the
orientation of two of the vectors will overlay the
orientation of the other two. Because they are the same
length, and occupy the same space, you will only see two
vectors.

If the user specifies two of the coordinates to be zero

or close to zero, the program doesn't produce a valid
result. Instead, it displays the coordinates for a
perpendicular vector where all of the coordinates are
zero and displays NaN for the angle.

Study Kjell through Chapter 10, Angle between 3D Vectors.

A GUI is provided that allows the user to enter three

double values that define a GM02.Vector3D object. The GUI
also provides an OK button.

In addition, the GUI provides a 3D drawing area.

When the user clicks the OK button, the program draws the
user-specified vector in black with the tail located at
the origin in 3D space. It also draws normalized versions
of the perpendicular vectors in magenta with their tails
located at the origin. Each normalized vector is scaled
by a factor of 50 before it is drawn.

The program also displays the values of three of the

perpendicular vectors on the command-line screen along
with the angle between the perpendicular vector and the
user-specified vector. The angle should be 90 degrees or
at least very close to 90 degrees. The other three
perpendicular vectors are simply negated versions of the
three for which the values are displayed.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
 437

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

438 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 12: Source code for the program named DotProb3D04.

/*DotProd3D04.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 03/07/08

The purpose of this program is serve as a counterpoint to

the program named Prob3D03, which demonstrates backface
culling.

This program draws the same 3D object as the one drawn in

DotProd3D03 but without the benefit of backface culling.

Study Kjell through Chapter 10, Angle between 3D Vectors.

The program draws a 3D circular cylinder by stacking 20

circular disks on the x-z plane. The disks are centered on
the y-axis and are parallel to the x-z plane. The
thickness of each disk is 5 vertical units.

There is no backface culling in this program, so all of

the lines that should be hidden show through.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;

class DotProd3D04{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class DotProd3D04
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 230;
int vSize = 250;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas
Graphics2D g2D;//off-screen graphics context.
//----------------------------------------------------//

GUI(){//constructor

//Set JFrame size, title, and close operation.

setSize(hSize,vSize);
Available2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setTitle("Copyright for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

//Create a new drawing canvas and add it to the

 439

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440 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Listing 13: Source code for the program named DotProb3D03.

/*DotProd3D03.java
Copyright 2008, R.G.Baldwin
Revised 03/07/08

The purpose of this program is to demonstrate a practical

use of the vector dot product - backface culling.

Study Kjell through Chapter 10, Angle between 3D Vectors.

The program draws a 3D circular cylinder by stacking 20

circular disks on the x-z plane. The disks are centered on
the y-axis and are parallel to the x-z plane. The
thickness of each disk is 5 vertical units.

Backface culling is done using the dot product between a

vector that is parallel to the viewpoint of the viewer and
a vector that is perpendicular to the line being drawn to
form the outline of a disk. The backface culling
process is good but not perfect. There is some leakage
around the back on the right and left sides of the
cylinder and some short lines segments are visible that
should not be visible.

Tested using JDK 1.6 under WinXP.

*********************************************************/
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;

class DotProd3D03{
public static void main(String[] args){
GUI guiObj = new GUI();
}//end main
}//end controlling class DotProd3D03
//======================================================//

class GUI extends JFrame{

//Specify the horizontal and vertical size of a JFrame
// object.
int hSize = 230;
int vSize = 250;
Image osi;//an off-screen image
int osiWidth;//off-screen image width
int osiHeight;//off-screen image height
MyCanvas myCanvas;//a subclass of Canvas
Graphics2D g2D;//off-screen graphics context.
//----------------------------------------------------//

GUI(){//constructor

Available
//Set JFrame size, for freeand
title, at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
close operation.
setSize(hSize,vSize);
setTitle("Copyright 2008,R.G.Baldwin");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
 441

1.20.11 Exercises

1.20.11.1 Exercise 1
Using Java and the game-math library named GM02 , or using a dierent programming environment of
your choice, write a program that creates the drawing of half of a 3D sphere protruding upward from the
x-z plane as shown in Image 7 (p. 442) . The north and south poles of the sphere lie on the y-axis, but only
the northern hemisphere is visible.
Cause your name to appear in the screen output in some manner.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

442 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Image 7: Output from Exercise 1.

1.316

1.20.11.2 Exercise 2
Beginning with a program similar to the one that you wrote in Exercise 1 (p. 441) , create a drawing of a
3D sphere as shown in Image 8 (p. 443) . The north and south poles of the sphere lie on the y-axis.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 443

Image 8: Output from Exercise 2.

1.317

-end-

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

444 CHAPTER 1. MATH

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

Chapter 2

Physics

2.1 GAME 2302-0300 Introduction to Physics Component1

2.1.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 445)

• Miscellaneous (p. 445)

2.1.2 Preface

This module is the rst in a series of modules designed for teaching the physics component of GAME2302
Mathematical Applications for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. (See
GAME 2302-0100: Introduction 2 for the rst module in the course along with a description of the course,
course resources, homework assignments, etc.)

2.1.3 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0300 Introduction to Physics Component
• File: Game0300.htm
• Published: 10/11/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
1 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m44992/1.2/>.
2 http://cnx.org/content/m44983/latest

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

445
446 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

2.2 GAME 2302-0310 JavaScript3

2.2.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 446)

· General (p. 446)
· Viewing tip (p. 447)
* Images (p. 447)
* Listings (p. 447)
• Discussion (p. 447)
· Why I chose JavaScript (p. 447)
· Facilities required (p. 448)
· A minimal JavaScript script (p. 448)
· Strings (p. 449)
· Screen output (p. 449)
· Structured programming (p. 450)
* Functions (p. 450)
* Arithmetic operators (p. 453)
* Sequence (p. 454)
* Selection (p. 454)
* Relational and logical operators (p. 457)
* Variables (p. 457)
* The string concatenation operator (p. 459)
* Repetition (p. 460)
· Programming errors (p. 462)
* Assistance using Google Chrome (p. 462)
* Assistance using Firefox (p. 462)
• Run the scripts (p. 463)
• Miscellaneous (p. 463)

2.2.2 Preface

2.2.2.1 General
This module is part of a series of modules designed for teaching the physics component of GAME2302
Mathematical Applications for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. (See
GAME 2302-0100: Introduction 4 for the rst module in the course along with a description of the course,
course resources, homework assignments, etc.)
3 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45001/1.2/>.
4 http://cnx.org/content/m44983/latest

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 447

2.2.2.2 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this document in a separate browser window and use the
following links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

2.2.2.2.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 449) . Output from script in Listing 1.
• Image 2 (p. 453) . Output from script in Listing 2.
• Image 3 (p. 454) . Binary arithmetic operators.
• Image 4 (p. 455) . General syntax for selection statement.
• Image 5 (p. 455) . Real-world analogy of a selection statement.
• Image 6 (p. 456) . Output from script in Listing 3.
• Image 7 (p. 457) . Relational operators.
• Image 8 (p. 459) . Output from script in Listing 4.
• Image 9 (p. 460) . General syntax for a while loop.
• Image 10 (p. 461) . Output from script in Listing 5.

2.2.2.2.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 448) . A minimal JavaScript script.
• Listing 2 (p. 452) . An example function named getHalf.
• Listing 3 (p. 456) . A selection script example.
• Listing 4 (p. 458) . A sample script that uses variables.
• Listing 5 (p. 461) . A simple while loop.

2.2.3 Discussion

The goal of this module is to provide an introductory JavaScript programming tutorial for students with no
programming experience.

2.2.3.1 Why I chose JavaScript

I chose JavaScript for use in these physics modules for several reasons.
Free
First, JavaScript is free. The capability to program in JavaScript is available to anyone who has a
modern browser installed on their computer. Therefore, cost is not an excuse for not learning to program
with JavaScript.
If you are reading this module using a modern browser, you have the ability to program using JavaScript
immediately. You don't have to go out and buy anything, so that isn't an excuse for putting it o until
tomorrow.
If you don't have a modern browser, you can download a free copy of the Firefox browser at
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/refox/refox.html 5 .
Fun
Also, programming with JavaScript can be fun. There are a lot of really interesting things that you can
do with JavaScript such as playing sound les (see http://www.javascripter.net/faq/sound/play.htm 6 ).
OOP
5 http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/refox/refox.html
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448 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

JavaScript encompasses modern programming concepts. For example, JavaScript is based on the concept
of objects. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is here to stay. (For an extensive discussion of OOP, see
the early lessons in my online programming tutorials at http://www.dickbaldwin.com/toc.htm 7 .)
A free audible, tactile scientic calculator
I also chose JavaScript because you will be able to use it to create your own scientic calculator. You
can use JavaScript to create solutions to many of the exercises in the modules in this collection of physics
concepts.

2.2.3.2 Facilities required

To use JavaScript for its intended purpose in the modules in this collection, you will need the following:

• Access to the Internet.

• A modern browser such as Firefox 3.6 (see http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/refox/refox.html 8 ).
• A plain text editor such as Windows notepad, or my favorite, Arachnophilia, which can be downloaded
for free at http://www.arachnoid.com/arachnophilia/ 9 .

2.2.3.3 A minimal JavaScript script

Listing 1 (p. 448) shows a minimal JavaScript script.

Listing 1: A minimal JavaScript script.

<!-- File JavaScript01.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Insert JavaScript between script tags.","<br/>")

document.write("Hello from JavaScript")

</script>
</body></html>

2.1

Run the script

To run this JavaScript script:

• Copy all of the text from the body of Listing 1 (p. 448) into your plain text editor and save the le
with an extension of .html (test.html for example).
• Open that le in your browser. (In most cases, you should be able to simply drag the le and drop it
onto an open browser page to open it. If that doesn't work, open it from the browser's File menu.)

And the result is...

When you do that, the text shown in Image 1 (p. 449) should appear in the browser window.
7 http://www.dickbaldwin.com/toc.htm
8 http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/refox/refox.html
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 449

Image 1: Output from script in Listing 1.

Insert JavaScript between script tags.

Hello from JavaScript

2.2

That's all there is to it

All you have to do to write and run a JavaScript script is to:

• Copy the text (often referred to as code or source code) from Listing 1 (p. 448) into your plain text
editor.
• Replace the code between the two lines containing the word script with the code for your new script,
leaving the two lines containing the word script intact.
• Save the le with an extension of .html. (The le can have any legal le name so long as the extension
is .html.)
• Open the new html le in your browser.

When you do that, the script code will be executed.

Display results in the browser window
If your script code contains statements that begin with document.write , followed by a pair of
matching parentheses, (as shown in Listing 1 (p. 448) ), the code in the parentheses will be evaluated and
the results of that evaluation will appear in your browser window.
At that point, you will have access to your script code as well as the results of running your script.

2.2.3.4 Strings
In programming, we often refer to a group of sequential characters (such as your rst name) as a string .
In JavaScript format (often called syntax), such groups of characters are surrounded by matching quotation
marks to cause the group to be recognized as a single string.
The following strings appear in the JavaScript code in Listing 1 (p. 448) :
1. "Insert JavaScript between script tags."
2.
"<br/>"
3. "Hello from JavaScript"

The rst two strings appear, separated by a comma, inside the matching parentheses following the rst
occurrence of document.write . (We often call the items inside the matching parentheses the argument
list.)
The last item in the above list appears in the argument list following the second occurrence of docu-
ment.write in Listing 1 (p. 448) .

2.2.3.5 Screen output

If you examine Image 1 (p. 449) , you will see that the rst and third items from the above list (p. 449)
appear, without their quotation marks, in the browser window. However, the second item does not appear
in the browser window.

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Purpose of document.write
Although this is a simplication, for purposes of the modules in this collection, it will suce to say that
the purpose of the document.write command is to cause the items in its argument list to be displayed in
the browser window. You can place one or more items in the argument list. If there is more than one item
in the argument list, the items must be separated by a comma as shown in Listing 1 (p. 448) .
Displaying strings
With some exceptions, items that appear in the argument list surrounded by matching quotation marks
(strings) will be displayed in the browser window.
The exceptions include the second item in the above list (p. 449) . This item is a special command to
the browser, commonly known as a break tag. The occurrence of a break tag tells the browser to go
down to the next line before displaying any additional material.
Such browser commands usually begin with a left angle bracket as shown in Listing 1 (p. 448) . Because
of this, it is usually wise to avoid displaying strings that begin with left angle brackets unless you know for
sure that your string won't be interpreted as a command to the browser.
Displaying material other than strings
I will show you how to display material other than strings in a later section titled The string concatenation
operator (p. 459) . Before getting into that, however, I will discuss several other topics.

2.2.3.6 Structured programming

When a student enrolls in the Object-Oriented Programming course that I teach at Austin Community
College, I expect that student to have knowledge of something called structured programming, which is
generally dened as including the following topics:

1. Functions with parameter passing

2. Sequence
3. Selection (if-else)
4. Repetition (for, while, and do-while loops)

I also expect them to know how to use variables and how to use operators (add, subtract, multiply, divide,
etc.).
You will need to have an introductory knowledge of these topics to understand the JavaScript scripts
that I will use to explain physics concepts in later modules. I will briey explain these topics in this module
and will discuss them further in later modules where they are used.

2.2.3.6.1 Functions
Functions, or procedures as they are called in some languages, provide a fundamental building block for
virtually every programming language. The purpose of a function is to encapsulate the ability to perform a
task into a single set of code and to be able to execute that code from a variety of dierent locations within
the script. This can eliminate the requirement to repeat the same code over and over when the same task is
required at multiple points in the script.
The surface area of a sphere
For example, if you write a script that frequently needs to calculate the surface area of a sphere, you can
encapsulate those calculations in a function. Then, whenever your script needs to know the surface area of
a sphere, it can simply call the function and provide the radius of the sphere as a parameter. The function
will perform the calculation and return the answer to be used by the script at that point.
A JavaScript function denition
A JavaScript function denition has the following basic parts as shown in Listing 2 (p. 452) :

1. The function keyword.

2. The function name.

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3. A comma-separated list of arguments enclosed in parentheses. (If there are no arguments, which is
perfectly legal, the parentheses must still follow the function name but they will be empty.)
4. The statements in the body of the function enclosed in curly brackets.

Two sides to every function

There are two sides to the use of every function:

1. The function denition.

2. The function call.

The denition names the function and species how it will behave when it is called.
The call to the function temporarily passes control to the statements in the function causing them to
behave as previously dened.
Once the statements have been executed, control is returned to the point in the script where the call was
made. The function may, or may not return a value when it returns control.
The argument list
As in the sphere example discussed above, it is often useful to pass information to the function for it to
use in doing whatever it is supposed to do (but this is not always required). When we call the function, we
include parameters in the call to the function that match up with the argument list mentioned above. That
is the mechanism used to pass information to a function. (This will probably make more sense when you see
an example. Again, in some cases, no arguments are required.)
The purpose of a function
Usually (but not always), the purpose of a function is to calculate or otherwise determine some value
and return it. In the sphere example mentioned earlier, the purpose of the function would be to calculate
and return the surface area of the sphere. Returning a value is accomplished using the return keyword in
the body of the function.
Sometimes, the purpose of a function is not to return a value, but instead to cause some action to occur,
such as displaying information in the browser window. In that case, a return statement is not required.
However, it doesn't cause any problem to put a return statement at the end of the function's body with
nothing to the right of the word return .
An example function named getHalf
The code in Listing 2 (p. 452) denes a function named getHalf and then calls that function from two
dierent locations in a script, passing a dierent parameter value with each call.

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452 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 2: An example function named getHalf.

<!-- File JavaScript02.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

//This is the syntax for a comment.

//Define the function named getHalf()

function getHalf(incomingParameter) {
return incomingParameter/2;
}//end function getHalf()

document.write("Call getHalf for 10.6","<br/>")

document.write("Half is: ", getHalf(10.6),"<br/>");

document.write("Call getHalf again for 12.3","<br/>")

document.write("Half is: ", getHalf(12.3));

</script>
</body></html>

2.3

A note about comments

Note the line of code immediately following the rst script tag that begins with //. Whenever
JavaScript code contains such a pair of slash marks (that are not inside of a quoted string), everything from
that point to the end of the line is treated as a comment. A comment is intended for human consumption
only and is completely ignored when the script is run.
The function denition
The function denition in Listing 1 (p. 448) consists of the three lines of code following the comment
that begins with "//Dene the function..."
As explained earlier, this function denition contains:

• The function keyword

• The function name: getHalf
• An argument list containing a single parameter named incomingParameter
• A function body enclosed in a pair of matching curly brackets

Simpler than the surface area of a sphere

The function named getHalf is somewhat simpler than one that could be used to calculate the surface
area of a sphere, but the basic concept is the same. This function expects to receive one parameter.
The code in the body of the function uses the division operator, "/", to divide the value of the incoming
parameter by 2. Then it returns the result of that calculation. When the function returns, the return value
will replace the call to the function in the calling script.
Two calls to the function
The function is called twice in the body of the script in Listing 2 (p. 452) , passing a dierent value for
the parameter during each call.

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 453

Each call to the function named getHalf is embedded as one of the elements in the argument list
following document.write .
write is also a function
Although I didn't mention this earlier because you weren't ready for it yet, write is also the name of a
function. However, the write function is predened in JavaScript and we can use it to display information
in the browser window without having to dene it rst.
(Actually, write is a special kind of a function that we call a method , but you don't need to worry
about that unless you want to dig much deeper into the object-oriented aspects of JavaScript.)
Two calls to the getHalf function
The script in Listing 2 (p. 452) calls the function named getHalf twice in two dierent locations,
each of which is embedded in the argument list of a call to the write method. Each call passes a dierent
parameter value to the getHalf function.
The order of operations
When a call to a function or method (such as the call to the write method) includes a call to another
function or method in its argument list, the call to the function in the argument list must be completed
before the call can be made to the function having the argument list. Therefore in each of these two cases,
the call to the getHalf function must be completed before the call to the write method can be executed.
Output from script in Listing 2 (p. 452)
Each call to the getHalf function returns a value that is half the value of its incoming parameter.
As I mentioned earlier, when the function returns, the returned value replaces the call to the function.
Therefore, in each case, the returned value from the call to the getHalf function becomes part of the
argument list for the write method before that method is called. This causes the two calls to the write
method in Listing 2 (p. 452) to display the values returned from the calls to the getHalf function as
shown in Image 2 (p. 453) .

Image 2: Output from script in Listing 2.

Call getHalf for 10.6

Half is: 5.3
Call getHalf again for 12.3
Half is: 6.15

2.4

Good programming design

It is a principle of good programming design that each function should perform only one task, and should
perform it well. The task performed by the function named getHalf is to calculate and return half the
value that it receives, and it does that task very well.

2.2.3.6.2 Arithmetic operators

The division operation in Listing 2 (p. 452) introduced the use of arithmetic operators.
In computer programming jargon, we speak of operators and operands. Operators operate on operands.
As a real-world example, if you were to go to the hospital for knee surgery, the surgeon would be the
operator and you would be the operand . The surgeon would operate on you.
Binary operators

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454 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

The operators that we will use in the modules in this collection will usually be restricted to those that
have two operands, a left operand and a right operand . (Operators with two operands are commonly
called binary operators .)
In the function named getHalf in Listing 2 (p. 452) , the "/" character is the division operator.
The left operand is incomingParameter and the right operand is 2 . The result is that the incoming
parameter is divided by the right operand (2).
Binary arithmetic operators
The binary arithmetic operators supported by JavaScript are shown in Image 3 (p. 454) .

Image 3: Binary arithmetic operators.

+ Addition: Adds the operands

- Subtraction: Subtracts the right operand from the left operand
* Multiplication: Multiplies the operands
/ Division: Divides the left operand by the right operand
% Modulus: Returns integer remainder of dividing the left operand
by the right operand

2.5

We will use these operators extensively as we work through the physics exercises in future modules.

2.2.3.6.3 Sequence
Of the four items listed under Structured programming (p. 450) earlier, the simplest one is sequence .
The concept of sequence in structured programming simply means that code statements can be executed
in sequential order. Listing 2 (p. 452) provides a good example of the sequential execution of statements.
The code in Listing 2 (p. 452) shows four sequential statements that begin with document.write.

2.2.3.6.4 Selection
The next item that we will discuss from the list under Structured programming (p. 450) is selection .
While not as simple as sequence , selection is something that you probably do many times each day
without even thinking about it. Therefore, once you understand it, it isn't complicated.
General syntax for selection statement
The general syntax for a selection statement (often called an if-else statement) is shown in Image 4
(p. 455) .

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 455

Image 4: General syntax for selection statement.

if(conditional expression is true){

execute code
}else{//optional
execute alternative code
}//end selection statement

2.6

A selection statement performs a logical test that returns either true or false. Depending on the result,
specic code is executed to control the behavior of the script.
A real-world analogy
Image 5 (p. 455) shows a real-world analogy of a selection statement that you might make on your day
o.

Image 5: Real-world analogy of a selection statement.

if(it is not raining){

Play tennis
Go for a walk
Relax on the beach
}else{//optional
Make popcorn
Watch TV
}//end selection statement

2.7

In this analogy, you would check outside to conrm that it is not raining. If the condition is true (meaning
that it isn't raining), you would play tennis, go for a walk, and then relax on the beach. If it is raining,
(meaning that the test condition is false), you would make some popcorn and relax in front of the TV.
The else clause is optional
Note that when writing JavaScript code, the else clause shown in Image 5 (p. 455) is optional. In
other words, you might choose to direct the script to take some specic action if the condition is true, but
simply transfer control to the next sequential statement in the script if the condition is false.
A selection script example
Listing 3 (p. 456) shows a sample script containing two selection statements (commonly called if-else
statements) in sequence.

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456 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 3: A selection script example.

<!-- File JavaScript03.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

if(3 > 2){

document.write("3 is greater than 2.","<br/>")
}else{
document.write("3 is not greater than 2.")
}//end if

if(3 < 2){

document.write("3 is less than 2.","<br/>")
}else{
document.write("3 is not less than 2.")
}//end if

</script>
</body></html>

2.8

If 3 is greater than 2...

The conditional clause in the rst if statement in Listing 3 uses the "greater-than" relational operator
">" to determine if the literal value 3 is greater than the literal value 2, producing the rst line of output
shown in Image 6 (p. 456) .

Image 6: Output from script in Listing 3.

3 is greater than 2.
3 is not less than 2.

2.9

The test returns true

Since 3 is always greater than 2, the statement in the line immediately following the rst test in Listing
3 (p. 456) is executed and the code in the line following the word else is skipped producing the rst line
of output text shown in Image 6 (p. 456) .
If 3 is less than 2...
The conditional clause in the second if statement in Listing 3 (p. 456) uses the "less-than" relational
operator (see Image 7 (p. 457) ) to determine if the literal value 3 is less than the literal value 2.
The test returns false

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 457

Since 3 isn't less than 2, the statement in the line immediately following the second test in Listing 3
(p. 456) is skipped and the statement in the line immediately following the second word else is executed
producing the second line of output text shown in Image 6 (p. 456) .

2.2.3.6.5 Relational and logical operators

I doubt that I will a frequent need to use logical operators in the modules in this collection. If I do, I will
explain them at the time. However, I will use relational operators.
The relational operators that are supported by JavaScript are shown in Image 7 (p. 457) .

Image 7: Relational operators.

> Left operand is greater than right operand

>= Left operand is greater than or equal to right operand
< Left operand is less than right operand
<= Left operand is less than or equal to right operand
== Left operand is equal to right operand
!= Left operand is not equal to right operand

2.10

As with the arithmetic operators discussed earlier, we will use these operators extensively as we work
through the physics exercises in future modules.

2.2.3.6.6 Variables
The next item in the list under Structured programming (p. 450) is repetition . Before I can explain
repetition, however, I need to explain the use of variables.
What is a variable?
You can think of a variable as the symbolic name for a pigeonhole in memory where the script can store
a value. The script can change the values stored in that pigeonhole during the execution of the script. Once
a value has been stored in a variable, that value can be accessed by calling out the name of the variable.
Variable names
Variable names must conform to the naming rules for identiers. A JavaScript identier must start with
a letter or underscore "_". Following this, you can use either letters or the symbols for the digits (0-9) in
the variable name.
JavaScript is case sensitive. Therefore letters include the characters "A" through "Z" (uppercase) and
the characters "a" through "z" (lowercase).
Declaring a variable
In many languages, including JavaScript, you must declare a variable before you can use it. However,
JavaScript is very loose in this regard. There are two ways to declare a variable in JavaScript:

• By simply assigning it a value; for example, x = 10

• By using the keyword var ; for example, var x = 10

Scope

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458 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

When working with variables in JavaScript and other languages as well, you must always be concerned
about an issue known as scope. Among other things, scope determines which statements in a script have
access to a variable.
Two kinds of variables
JavaScript recognizes two kinds of variables:

• local
• global

Local variables are variables that are declared inside a function. Global variables are variables that are
declared outside a function.
Scope
Local variables may only be accessed by other code within the same function following the declaration of
the variable. Hence, the scope of local variables is limited to the function or method in which it is declared.
Global variables may be accessed by any code within the script following the declaration of the variable.
Hence, the scope of global variables is the entire script.
Use of the keyword var
Using var to declare a global variable is optional. However, you must use var to declare a variable
inside a function (a local variable).
A sample script that uses variables
A sample script that uses variables to store data is shown in Listing 4 (p. 458) .

Listing 4: A sample script that uses variables.

<!-- File JavaScript04.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

//Define the function named getArea()

function getArea(theRadius) {
//declare a local variable
var theArea

//calculate the area

theArea = Math.PI * theRadius * theRadius
return theArea
}//end function getArea()
//=========================================//

//declare a global variable without keyword var

area = getArea(3.2)//call the function
document.write("Area is: " + area)

</script>
</body></html>

2.11

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 459

The area of a circle

Listing 4 (p. 458) begins by dening a function that will compute and return the area of a circle given
the radius of the circle as an incoming parameter.
The code in the function begins by declaring a variable named theArea . Eectively, this declaration
sets aside a pigeon hole in memory and gives it the name theArea . Once the variable is declared, it can
be accessed by calling out its name. It can be used to store data, or it can be used to retrieve data previously
stored there.
Behavior of the function named getArea
You may recall that the area of a circle is calculated by multiplying the mathematical constant PI by
the radius squared. There is no squaring operator in JavaScript. Therefore, you can square a value by
multiplying it by itself.
PI times the square of the radius
The code in the function named getArea in Listing 4 (p. 458) computes the area and uses the
assignment operator "=" to store the result in the variable named theArea . This statement represents
a case where a value is being stored in a variable (assigned to the variable) for safekeeping.
Then the code in the function extracts the value stored in the variable named theArea and returns
that value. After that, the function terminates and returns control to the place in the calling script from
which it was originally called.
The variable named area
Further down the page in Listing 4 (p. 458) , the script declares a variable named area without using
the keyword var . (Note, however, that the keyword var could have been used here. I prefer that
approach for reasons that I won't get into here.)
The script calls the getArea function, passing a radius value of 3.2 as a parameter. As you learned
earlier, the value returned by the function replaces the call to the function, which is then assigned to the
variable named area .
Display the results
Then the script calls the write method to display some text followed by the value stored in the variable
named area , producing the output shown in Image 8 (p. 459) in the browser window.

Image 8: Output from script in Listing 4.

Area is: 32.169908772759484

2.12

2.2.3.6.7 The string concatenation operator

The code in Listing 4 (p. 458) exposes another operator that I will refer to as the string concatenation
operator .
Note the argument list for the call to the write method in Listing 4 (p. 458) . In addition to being
used to perform numeric addition, the plus operator "+" can be used to concatenate (join) two strings.
If two strings are joined by the + operator, the two strings will produce a new string that replaces the
combination of the two original strings and the + operator.
If the left operand to the + operator is a string and the right operand is a numeric value (or the name
of a variable containing a numeric value), the numeric value will be replaced by a string of characters that
represent that numeric value and the two strings will be concatenated into a single string.

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460 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

2.2.3.6.8 Repetition
The last item in the list under Structured programming (p. 450) is repetition , and that will be the topic
of this section.
Repetition (also referred to as looping) means the act of causing something to repeat.
A repetition or loop is a set of commands that executes repeatedly until a specied condition is met.
JavaScript supports three loop statements:

• while
• for
• do-while

The while loop

The while loop is not only the simplest of the three, it is also the most fundamental. It can be used to
satisfy any requirement for repetition in a JavaScript script. The other two exist solely for added convenience
in some situations. Therefore, I will concentrate on the while loop, and leave the other two be discussed
in a future module, if at all.
Loop while a condition is true
A while loop executes the statements in its body for as long as a specied condition evaluates to true.
The general syntax of a while loop is shown in Image 9 (p. 460) .

Image 9: General syntax for a while loop.

while(condition is true){
//Execute statements in body of loop.
}//end while statement

2.13

When the condition is no longer true...

When the conditional expression evaluates to false, control passes to the next statement following the
while loop.
while loops can be nested inside of other statements, including other while loops.
An innite loop
As with all loop statements, you must be careful to make certain that the conditional expression eventually
evaluates to false. Otherwise, control will be trapped inside the while loop in what is commonly called an
innite loop.
A simple while loop
The script in Listing 5 (p. 461) illustrates the use of a simple while loop.

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Listing 5: A simple while loop.

<!-- File JavaScript05.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

cnt = 4//initialize a counter variable

while(cnt >= 0){//begin while loop
//display value of counter
document.write("cnt = " + cnt + "<br/>")
cnt = cnt - 1//decrement counter
}//end while loop

document.write("The End.");

</script>
</body></html>

2.14

A counting loop
This script initializes the value of a counter variable named cnt to 4. Control continues to loop (iterate)
for as long as the value of the counter is greater than or equal to zero. During each iteration of the loop, the
current value of cnt is displayed and then the value of cnt is reduced by a value of 1.
Repeat the test
At that point, control returns to the top of the loop where the test is repeated. This process produces
the rst ve lines of output text shown in Image 10 (p. 461) .

Image 10: Output from script in Listing 5.

cnt = 4
cnt = 3
cnt = 2
cnt = 1
cnt = 0
The End.

2.15

When the test returns false...

When the test in Listing 5 (p. 461) returns false, meaning that cnt is no longer greater than or equal
to zero, control exits the while loop and goes to the next statement following the while loop. This is
the statement that calls the write method to display the last line of text in Image 10 (p. 461) .

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462 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

2.2.3.7 Programming errors

From time to time, we all make errors when writing scripts or programs. Typical errors include typing a
period instead of a comma, failing to include a matching right parenthesis, etc. Usually, when you make a
programming error using JavaScript, some or all of the script simply doesn't execute.
Finding and xing the errors
The worst thing about programming errors is the need to nd and x them. The Firefox and Google
Chrome browsers have easy-to-use mechanisms to help you identify the cause of the problem so that you can
x it. Internet Explorer probably has similar capability, but so far, I haven't gured out how to access it.
My recommendation is to simply open the les containing your JavaScript code in either Firefox or
Google Chrome. Or, you can open the le in Internet Explorer, but if it doesn't do what you expect it to
do, open it again in Google Chrome or Firefox for assistance in nding and xing the problem.

2.2.3.7.1 Assistance using Google Chrome

You can open the JavaScript console in the Chrome browser by holding down the Ctrl key and the Shift key
and pressing the J key. The console will open at the bottom of the Chrome browser window. You can also
close the console with the same keystroke.
The format of the console is a little messy and may be dicult to navigate. However, it can be useful in
locating errors if you can navigate it.
An error message in the console
If you open an html le containing a JavaScript error in the browser while the console is open, an error
message will appear in the console. For example, I am looking at such an error as I type this document. It
consists of a round red circle with a white x followed by the following text:
"Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected number"
The le name and line number
On the far right side of the same line is text that reads junk.html:23. That is the name of the le and the
line number in that le containing the error. That text is a hyperlink. If the hyperlink is selected, another
part of the console opens showing the oending line of JavaScript code.
The description is unreliable
Also, in this particular case the description of the error isn't very useful in determining the cause of the
error although sometimes it may be useful. My advice is not to put too much faith in that description. The
error was actually a missing relational operator in a comparison clause.
The line number is very important
Probably the most useful information is the line number that you can use to go back and examine your
source code, looking for an error in that line of code.

2.2.3.7.2 Assistance using Firefox

You can open an error console when using the Firefox browser by holding down the Ctrl key and the Shift
key and pressing the J key. The console will open in a separate window. Unlike with Chrome, repeating the
keystroke won't close the error console.
An error message in the console
If you open an html le containing a JavaScript error in the browser while the error console is open, an
error message will appear in the console. For example, I am looking at such an error as I type this document.
It consists of a round red circle with a white x and the following text:
missing ) after condition
le: html le name and path here Line: 23
while(h 0){
The middle line is a hyperlink
The middle line of text that contains the le name to the left of the line number is a hyperlink. If you
select the link, a window will open showing the source code with the problem line highlighted. Pressing the
right arrow key will cause a blinking cursor to appear between the rst and second characters in that line.

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 463

The description is unreliable

As with Chrome, in this particular case the description of the error isn't very useful in determining the
cause of the error although sometimes it may be useful. My advice is not to put too much faith in that
description. The error was actually a missing relational operator in a comparison clause.
The line number is very important
Probably the most useful information is the line number that you can use to go back and examine your
source code, looking for an error in that line of code.

2.2.4 Run the scripts

I encourage you to run the scripts that I have presented in this lesson to conrm that you get the same
results. Copy the code for each script into a text le with an extension of html. Then open that le in
your browser. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make
certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

2.2.5 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0310 JavaScript
• File: Game0310.htm
• Published: 10/12/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

2.3 GAME 2302-0320 Brief Trigonometry Tutorial10

2.3.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 464)

· General (p. 464)
· Viewing tip (p. 464)
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464 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

* Images (p. 464)

* Listings (p. 465)
• General background information (p. 465)
• Discussion (p. 465)
· Degrees versus radians (p. 465)
· Sine, cosine, and tangent (p. 468)
* The sine and arcsine of an angle (p. 470)
* The cosine and arccosine of an angle (p. 475)
* The tangent and arctangent of an angle (p. 480)
· Dealing with quadrants (p. 484)
• Run the scripts (p. 495)
• Miscellaneous (p. 495)

2.3.2 Preface

2.3.2.1 General
This module is part of a series of modules designed for teaching the physics component of GAME2302
Mathematical Applications for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. (See
GAME 2302-0100: Introduction 11 for the rst module in the course along with a description of the course,
course resources, homework assignments, etc.)

2.3.2.2 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this document in a separate browser window and use the
following links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

2.3.2.2.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 467) . Output for script in Listing 1.
• Image 2 (p. 469) . A 3-4-5 triangle.
• Image 3 (p. 472) . Output for script in Listing 2.
• Image 4 (p. 474) . Output for script in Listing 3.
• Image 5 (p. 474) . Interesting sine equations.
• Image 6 (p. 477) . Interesting cosine equations.
• Image 7 (p. 479) . Output for script in Listing 5
• Image 8 (p. 479) . Two very important equations.
• Image 9 (p. 482) . Interesting tangent equations.
• Image 10 (p. 483) . Output for script in Listing 7.
• Image 11 (p. 486) . Sinusoidal values at 90-degree increments.
• Image 12 (p. 487) . Sinusoidal values at 45-degree increments.
• Image 13 (p. 488) . Sinusoidal values at 22.5-degree increments.
• Image 14 (p. 490) . Plot of cosine and sine curves.
• Image 15 (p. 492) . Algebraic signs versus quadrants.
• Image 16 (p. 494) . Output from the code in Listing 9.

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 465

2.3.2.2.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 466) . Conversions between radians and degrees.
• Listing 2 (p. 471) . Arcsin of 3-4-5 triangle.
• Listing 3 (p. 473) . Finding length of the opposite side.
• Listing 4 (p. 476) . Arccosine of 3-4-5 triangle.
• Listing 5 (p. 478) . Finding the length of the adjacent side.
• Listing 6 (p. 481) . Arctan of 3-4-5 triangle.
• Listing 7 (p. 483) . Finding the length of the opposite side.
• Listing 8 (p. 485) . Sinusoidal amplitude versus angle.
• Listing 9 (p. 493) . A function to deal with quadrants.

2.3.3 General background information

Many of the computational requirements for an introductory physics course involve trigonometry. This
module provides a brief tutorial on trigonometry fundamentals.
Sine, cosine, and tangent
There are many topics, such as identities, that are covered in an introductory trigonometry course that
won't be covered in this module. Instead, this module will concentrate mainly on performing computations
on right angles using the sine, cosine, and tangent of an angle.
If I nd it necessary to deal with identities in a later module, I will come back and update this module
accordingly.

2.3.4 Discussion

2.3.4.1 Degrees versus radians

The most common unit of angular measurement used by the general public is the degree. As you are probably
aware, there are 360 degrees in a circle.
The most common unit of angular measurement used by scientists and engineers is the radian.
(If you would like more background on radians, go to http://www.clarku.edu/∼djoyce/trig/ 12 .)
Conversions between radians and degrees
You may or may not be aware that one radian is equal to approximately 57.3 degrees. It is easier to
remember, however, that 180 degrees is equal to PI radians where PI is the mathematical constant having
an approximate value of 3.14159. We will use this latter relationship extensively to convert from degrees to
radians and to convert from radians to degrees while working through the exercises in these modules.
An exercise involving degrees and radians
Let's do a short exercise involving degrees and radians. Please create an html le containing the code
shown in Listing 1 (p. 466) and open it in your browser.
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466 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 1: Conversions between radians and degrees.

<!-- File JavaScript01.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

function toRadians(degrees){
return degrees*Math.PI/180
}//end function toRadians
//============================================//

function toDegrees(radians){
return radians*180/Math.PI
}//end function toDegrees
//============================================//

var degrees = 90
var radians = toRadians(degrees)
document.write("degrees = " + degrees +
" : radians = " + radians + "<br/>")
radians = 1
degrees = toDegrees(radians)
document.write("radians = " + radians +
" : degrees = " + degrees + "<br/>")

radians = Math.PI
degrees = toDegrees(radians)
document.write("radians = " + radians +
" : degrees = " + degrees)

</script>
</body></html>

2.16

Output for script in Listing 1

When you open the le in your browser, the text shown in Image 1 (p. 467) should be displayed in the
browser window.

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 467

Image 1: Output for script in Listing 1.

degrees = 90 : radians = 1.5707963267948965

radians = 1 : degrees = 57.29577951308232
radians = 3.141592653589793 : degrees = 180

2.17

The toRadians and toDegrees functions

Because it will frequently be necessary for us to convert between degrees and radians, I decided to write
two functions that we will use to make those conversions. That will eliminate the need for us to stop and
think about the conversion (and possibly get it backwards) when writing code. We will simply call the
function that performs the conversion in the required direction.
The toRadians function expects to receive an input parameter describing an angle in degrees and
returns the value for that same angle in radians.
The toDegrees function expects to receive an input parameter describing an angle in radians and
returns the value for that same angle in degrees.
Global variables named degrees and radians
The code in Listing 1 (p. 466) begins by declaring global variables named degrees and radians .
The variable named degrees is initialized to 90 degrees.
The toRadians function is called to convert that value of degrees to radians. The returned value in
radians is stored in the variable named radians .
Display contents of both variables
Then the document.write method is called to display the values contained in both variables, producing
the rst line of output text shown in Image 1 (p. 467) .
Modify variable contents, convert, and display again
Following that, a value of 1 is assigned to the variable named radians . The toDegrees function is
called to convert that value to degrees, and the result is stored in the variable named degrees .
Once again, the document.write method is called to display the current contents of both variables,
producing the second line of output text shown in Image 1 (p. 467) .
One more time
Finally, the mathematical constant, PI, is stored in the variable named radians . Then that value is
converted to degrees and stored in the variable named degrees . The current values in both variables are
displayed, producing the last line of output text shown in Image 1 (p. 467) .
And the results were...
As you can see from Image 1 (p. 467) ,

• Ninety degrees is equal to 1.57 radians

• One radian is equal to 57.296 degrees
• 3.14 (PI) radians is equal to 180 degrees

A template
You might want to save your html le as a template for use with future exercises that require conversions
between radians and degrees. This will be particularly useful when we write scripts that use JavaScript's
built-in trigonometric methods. Those methods deal with angles almost exclusively in radians while we tend
to think of angles in degrees. We will use these two functions to perform conversions between degrees and
radians when required.

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468 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

2.3.4.2 Sine, cosine, and tangent

An exercise involving a right triangle
For the next exercise, I would like for you to use pencil and graph paper to draw a right triangle formed
by points at the following coordinates:

• The origin
• x=3, y=0
• x=3, y=4

The vertices of a right triangle

Each point represents a vertex of a right triangle. If you connect the imaginary points with lines, you
will have "drawn" a right triangle with its base on the horizontal axis.
The base of the triangle will have a length of three units. Another side of the triangle will have a length
of four units. The hypotenuse of the triangle will have still another length.
The angle at the origin
The base and the hypotenuse will form an angle at the origin opening outward to the right. As mentioned
before, the base will be on the horizontal axis. The side that connects the base and the far end of the
hypotenuse will be parallel to the vertical axis.
Names for the three sides of the right triangle
Lets establish some names for the three sides of the right triangle when drawn in this manner.
We will continue to refer to the hypotenuse as the hypotenuse and abbreviate it hyp . We will refer to
the base as the adjacent side relative to the angle at the origin and abbreviate it adj . We will refer to
the third side as the opposite side relative to the angle at the origin and abbreviate it opp .
Image 2 (p. 469) shows such a 3-4-5 triangle (which may not be drawn to scale) using the notation
given above for the three sides.
(Note that this image, and many of the other images in this collection of physics modules were re-
purposed from an earlier set of modules. The lower-case characters that you will see scattered throughout
the images were needed there but will generally have no meaning in these modules. They should be ignored.)

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Image 2: A 3-4-5 triangle.

2.18
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470 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

The length of the hypotenuse

Now that you have your right triangle and you know the lengths of the adjacent and opposite sides, do
you remember how to calculate the length of the hypotenuse?
The Pythagorean theorem
Hopefully you know that for a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the
squares of the two other sides. Thus, the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the square root of the sum of
the squares of the other two sides.
In this case we can do the arithmetic in our heads to compute the length of the hypotenuse. (I planned
it that way.)
The square of the adjacent side is 9. The square of the opposite side is 16. The sum of the squares is 25,
and the square root of 25 is 5. Thus, the length of the hypotenuse is 5.
A 3-4-5 triangle
You have created a rather unique triangle. You have created a right triangle in which the sides are either
equal to, or proportional to the integer values 3, 4, and 5.
I chose this triangle on purpose for its simplicity. We will use it to investigate some aspects of trigonom-
etry.

2.3.4.2.1 The sine and arcsine of an angle

You will often hear people talk about the sine of an angle or the cosine of an angle. Just what is the sine of
an angle anyway?
Although the sine of an angle is based on very specic geometric considerations involving circles (see
http://www.clarku.edu/∼djoyce/trig/ 13 ), for our purposes, the sine of an angle is simply a ratio between
the lengths of two dierent sides of a right triangle.
A ratio of two sides
For our purposes, we will say that the sine of an angle is equal to the ratio of the opposite side and the
hypotenuse. Therefore, in the case of the 3-4-5 triangle , the sine of the angle at the origin is equal to
4/5 or 0.8.
If we know the lengths of the hypotenuse and the opposite side, we can compute the sine and use it to
determine the value of the angle. (We will do this later using the arcsine.)
Conversely, if we know the value of the angle but don't know the lengths of the hypotenuse and/or the
opposite side, we can obtain the value of the sine of the angle using a scientic calculator (such as the Google
calculator) or lookup table.

note: The sine of an angle  sample computation

Enter the following into the Google search box:
sin(53.13010235415598 degrees)
The following will appear immediately below the search box:
sin(53.13010235415598 degrees) = 0.8
This matches the value that we computed above (p. 470) as the ratio of the opposite side and the
hypotenuse.

The arcsine (inverse sine) of an angle

The arcsine of an angle is the value of the angle having a given sine value. In other words, if you know
the value of the sine of an unknown angle, you can use a scientic calculator or lookup table to nd the
value of the angle.
For example, we know that the sine of the angle at the origin on your 3-4-5 triangle is 4/5. From that,
we can determine the value of the angle. However, we probably can't do this calculation in our heads so we
will use the Google calculator to compute the value of the angle.
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 471

note: The arcsine of an angle  sample computation

Enter the following into the Google search box:
arcsin(4/5) in degrees
The following will appear immediately below the search box:
arcsin(4/5) = 53.1301024 degrees
This is the angle that corresponds to a ratio of the opposite side to the hypotenuse of 4/5.

We can also write a JavaScript script to perform the calculation, which we will do shortly.
Getting the angle for a known sine value
If you have access to a protractor, use it to measure and record the angle at the origin on your triangle.
Then create an html le containing the code shown in Listing 2 (p. 471) and open it in your browser.

Listing 2: Arcsin of 3-4-5 triangle.

<!-- File JavaScript02.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

function toRadians(degrees){
return degrees*Math.PI/180
}//end function toRadians
//============================================//

function toDegrees(radians){
return radians*180/Math.PI
}//end function toDegrees
//============================================//

var opp = 4
var hyp = 5
var ratio = opp/hyp
var angRad = Math.asin(ratio)
var angDeg = toDegrees(angRad)

document.write("radians = " + angRad + "<br/>")

document.write("degrees = " + angDeg)

</script>
</body></html>

2.19

The output for the angle

When you open your html le in your browser, the output shown in Image 3 (p. 472) should appear in
the browser window.

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472 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 3: Output for script in Listing 2.

radians = 0.9272952180016123
degrees = 53.13010235415598

2.20

Did you measure the angle to be 53 degrees with your protractor. If so, congratulations. If not, you
should probably take another look at it.
Dene conversion functions
The code in Listing 2 (p. 471) begins by dening the functions named toRadians and toDegrees
that we developed earlier in Listing 1 (p. 466) . (In this case, we will only need the function named
toDegrees so I could have omitted the code for the function named toRadians .)
Declare and initialize variables
Then the code in Listing 2 (p. 471) declares and initializes variables to represent the lengths of the
opposite side and the hypotenuse for the triangle ( opp and hyp ). Then it computes and saves the ratio
of the two. (We learned earlier that the ratio is the value of the sine of the angle at the origin even though
we don't know the value of the angle.)
The built-in Math.asin method
JavaScript has a built-in method named Math.asin that receives the sine value for an unknown angle
and returns the value of the corresponding angle in radians. (The Math.asin method has the same purpose
at the word arcsin in the Google calculator.)
The returned value is an angle between -PI/2 and PI/2 radians. (I will have more to say about this
later.)
Listing 2 (p. 471) calls the Math.asin method, passing the ratio (sine of the angle) as a parameter,
and stores the returned value in a variable named angRad .
Then Listing 2 (p. 471) calls the toDegrees method, passing the value of angRad as a parameter
and stores the returned value in a variable named angDeg .
Finally, Listing 2 (p. 471) calls the document.write method twice in success to display the angle
values shown in Image 3 (p. 472) .
Another exercise with a dierent viewpoint
Now let's approach things from a dierent viewpoint. Assume that

• you know the value of the angle in degrees,

• you know the length of the hypotenuse, and
• you need to nd the length of the opposite side.

Assume also that for some reason you can't simply measure the length of the opposite side. Therefore, you
must calculate it. This is a common situation in physics, so let's see if we can write a script that will perform
that calculation for us.
Create an html le containing the code shown in Listing 3 (p. 473) and open the le in your browser.

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 473

Listing 3: Finding length of the opposite side.

<!-- File JavaScript03.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

function toRadians(degrees){
return degrees*Math.PI/180
}//end function toRadians
//============================================//

function toDegrees(radians){
return radians*180/Math.PI
}//end function toDegrees
//============================================//

var hyp = 5
var angDeg = 53.13
var angRad = toRadians(angDeg)
var sine = Math.sin(angRad)

var opp = hyp * sine

document.write("opposite = " + opp + "<br/>")

hyp = opp/sine

document.write("hypotenuse = " + hyp + "<br/>")

</script>
</body></html>

2.21

The output for the opposite side

When you open your html le in your browser, the output shown in Image 3 (p. 472) should appear in
your browser window.

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474 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 4: Output for script in Listing 3.

opposite = 3.999994640742543
hypotenuse = 5

2.22

Computing length of opposite side with the Google calculator

We could also compute the length of the opposite side using the Google calculator.

note: The length of the opposite side  sample computation

Enter the following into the Google search box:
5*sin(53.1301024 degrees)
The following will appear immediately below the search box:
5 * sin(53.1301024 degrees) = 4
This is the length of the opposite side for the given angle and the given length of the hypotenuse.

Interesting equations
We learned earlier that the sine of the angle is equal to the ratio of the opposite side and the hypotenuse.
We also learned that the angle is the arcsine of that ratio.
If we know any two of those values ( angle , opp , hyp ), we can nd the third (with a little
algebraic manipulation) as shown in Image 5 (p. 474) .

Image 5: Interesting sine equations.

sine(angle) = opp/hyp

angle = arcsine(opp/hyp)
opp = hyp * sine(angle)
hyp = opp/sine(angle)

2.23

Getting back to Listing 3

After dening the radian/degree conversion functions, Listing 3 (p. 473) declares and initializes variables
representing the length of the hypotenuse and the angle in degrees. (Note that the angle in degrees was
truncated to four signicant digits, which may introduce a slight inaccuracy into the computations.)
Get and use the sine of the angle
That angle is converted to radians and passed as a parameter to the Math.sin method, which returns
the value of the sine of the angle.

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 475

The value for the sine of the angle is then used in an algebraic equation to compute the length of the
opposite side, which is displayed in Image 4 (p. 474) . (This equation is one of the equations shown in Image
5 (p. 474) .)
Looks very close to me
As you can see, the computed value for the opposite side shown in Image 4 (p. 474) is extremely close
to the known value of 4 units.
Re-compute the length of the hypotenuse
After that, the value of the hypotenuse is re-computed (as though it were the unknown in the problem)
using the value of the sine and the recently computed value of the opposite side. (Once again, one of the
equations from Image 5 (p. 474) is used to perform the computation.) The output length for the hypotenuse
is shown in Image 4 (p. 474) , and it matches the known value.
Example usage of Math.asin and Math.sin methods
Listing 2 (p. 471) and Listing 3 (p. 473) provide examples of how to use the JavaScript Math.asin
and Math.sin methods to nd the angle, the opposite side, or the hypotenuse of a right triangle when the
other two are known as shown by the equations in Image 5 (p. 474) .

2.3.4.2.2 The cosine and arccosine of an angle

You are going to nd the discussion in this section to be very similar to the discussion in the previous section
on the sine and the arcsine of an angle.
Once again, although the cosine of an angle is based on very specic geometric considerations involving
circles (see http://www.clarku.edu/∼djoyce/trig/ 14 ), for our purposes, the cosine of an angle is simply a
ratio between the lengths of two dierent sides of a right triangle.
A ratio of two sides
For our purposes, we will say that the cosine of an angle is equal to the ratio of the adjacent side and
the hypotenuse. Therefore, in the case of the 3-4-5 triangle, the cosine of the angle at the origin is equal to
3/5 or 0.6.
As before, if we know the lengths of the hypotenuse and the adjacent side, we can compute the cosine
and use it to determine the value of the angle. (We will do this later.)
Conversely, if we know the value of the angle but don't know the lengths of the hypotenuse and/or the
adjacent side, we can obtain the cosine value (the ratio of the adjacent side and the hypotenuse) using a
scientic calculator or lookup table and use it for other purposes later.

note: The cosine of an angle  sample computation

Enter the following into the Google search box:
cos(53.13010235415598 degrees)
The following will appear immediately below the search box:
cos(53.13010235415598 degrees) = 0.6
This matches the ratio of the adjacent side to the hypotenuse for a 3-4-5 triangle.

The arccosine (inverse cosine) of an angle

The arccosine of an angle is the value of the angle having a given cosine value. In other words, if you
know the value of the cosine of an unknown angle, you can use a scientic calculator or lookup table to nd
the value of the angle.
Getting the angle for a known cosine value
For example, we know that the cosine of the angle at the origin of the 3-4-5 triangle is 0.6. From that,
we can determine the value of the angle using either the Google calculator or JavaScript.
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476 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

note: The arccosine of an angle  sample computation

Enter the following into the Google search box:
arccos(3/5) in degrees
The following will appear immediately below the search box:
arccos(3/5) = 53.1301024 degrees
This is the angle that corresponds to a ratio of the adjacent side to the hypotenuse of 3/5.
As you should expect. the computed angle is the same as before. We didn't change the angle, we simply
computed it using a dierent approach.
Getting the angle using JavaScript
Please create an html le containing the code shown in Listing 4 (p. 476) and open it in your browser.

Listing 4: Arccosine of 3-4-5 triangle.

<!-- File JavaScript04.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

function toRadians(degrees){
return degrees*Math.PI/180
}//end function toRadians
//============================================//

function toDegrees(radians){
return radians*180/Math.PI
}//end function toDegrees
//============================================//

var adj = 3
var hyp = 5
var ratio = adj/hyp
var angRad = Math.acos(ratio)
var angDeg = toDegrees(angRad)

document.write("radians = " + angRad + "<br/>")

document.write("degrees = " + angDeg)

</script>
</body></html>

2.24

Similar to a previous script

If you examine the code in Listing 4 (p. 476) carefully, you will see that it is very similar to the code in
Listing 2 (p. 471) with a couple of exceptions:
• The variable opp having a value of 4 was replaced by the variable adj having a value of 3.

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 477

• The call to the Math.asin method was replaced by a call to the Math.acos method.

The output
When you load your html le into your browser, it should produce the output shown earlier in Image
3 (p. 472) . In other words, we know that the angle at the origin didn't change. What changed was the
manner in which we computed the value of that angle.
Dierent approaches to the same solution
In Listing 2 (p. 471) , we used the length of the hypotenuse and the length of the opposite side, along
with the arcsine method to compute the angle.
In Listing 4 (p. 476) , we used the length of the hypotenuse and the length of the adjacent side, along
with the arccosine method to compute the angle.
Which approach should you use?
As would be expected, since the angle didn't change, both approaches produced the same result. Deciding
which approach to use often depends on the values that are available to use in the computation.
Sometimes you only have the lengths of the hypotenuse and the opposite side available, in which case
you could use the arcsine. Sometimes you only have the lengths of the hypotenuse and the adjacent side
available, in which case you could use the arccosine. Sometimes you have the lengths of both the opposite
side and the adjacent side in addition to the length of the hypotenuse, in which case you can use either
approach.
Both approaches use the length of the hypotenuse
It is important to note however that both of these approaches require you to have the length of the
hypotenuse. Later in this module we will discuss the tangent and arctangent for an angle, which allows us to
work with the opposite side and the adjacent side devoid of the length of the hypotenuse. (Of course, if you
have the lengths of the opposite side and the adjacent side, you can always nd the length of the hypotenuse
using the Pythagorean theorem.)
Interesting cosine equations
The equations in Image 6 (p. 477) are similar to equations in Image 5 (p. 474) . The dierence is that
the equations in Image 5 (p. 474) are based on the use of the sine of the angle and the opposite side whereas
the equations in Image 6 (p. 477) are based on the use of the cosine of the angle and the adjacent side.
As you can see in Image 6 (p. 477) , if you know any two of the values for angle , adj , and hyp ,
you can nd the other value. This is illustrated in the script shown in Listing 5 (p. 478) , which produces
the output shown in Image 7 (p. 479) .

Image 6: Interesting cosine equations.

cosine(angle) = adj/hyp

angle = arccosine(adj/hyp)
adj = hyp * cosine(angle)
hyp = adj/cosine(angle)

2.25

Finding the length of the adjacent side

The code in Listing 5 (p. 478) is very similar to the code in Listing 2 (p. 471) . The main dierence
is that Listing 2 (p. 471) is based on the use of the sine of the angle and the length of the opposite side
whereas Listing 5 (p. 478) is based on the use of the cosine of the angle and the length of the adjacent side.

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478 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 5: Finding the length of the adjacent side.

<!-- File JavaScript05.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

function toRadians(degrees){
return degrees*Math.PI/180
}//end function toRadians
//============================================//

function toDegrees(radians){
return radians*180/Math.PI
}//end function toDegrees
//============================================//

var hyp = 5
var angDeg = 53.13
var angRad = toRadians(angDeg)
var cosine = Math.cos(angRad)

var adj = hyp * cosine

document.write("adjacent = " + adj + "<br/>")

hyp = adj/cosine

document.write("hypotenuse = " + hyp + "<br/>")

</script>
</body></html>

2.26

No further explanation needed

Because of the similarity of Listing 5 (p. 478) and Listing 2 (p. 471) , no further explanation of the code
in Listing 5 (p. 478) should be needed. As you can see from Image 7 (p. 479) , the output values match the
known lengths for the hypotenuse and the adjacent side for the 3-4-5 triangle.

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 479

Image 7: Output for script in Listing 5.

adjacent = 3.0000071456633126
hypotenuse = 5

2.27

Computing length of adjacent side with the Google calculator

We could also compute the length of the adjacent side using the Google calculator.
note: The length of the adjacent side  sample computation
Enter the following into the Google search box:
5*cos(53.1301024 degrees)
The following will appear immediately below the search box:
5 * cos(53.1301024 degrees) = 3
This is the length of the adjacent side for the given angle and the given length of the hypotenuse.
Two very important equations
From an introductory physics viewpoint, two of the most important and perhaps most frequently used
equations from Image 5 (p. 474) and Image 6 (p. 477) are shown in Image 8 (p. 479) .

Image 8: Two very important equations.

opp = hyp * sine(angle)

adj = hyp * cosine(angle)

2.28

These two equations are so important that it might be worth your while to memorize them. Of course,
you will occasionally need most of the equations in Image 5 (p. 474) and Image 6 (p. 477) , so you should
try to remember them, or at least know where to nd them when you need them.
Vectors
As you will see later in the module that deals with vectors, you are often presented with something that
resembles the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose adjacent side is on the horizontal axis and whose opposite
side is parallel to the vertical axis.
The thing that looks like the hypotenuse of a right triangle is called a vector . It has a length and it
has a direction. Typically, the direction is stated as the angle between the vector and the horizontal axis.
Thus, the direction is analogous to the angle at the origin in your triangle.
Horizontal and vertical components
For reasons that I won't explain until we get to that module, you will often need to compute the horizontal
and vertical components of the vector. The horizontal component is essentially the adjacent side of our

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480 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

current right triangle. Thus, the value of the horizontal component can be computed using the second
equation in Image 8 (p. 479) .
The vertical component is essentially the opposite side of our current right triangle, and its value can be
computed using the rst equation in Image 8 (p. 479) .

2.3.4.2.3 The tangent and arctangent of an angle

Once again, although the tangent of an angle is based on very specic geometric considerations involving
circles (see http://www.clarku.edu/∼djoyce/trig/ 15 ), for our purposes, the tangent of an angle is simply a
ratio between the lengths of two dierent sides of a right triangle.
A ratio of two sides
For our purposes, we will say that the tangent of an angle is equal to the ratio of the opposite side and
the adjacent side. Therefore, in the case of the 3-4-5 triangle, the tangent of the angle at the origin is
equal to 4/3 or 1.333.
Not limited to 1.0
Note that the absolute value for the sine and the cosine of an angle is limited to a maximum value of 1.0.
However, the tangent of an angle is not so limited. In fact, the tangent of 45 degrees is 1.0 and the tangent
of 90 degrees is innity. This results from the length of the adjacent side, which is the denominator in the
ratio, going to zero at 90 degrees.
Dividing by zero in a script is usually not a good thing. This is a pitfall that you must watch out for
when working with tangents. I will provide code later that shows you how deal with this issue.
Computing the tangent
If we know the lengths of the opposite side and the adjacent side, we can compute the tangent and use
it for other purposes later without having to know the value of the angle.
Conversely, if we know the value of the angle but don't know the lengths of the adjacent side and/or the
opposite side, we can obtain the tangent value using a scientic calculator or lookup table and use it for
other purposes later.

note: The tangent of an angle  sample computation

Enter the following into the Google search box:
tan(53.13010235415598 degrees)
The following will appear immediately below the search box:
tan(53.13010235415598 degrees) = 1.33333333
This agrees with the ratio that we computed earlier (p. 480) .

The arctangent (inverse tangent) of an angle

The arctangent of an angle is the value of the angle having a given tangent value. (For example, as
mentioned above, the arctangent of innity is 90 degrees and the arctangent of 1.0 is 45 degrees.) In other
words, if you know the value of the tangent of an unknown angle, you can use a scientic calculator or lookup
table to nd the value of the angle.
For example, we know that the tangent of the angle at the origin on your 3-4-5 triangle is 1.333. From
that, we can determine the value of the angle.

note: The arctangent of an angle  sample computation

Enter the following into the Google search box:
arctan(4/3) in degrees
The following will appear immediately below the search box:
arctan(4/3) = 53.1301024 degrees
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 481

We can also write a JavaScript script to perform the calculation.

Getting the angle for a known tangent value using JavaScript
Please create an html le containing the code shown in Listing 6 (p. 481) and open it in your browser.

Listing 6: Arctan of 3-4-5 triangle.

<!-- File JavaScript06.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

function toRadians(degrees){
return degrees*Math.PI/180
}//end function toRadians
//============================================//

function toDegrees(radians){
return radians*180/Math.PI
}//end function toDegrees
//============================================//

var opp = 4
var adj = 3
var ratio = opp/adj
var angRad = Math.atan(ratio)
var angDeg = toDegrees(angRad)

document.write("radians = " + angRad + "<br/>")

document.write("degrees = " + angDeg)

</script>
</body></html>

2.29

The output from the script

Once again, when you open this le in your browser, the output shown in Image 3 (p. 472) should appear
in your browser window.
The code in Listing 6 (p. 481) is very similar to the code in Listing 2 (p. 471) . They both describe the
same right triangle, so the output should be the same in both cases.
The code in Listing 2 (p. 471) uses the opposite side and the hypotenuse along with the arcsine to
compute the angle. The code in Listing 6 (p. 481) uses the opposite side and the adjacent side along with
the arctangent to compute the angle. Otherwise, no further explanation should be required.
Interesting tangent equations
In the spirit of Image 5 (p. 474) and Image 6 (p. 477) , Image 9 (p. 482) provides some interesting
equations that deal with the angle, the opposite side, and the adjacent side. Given any two, you can nd
the third using either the tangent or arctangent.

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482 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 9: Interesting tangent equations.

tangent(angle) = opp/adj

angle = arctangent(opp/adj)
opp = tangent(angle) * adj
adj = opp/tangent(angle)

2.30

An exercise involving the tangent

Please copy the code from Listing 7 (p. 483) into an html le and open it in your browser.

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 483

Listing 7: Finding the length of the opposite side.

<!-- File JavaScript07.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

function toRadians(degrees){
return degrees*Math.PI/180
}//end function toRadians
//============================================//

function toDegrees(radians){
return radians*180/Math.PI
}//end function toDegrees
//============================================//

var adj = 3
var angDeg = 53.13
var angRad = toRadians(angDeg)
var tangent = Math.tan(angRad)

var opp = adj * tangent

document.write("opposite = " + opp + "<br/>")

adj = opp/tangent

document.write("adjacent = " + adj + "<br/>")

</script>
</body></html>

2.31

When you open your html le in your browser, the output shown in Image 10 (p. 483) should appear in
your browser window. We can see that the values in Image 10 (p. 483) are correct for our 3-4-5 triangle.

Image 10: Output for script in Listing 7.

opposite = 3.9999851132269173
adjacent = 3

2.32

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484 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Very similar code

The code in Listing 7 (p. 483) is very similar to the code in Listing 3 (p. 473) and Listing 5 (p. 478) .
The essential dierences are that

• Listing 3 (p. 473) uses the sine along with the opposite side and the hypotenuse.
• Listing 5 (p. 478) uses the cosine along with the adjacent side and the hypotenuse.
• Listing 7 (p. 483) uses the tangent along with the opposite side and the adjacent side.

You should be able to work through those dierences without further explanation from me.
The cotangent of an angle
There is also something called the cotangent of an angle, which is simply the ratio of the adjacent side to
the opposite side. If you know how to work with the tangent, you don't ordinarily need to use the cotangent,
so I won't discuss it further.
Computing length of opposite side with the Google calculator
We could also compute the length of the opposite side using the Google calculator.

note: The length of the opposite side  sample computation

Enter the following into the Google search box:
3*tan(53.1301024 degrees)
The following will appear immediately below the search box:
3 * tan(53.1301024 degrees) = 4.00000001

2.3.4.3 Dealing with dierent quadrants

Up to this point, we have dealt exclusively with angles in the range of 0 to 90 degrees (the rst quadrant).
As long as you stay in the rst quadrant, things are relatively straightforward.
As you are probably aware, however, angles can range anywhere from 0 to 360 degrees (or more). Once
you begin working with angles that are greater then 90 degrees, things become a little less straightforward.
Sinusoidal amplitude versus angle
Please copy the code from Listing 8 (p. 485) into an html le and open the le in your browser.

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 485

Listing 8: Sinusoidal amplitude versus angle.

<;!-- File JavaScript08.html -->

<;html><;body>
<;script language="JavaScript1.3">

function toRadians(degrees){
return degrees*Math.PI/180
}//end function toRadians
//============================================//

function toDegrees(radians){
return radians*180/Math.PI
}//end function toDegrees
//============================================//

var angInc = 90
var angStart = -360
var ang = angStart
var angEnd = 360
var sine
var cosine

while(ang <;= angEnd){

//Compute sine and cosine of angle
sine = Math.sin(toRadians(ang))
cosine = Math.cos(toRadians(ang))

//Reduce the number of digits in the output

sine = (Math.round(100*sine))/100
cosine = (Math.round(100*cosine))/100

//Display the results

document.write("Angle: " + ang +
" Sine: " + sine +
" Cosine: " + cosine +
"<;/br>")

//Increase the angle for next iteration

ang = ang + angInc
}//end while loop

<;/script>
<;/body><;/html>

2.33

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486 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Output from the script

When you open your html le in your browser, the output shown in Image 11 (p. 486) should appear in
your browser window.

Image 11: Sinusoidal values at 90-degree increments.

Angle: -360 Sine: 0 Cosine: 1

Angle: -270 Sine: 1 Cosine: 0
Angle: -180 Sine: 0 Cosine: -1
Angle: -90 Sine: -1 Cosine: 0
Angle: 0 Sine: 0 Cosine: 1
Angle: 90 Sine: 1 Cosine: 0
Angle: 180 Sine: 0 Cosine: -1
Angle: 270 Sine: -1 Cosine: 0
Angle: 360 Sine: 0 Cosine: 1

2.34

Image 11 (p. 486) contains the data for two dierent curves. One is a sine curve and the other is a cosine
curve.
Plot the points
You should be able to plots these data values as two separate curves on your graph paper.
Remember, the angle values from -360 degrees (-2*PI radians) to +360 degrees (+2*PI radians) are
horizontal coordinates while the corresponding values for the sine and cosine are vertical coordinates.
Saw tooth curves
Once you have plotted the points, you should be able to discern two curves, each of which is a saw tooth.
The two curves have exactly the same shape, but one is shifted horizontally relative to the other. For
example, the sine curve has a value of zero at an angle of zero (the origin) and it is asymmetric about the
vertical axis.
The cosine curve, on the other hand has a value of 1 at an angle of zero and it is symmetric about the
vertical axis.
Periodic curves
These are periodic curves. For example, the shape of the sine curve between -360 and 0 is the same as
the shape of the sine curve between 0 and +360. Each of those ranges represents one cycle of the periodic
curve.
We only computed the values from -360 to +360. However, if we had computed the values from -3600 to
+ 3600, the overall shape of the curve would not dier from what we have here. The shape of each cycle of
the curve would be identical to the shape of the cycle to the left and the cycle to the right.
Not really a saw tooth
The sine and cosine curves don't really have a saw tooth shape. That is an artifact of the fact that we
didn't compute enough points to reliably describe the shape of the curves. Let's improve on that.
Modify the script
Modify the code in your script to initialize the value of the variable named angInc to 45 degrees instead
of 90 degrees and then load the revised version into your browser. This will cause the script to ll in data
points between the points that we already have producing the output shown in Image 16 (p. 487) .

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 487

Image 12: Sinusoidal values at 45-degree increments.

Angle: -360 Sine: 0 Cosine: 1

Angle: -315 Sine: 0.71 Cosine: 0.71
Angle: -270 Sine: 1 Cosine: 0
Angle: -225 Sine: 0.71 Cosine: -0.71
Angle: -180 Sine: 0 Cosine: -1
Angle: -135 Sine: -0.71 Cosine: -0.71
Angle: -90 Sine: -1 Cosine: 0
Angle: -45 Sine: -0.71 Cosine: 0.71
Angle: 0 Sine: 0 Cosine: 1
Angle: 45 Sine: 0.71 Cosine: 0.71
Angle: 90 Sine: 1 Cosine: 0
Angle: 135 Sine: 0.71 Cosine: -0.71
Angle: 180 Sine: 0 Cosine: -1
Angle: 225 Sine: -0.71 Cosine: -0.71
Angle: 270 Sine: -1 Cosine: 0
Angle: 315 Sine: -0.71 Cosine: 0.71
Angle: 360 Sine: 0 Cosine: 1

2.35

Plot the new points

Every other line of text in Image 12 (p. 487) should contain sine and cosine values for angles that are
half way between the points that you already have plotted.
Plot the new points and connect all of the points in each curve.
Same shape but shifted horizontally
The two curves still have the same shape, although shifted horizontally relative to one another and they
are still periodic. However, they no longer have a saw tooth shape. They tend to be a little more rounded
near the peaks and they are beginning to provide a better representation of the actual shapes of the sine
and cosine curves.
Let's do it again
Change the value of the variable named angInc from 45 degrees to 22.5 degrees and load the new
version of the html le into your browser. Now the output should look like Image 13 (p. 488) .

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488 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 13: Sinusoidal values at 22.5-degree increments.

Angle: -360 Sine: 0 Cosine: 1

Angle: -337.5 Sine: 0.38 Cosine: 0.92
Angle: -315 Sine: 0.71 Cosine: 0.71
Angle: -292.5 Sine: 0.92 Cosine: 0.38
Angle: -270 Sine: 1 Cosine: 0
Angle: -247.5 Sine: 0.92 Cosine: -0.38
Angle: -225 Sine: 0.71 Cosine: -0.71
Angle: -202.5 Sine: 0.38 Cosine: -0.92
Angle: -180 Sine: 0 Cosine: -1
Angle: -157.5 Sine: -0.38 Cosine: -0.92
Angle: -135 Sine: -0.71 Cosine: -0.71
Angle: -112.5 Sine: -0.92 Cosine: -0.38
Angle: -90 Sine: -1 Cosine: 0
Angle: -67.5 Sine: -0.92 Cosine: 0.38
Angle: -45 Sine: -0.71 Cosine: 0.71
Angle: -22.5 Sine: -0.38 Cosine: 0.92
Angle: 0 Sine: 0 Cosine: 1
Angle: 22.5 Sine: 0.38 Cosine: 0.92
Angle: 45 Sine: 0.71 Cosine: 0.71
Angle: 67.5 Sine: 0.92 Cosine: 0.38
Angle: 90 Sine: 1 Cosine: 0
Angle: 112.5 Sine: 0.92 Cosine: -0.38
Angle: 135 Sine: 0.71 Cosine: -0.71
Angle: 157.5 Sine: 0.38 Cosine: -0.92
Angle: 180 Sine: 0 Cosine: -1
Angle: 202.5 Sine: -0.38 Cosine: -0.92
Angle: 225 Sine: -0.71 Cosine: -0.71
Angle: 247.5 Sine: -0.92 Cosine: -0.38
Angle: 270 Sine: -1 Cosine: 0
Angle: 292.5 Sine: -0.92 Cosine: 0.38
Angle: 315 Sine: -0.71 Cosine: 0.71
Angle: 337.5 Sine: -0.38 Cosine: 0.92
Angle: 360 Sine: 0 Cosine: 1

2.36

A lot of data points

Once again, every other line of text in Image 13 (p. 488) contains new sine and cosine values for angles
that you don't have plotted yet.
Plotting all of these point is going to require a lot of eort. Before you do that, let's think about it.
Two full cycles
You should have been able to discern by now that your plots for the sine and cosine graphs each contain
two full cycles. An important thing about periodic functions is that once you know the shape of the curve
for any one cycle, you know the shape of the curve for every cycle from minus innity to innity. The shape
of every cycle is exactly the same as the shape of every other cycle.

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 489

Saving patience and eort

If you are running out of patience, you might consider updating your plots for only one cycle.
You should be able to discern that your curves no longer have a saw tooth shape. Each time we have run
the script, we have sampled the amplitude values of each curve at twice as many points as before. Therefore,
the curves should be taking on a smoother rounded shape that is better representation of the actual shape
of the curves.
Continue the process
You can continue this process of improving the curves for as long as you have the space and patience to
do so. Just divide the value of the variable named angInc by a factor of two and rerun the script. That
will produce twice as many data points that are only half as far apart on the horizontal axis.
If you choose to do so, you can plot only the new points in one-half of a cycle to get an idea of the shape.
By now you should have discerned that each half of a cycle has the same shape, only one half is above the
horizontal axis and the other half is a mirror image below the axis.
Plot of cosine and sine curves
Image 14 (p. 490) shows a cosine curve plotted above a sine curve very similar to the curves that you
have plotted on your graph paper.

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490 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 14: Plot of cosine and sine curves.

2.37

Grid lines
The image in Image 14 (p. 490) contains 7 vertical grid lines. The vertical grid line in the center
represents an angle of zero degrees. The space between each grid line on either side of the center represents
an angle of 90 degrees or PI/2 radians.
There are two horizontal grid lines. One is one-fourth of the way down from the top. The other is
one-fourth of the way up from the bottom.
The curves
A cosine curve is plotted with vertical values relative to the top grid line. It extends from -360 degrees
on the left to +360 degrees on the right.
A sine curve is plotted with vertical values relative to the bottom grid line. It also extends from -360
degrees on the left to +360 degrees on the right.
Return values for the Math.asin, Math.acos, and Math.atan methods
I told you earlier that the Math.asin method returns a value between -PI/2 and PI/2. However, I
didn't tell you that the Math.acos method returns a value between 0 and PI, or that the Math.atan

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 491

method returns a value between -PI/2 and PI/2. You now have enough information to understand why this
is true.
Smooth curves
If you examine the two curves in Image 14 (p. 490) and the data in Image 13 (p. 488) , you can surmise
that the sine and cosine functions are smooth curves whose values range between -1 and +1 inclusive. For
every possible value between -1 and +1, there is an angle in the range -PI/2 and PI/2 whose sine value
matches that value. There is also an angle in the range 0 and PI whose cosine value matches that value.
(Although you haven't plotted the curve for the tangent, a similar situation holds there also, but the
maximum value is not limited to 1.0.)
An innite number of angles
Therefore, given a specic numeric value between -1 and +1, there are an innite number of angles whose
sine and cosine values match that numeric value and the method has no way of distinguishing between them.
Therefore, the Math.asin method returns the matching angle that is closest to zero and the Math.acos
method returns the matching positive angle that is closest to zero.
What can we learn from this?
One important thing that we can learn is there is no dierence between the sine or cosine of an angle
and the sine or cosine of a dierent angle that diers from the original angle by 360 degrees. Thus, the
Math.asin and Math.acos methods cannot be used to distinguish between angles that dier by 360
degrees. (As you learned above, the situation involving the Math.asin and Math.acos methods is even
more stringent than that.)
One-quarter cycle contains all of the information
Another thing that we can learn is that once you know the shape of the cosine curve from 0 degrees to
90 degrees, you have enough information to construct the entire cosine curve and the entire sine curve across
any range of angles. Every possible value or the negative of every possible value that can occur in a sine or
cosine curve occurs in the cosine curve between 0 degrees and 90 degrees. Furthermore, the order of those
values is also well dened.
Think about these relationships
You should think about these kinds of relationships. As I mentioned earlier, as long as we are working with
angles between 0 and 90 degrees, everything is relatively straightforward. However, once we start working
with angles between 90 degrees and 360 degrees (or greater), things become a little less straightforward.
If you have a good picture in your mind of the shape of the two curves between -360 degrees and +360
degrees, you may be able to avoid errors once you start working on physics problems that involve angles
outside the range of 0 to 90 degrees.
Quadrants
We often think of a two-dimensional space with horizontal and vertical axes and the origin at the center
in quadrants. Each quadrant is bounded by half the horizontal axis and half the vertical axis.
It is common practice to number the quadrants in counter-clockwise order with the upper-right quadrant
being quadrant 1, the upper-left quadrant being quadrant 2, the bottom-left quadrant being quadrant 3, and
the bottom-right quadrant being quadrant 4.
Angles fall in quadrants
If you measure the angle between the positive horizontal axis and a line segment that emanates from the
origin, quadrant 1 contains angles between 0 and PI/2, quadrant 2 contains the angles between PI/2 and PI,
quadrant 3 contains the angles between PI and 3*PI/2, and quadrant 4 contains the angles between 3*PI/2
and 2*PI (or zero). (Note that I didn't attempt to reconcile the inclusion of each axis in the two quadrants
on either side of the axis.)
Algebraic signs versus quadrant number
It is sometimes useful to consider how the algebraic sign of the sine, cosine, and tangent values varies
among the four quadrants. Image 15 (p. 492) contains a table that shows the sign of the sine, cosine, and
tangent values for each of the four quadrants

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492 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 15: Algebraic signs versus quadrants.

1 2 3 4
sine + + - -
cosine + - - +
tangent + - + -

2.38

Working with arctangents is more dicult than arcsine or arccosine

Working with arctangent is somewhat more dicult than working with arcsine or arccosine, if for no
other reason than the possibility of dividing by zero when working with the arctangent.
Listing 9 (p. 493) shows a JavaScript function named getAngle that deals with this issue.

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 493

Listing 9: A function to deal with quadrants.

<!---------------- File JavaScript09.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/>");

//The purpose of this function is to receive the adjacent

// and opposite side values for a right triangle and to
// return the angle in degrees in the correct quadrant.
function getAngle(adjacent,opposite){
if((adjacent == 0) && (opposite == 0)){
//Angle is indeterminate. Just return zero.
return 0;
}else if((adjacent == 0) && (opposite > 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return 90;
}else if((adjacent == 0) && (opposite < 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return -90;
}else if((adjacent < 0) && (opposite >= 0)){
//Correct to second quadrant
return Math.atan(opposite/adjacent)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else if((adjacent < 0) && (opposite <= 0)){
//Correct to third quadrant
return Math.atan(opposite/adjacent)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else{
//First and fourth quadrants. No correction required.
return Math.atan(opposite/adjacent)*180/Math.PI;
}//end else
}//end function getAngle

//Modify these values and run for different cases.

var adj = 3;
var opp = 4;

document.write("adj = " + adj.toFixed(2) +

" opp = " + opp.toFixed(2) + " units<br/>");

document.write("angle = " + getAngle(adj,opp).toFixed(2)

+ " units<br/>");

var adj = -3;

var opp = 4;

document.write("adj = " + adj.toFixed(2) +

" opp = " + opp.toFixed(2) + " units<br/>");

document.write("angle = " + getAngle(adj,opp).toFixed(2)

+ " units<br/>");
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var adj = -3;
var opp = -4;
494 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

The code in Listing 9 (p. 493) begins by dening a function named getAngle that accepts the signed values
of the adjacent side and the opposite side of the right triangle and returns the angle that the hypotenuse
makes with the positive horizontal axis.
Then the code in Listing 9 (p. 493) tests the result for four dierent triangles situated in each of the four
quadrants.
Image 16 (p. 494) shows the output produced by this script.

Image 16: Output from the code in Listing 9.

Start Script
adj = 3.00 opp = 4.00 units
angle = 53.13 units
adj = -3.00 opp = 4.00 units
angle = 126.87 units
adj = -3.00 opp = -4.00 units
angle = 233.13 units
adj = 3.00 opp = -4.00 units
angle = -53.13 units

2.40

This is an issue that will become important when we reach the module that deals with vectors in all four
quadrants.
Structure of the script
The script shown in Listing 9 (p. 493) begins by dening a function named getAngle . The purpose
of this function is to return an angle in degrees in the correct quadrant based on the lengths of the adjacent
and opposite sides of an enclosing right triangle. As mentioned above, the returned angle is the angle that
the hypotenuse makes with the positive horizontal axis.
An indeterminate result
The getAngle function calls the Math.atan method to compute the angle whose tangent is the ratio of
the opposite side to the adjacent side of a right triangle.
If the lengths of both the opposite and adjacent sides are zero, the ratio opposite/adjacent is indeterminate
and the value of the angle cannot be computed. In fact there is no angle corresponding to the ratio 0/0.
However, the function must either return the value of an angle, or must return some sort of ag indicating
that computation of the angle is not possible.
In this case, the function simply returns the value zero for the angle.
Avoiding division by zero
If the length of adjacent side is zero and the length of opposite side is not zero, the ratio opposite/adjacent
is innite. Therefore, the value of the angle cannot be computed. However, in this case, the angle is known
to be 90 degrees (for opposite greater than zero) or 270 degrees (-90 degrees, for opposite less than zero).
The getAngle function traps both of those cases and returns the correct angle in each case.
Correcting for the quadrant
The Math.atan method receives one parameter and it is either a positive or negative value. If the
value is positive, the method returns an angle between 0 and 90 degrees. If the value is negative, the method
returns an angle between 0 and -90 degrees. Thus, the angles returned by the Math.atan method always
lie in the rst or fourth quadrants.
(Actually, as I mentioned earlier, +90 degrees and -90 degrees are not possible because the tangent of

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 495

+90 degrees or -90 degrees is an innitely large positive or negative value. However, the method can handle
angles that are very close to +90 or -90 degrees.)
A negative opposite/adjacent ratio
If the opposite/adjacent ratio is negative, this doesn't necessarily mean that the angle lies in the fourth
quadrant. That negative ratio could result from a positive value for opposite and a negative value for
adjacent. In that case, the angle would lie in the second quadrant between 90 degrees and 180 degrees.
The getAngle function tests the signs of the values for opposite and adjacent. If the signs indicate
that the angle lies in the second quadrant, the value returned from the Math.atan method is corrected
to place the angle in the second quadrant. The corrected angle is returned by the getAngle function.
A positive opposite/adjacent ratio
Similarly, if the opposite/adjacent ratio is positive, this doesn't necessarily mean that the angle lies in
the rst quadrant. That positive ratio could result from a negative opposite value and a negative adjacent
value. In that case, the angle would lie in the third quadrant between 180 degrees and 270 degrees.
Again, the getAngle function tests the signs of the values for opposite and adjacent. If both values are
negative, the value returned from the Math.atan method is corrected to place the angle in the third quadrant.
No corrections required...
Finally, if no corrections are required for the quadrant, the getAngle function returns the value returned
by the Math.atan method. Note however, that in all cases, the Math.atan method returns the angle in
radians. That value is converted to degrees by the getAngle function and the returned value is in degrees.
Positive and negative angles
As you can see from the results of the test shown in Image 16 (p. 494) , angles in the rst, second,
and third quadrants are returned as positive angles in degrees. However, angles in the fourth quadrant are
returned as negative angles in degrees.

2.3.5 Run the scripts

I encourage you to run the scripts that I have presented in this lesson to conrm that you get the same
results. Copy the code for each script into a text le with an extension of html. Then open that le in
your browser. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make
certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

2.3.6 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0320 Brief Trigonometry Tutorial
• File: Game0320.htm
• Published: 10/12/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such

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496 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

2.4 GAME 2302-0330 Scale Factors, Ratios, and Proportions16

2.4.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 496)

· General (p. 496)
· Viewing tip (p. 496)
* Images (p. 496)
* Listings (p. 497)
• General background information (p. 497)
• Discussion (p. 497)
· Scale factors (p. 497)
· Ratios (p. 497)
· Proportions (p. 499)
• Run the scripts (p. 503)
• Miscellaneous (p. 503)

2.4.2 Preface

2.4.2.1 General
This module is part of a series of modules designed for teaching the physics component of GAME2302
Mathematical Applications for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. (See
GAME 2302-0100: Introduction 17 for the rst module in the course along with a description of the course,
course resources, homework assignments, etc.)
The module provides a brief tutorial on scale factors, ratios, and proportions.

2.4.2.2 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this document in a separate browser window and use the
following links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

2.4.2.2.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 499) . Screen output for Listing #1.
• Image 2 (p. 500) . Screen output for Listing #2.
• Image 3 (p. 503) . Screen output for Listing #3.

16 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45003/1.2/>.

17 http://cnx.org/content/m44983/latest

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 497

2.4.2.2.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 498) . Exercise on scale factors
• Listing 2 (p. 500) . Circumference is proportional to radius.
• Listing 3 (p. 502) . Area is proportional to radius squared.

2.4.3 General background information

Mathematical expressions are used in physics to describe relationships that are dicult to express in words.
The expressions use algebraic symbols to represent quantities that consist of numbers and units.
Measurements are important
Conclusions that are drawn in physics and other sciences ranging from chemistry to the social sciences
are often based on measurements such as length, width, weight, salinity, population, density, etc.
Each number in an equation often represents the results of a measurement, which is made in terms of a
standard. The units indicate which standard was used to make the measurements.
Knowledge of units is critical
A number that is used to indicate the result of a measurement is of little value unless we know the units
in which the measurement was made. For example, it isn't very useful to know that the length of an object
is 125 unless we know whether the units are meters, centimeters, millimeters, or miles.
The Google calculator
Although I won't go into detail in this module, I will tell you that the Google calculator is very good at
helping you to keep track of units. For example, if you enter the following expression in the Google search
box,
3 ft + 1 yd + 36 inches
The following result will be displayed immediately below the search box:
(3 ft) + (1 yd) + (36 inches) = 2.7432 meters

2.4.4 Discussion

We often express the relationship between two items using a scale factor.

2.4.4.1 Scale factors

For example, we might say that that a colt doubled its weight in one year. This means that the colt's weight
after one year was equal to the colt's weight at birth multiplied by a factor of two. The factor is the number
by which a quantity is multiplied or divided when it is changed from one value to another.

2.4.4.2 Ratios
The factor is the ratio of the new value to the old value. Regarding the colt mentioned above, we might
write:
NewWeight / BirthWeight = 2
where the slash character "/" indicates division.
Percentage increases
It is also common for us to talk about something increasing or decreasing by a given percentage value.
For example, we might say that a colt increased its weight by 50-percent in one year. This is equivalent to
saying:
NewWeight = BirthWeight * (1 + 50/100)
This assumes that when evaluating a mathematical expression:

• The asterisk character " * " indicates multiplication.

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498 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

• Computations begin inside of the inner-most pair of matching parentheses and work outward from
there.
• Multiplication and division are performed before addition and subtraction are performed.
This is typical behavior for computer programs and spreadsheets, but not necessarily for hand calculators.
Percentage decreases
In my dreams, I might say that I went on a diet and my weight decreased by 25-percent in one year.
This would be equivalent to saying:
NewWeight = OldWeight * (1 - 25/100)
Exercise on scale factors
Write a script that has the following behavior. Given a chalk line that is 100 inches long, draw other
chalk lines that are:
• A. Twice the length of the original line.
• B. Twenty-ve percent of the length of the original line.
• C. Twenty-ve percent greater than the length of the original line.
• D. Twenty-ve percent less than the length of the original line.
My version of the script is shown in Listing 1 (p. 498) .

Listing 1: Exercise on scale factors

<!-- File JavaScript01.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

//Do the computations

var origLine = 100
var lineA = 2 * origLine
var lineB = (25/100) * origLine
var lineC = (1 + 25/100) * origLine
var lineD = (1 - 25/100) * origLine

//Display the results

document.write("Original line = "
+ origLine + "<br/>")
document.write("A = " + lineA + "<br/>")
document.write("B = " + lineB + "<br/>")
document.write("C = " + lineC + "<br/>")
document.write("D = " + lineD + "<br/>")

</script>
</body></html>

2.41

Screen output
When you copy the code from Listing 1 (p. 498) into an html le and open the le in your web browser,
the output text shown in Image 1 (p. 499) should appear in your browser window.

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 499

Image 1: Screen output for Listing #1.

Original line = 100

A = 200
B = 25
C = 125
D = 75

2.42

Note that although they sound similar, specications B and D above (p. 498) don't mean the same thing.

2.4.4.3 Proportions
We talk about increasing or changing a value by some factor because we can often simplify a problem by
thinking in terms of proportions.

note: A symbol for proportionality

Physics textbooks often use a character that doesn't appear on a QWERTY keyboard to indicate
"is proportional to."
I will use a "$" character for that purpose because:

• It does appear on a QWERTY keyboard.

• It isn't typically used in mathematical expressions unless American currency is involved.
• It is not a JavaScript operator.

For example, I will write A $ B to indicate that A is proportional to B.

When we say that A is proportional to B, or

A$B
we mean that if B increases by some factor, then A must increase by the same factor.
Circumference of a circle
Let's illustrate what we mean with a couple of examples. For the rst example, we will consider the
circumference of a circle. Hopefully, you know that the circumference of a circle is given by the expression:
C = 2 * PI * r
where:

• C is the circumference of the circle

• PI is the mathematical constant 3.14159...
• r is the radius of the circle

From this expression, we can conclude that

C$r
If we modify the radius...
If we double the radius, the circumference will also double. If we reduce the radius by 25-percent,
the circumference will also be reduced by 25-percent. This is illustrated by the script in Listing 2 (p. 500) .

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500 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 2: Circumference is proportional to radius.

<!-- File JavaScript02.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

var r = 10
var C = 2 * Math.PI * r
document.write("r =" + r +
", C = " + C + "<br/>")

//Multiply r by 2. Then display r and C

r = r * 2
C = 2 * Math.PI * r
document.write("r =" + r +
", C = " + C + "<br/>")

//Reduce r by 25%, Then display r and C

r = r * (1 - 25/100)
C = 2 * Math.PI * r
document.write("r =" + r +
", C = " + C + "<br/>")

</script>
</body></html>

2.43

Output from the script

When you open the script shown in Listing 2 (p. 500) in your browser, the text shown in Image 2 (p.
500) should appear in your browser window.

Image 2: Screen output for Listing #2.

r =10, C = 62.83185307179586
r =20, C = 125.66370614359172
r =15, C = 94.24777960769379

2.44

Image 2 (p. 500) shows the value of the circumference for three dierent values for the radius. You
should be able to conrm that the combination of the three lines of output text satisfy the proportionality
rules stated earlier (p. 499) .

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 501

For example, you can conrm these results by entering the following three expressions in the Google
search box and recording the results that appear immediately below the search box:
2*pi*10
2*pi*20
2*pi*15
Area of a circle
Before I can discuss the area of a circle, I need to dene a symbol that we can use to indicate exponen-
tiation.

note: A symbol for exponentiation

Physics textbooks typically use a superscript character to indicate that a value is raised to a power,
such as the radius of a circle squared.
When I need to indicate that a value is raised to a power, I will use the "^" character, such as in
the following text that indicates radius squared, or radius raised to the second power.
radius^2
In those cases where the exponent is a fraction, or is negative, I will surround it with parentheses,
such as in
radius^(1/2), and
distance^(-2)
The rst term indicates the square root of the radius. The second term indicates that distance is
being raised to the -2 power.
I chose to use the "^" character to indicate exponentiation because it is used as the exponentiation
operator in some programming languages, such as BASIC. The "^" character is also recognized by
the Google calculator as an exponentiation operator.
Unfortunately, there is no exponentiation operator in JavaScript, so we will need a dierent approach
to raise a value to a power in our JavaScript scripts. As you will see later, we will use the built-in
Math.pow method for that purpose.
An expression for the area of a circle
From your earlier coursework, you should know that the area of a circle is given by
A = PI * r^2
where

• A is the area.
• PI is the mathematical constant 3.14159...
• r is the radius of the circle.

Proportional to the square of the radius

From this, we can conclude that the area of a circle is not proportional to the radius. Instead, it is
proportional to the square of the radius as in
A $ r^2
If you change the radius...
If you change the value of the radius, the area changes in proportion to the square of the radius. If the
radius doubles, the area increases by four. If the radius is decreased by 25-percent, the area decreases by
more than 25-percent. This is illustrated by the script in Listing 3 (p. 502) .

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502 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 3: Area is proportional to radius squared.

<!-- File JavaScript03.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

var r = 10
var A = Math.PI * Math.pow(r,2)
document.write("r =" + r +
", A = " + A + "<br/>")

//Multiply r by 2. Then display r and C

r = r * 2
var A = Math.PI * Math.pow(r,2)
document.write("r =" + r +
", A = " + A + "<br/>")

//Reduce r by 25%, Then display r and C

r = r * (1 - 25/100)
var A = Math.PI * Math.pow(r,2)
document.write("r =" + r +
", A = " + A + "<br/>")

//Compute and the display the cube root

// of a number.
var X = Math.pow(8,1/3)
document.write("Cube root of 8 = " + X)

</script>
</body></html>

2.45

The JavaScript Math.pow method

Listing 3 (p. 502) calls a built-in JavaScript method that I have not used before: Math.pow . This
method is called to raise a value to a power. It requires two parameters. The rst parameter is the value
that is to be raised to a power and the second parameter is the power to which the value is to be raised.
The method returns the value raised to the power.
Fractional exponents
Although this topic is not directly related to the discussion on proportionality, as long as I am introducing
the method named Math.pow , I will point out the it is legal for the exponent to be a fraction. The last
little bit of code in Listing 3 (p. 502) raises the value 8 to the 1/3 power. This actually computes the cube
root of the value 8. As you should be able to conrm in your head, the cube root of 8 is 2, because two
raised to the third power is 8.
Output from the script
When you open the script shown in Listing 3 (p. 502) in your browser, the text shown in Image 3 (p.
503) should appear in your browser window.

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 503

Image 3: Screen output for Listing #3.

r =10, A = 314.1592653589793
r =20, A = 1256.6370614359173
r =15, A = 706.8583470577034
Cube root of 8 = 2

2.46

An examination of the rst three lines of text in Image 3 (p. 503) should conrm that they satisfy the
proportionality rules for the square of the radius described earlier (p. 501) .
The last line of text in Image 3 (p. 503) conrms that the Math.pow method can be used to compute
roots by specifying fractional exponents as the second parameter.

2.4.5 Run the scripts

I encourage you to run the scripts that I have presented in this lesson to conrm that you get the same
results. Copy the code for each script into a text le with an extension of html. Then open that le in
your browser. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make
certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

2.4.6 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0330 Scale Factors, Ratios, and Proportions
• File: Game0330.htm
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

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504 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

2.5 GAME 2302-0340 Scientic Notation and Signicant Figures18

2.5.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 504)

· General (p. 504)
· Viewing tip (p. 504)
* Images (p. 504)
* Listings (p. 504)
• General background information (p. 505)
· Accuracy and precision (p. 505)
· Scientic notation (p. 506)
· Signicant gures (p. 507)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 508)
• Run the scripts (p. 515)
• Miscellaneous (p. 515)

2.5.2 Preface

2.5.2.1 General
This module is part of a series of modules designed for teaching the physics component of GAME2302
Mathematical Applications for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. (See
GAME 2302-0100: Introduction 19 for the rst module in the course along with a description of the course,
course resources, homework assignments, etc.)
The purpose of this module is to explain the use of scientic notation and signicant gures.

2.5.2.2 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this document in a separate browser window and use the
following links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

2.5.2.2.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 508) . Examples of signicant gures.
• Image 2 (p. 509) . Screen output from Listing #1.
• Image 3 (p. 511) . Screen output from Listing #2.
• Image 4 (p. 512) . Behavior of the toPrecision method.
• Image 5 (p. 515) . Screen output from Listing #3.

2.5.2.2.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 509) . An exercise involving addition.
• Listing 2 (p. 511) . An exercise involving multiplication.
• Listing 3 (p. 514) . An exercise involving combined operations.

18 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45004/1.3/>.

19 http://cnx.org/content/m44983/latest

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 505

2.5.3 General background information

This section will contain a discussion of accuracy, precision, scientic notation, and signicant gures.

2.5.3.1 Accuracy and precision

Let's begin with a brief discussion of accuracy and precision. These two terms are often used interchangeably
in everyday conversation, but they have very dierent meanings in the world of science and engineering.
Accuracy
In science and engineering, the accuracy of a measurement system is the degree of closeness of measure-
ments of a quantity to its actual (true) value.
Precision
The precision of a measurement system (also called reproducibility or repeatability) is the degree to which
repeated measurements under unchanged conditions show the same result.
Four possibilities
A measurement system can be:

• Both accurate and precise.

• Accurate but not precise.
• Precise but not accurate.
• Neither accurate nor precise.

A hypothetical experiment
Consider an experiment where a rearm is clamped into a xture, very carefully aimed at a bulls eye
on a downrange target, and red six times. (Although you may never have seen or touched a rearm, you
probably have a pretty good idea of how they behave.)
If the six holes produced by the bullets in the target fall in a tight cluster in the bulls eye, the system
can be considered to be both accurate and precise.
If all of the holes fall in the general area of the bulls eye but the cluster is not very tight, the system can
be considered to be accurate but not precise.
If all of the holes fall in a tight cluster but the cluster is some distance from the bulls eye, the system
can be considered to be precise but not accurate.
If the holes are scattered across a wide area of the target, the system can be considered to be neither
accurate nor precise.
Another use of the word precision
Another use of the word precision, which will be important in this module, is based on the concept that
the precision of a measurement describes the units that you use to measure something.
How tall are you?
For example, if you tell someone that you are about ve feet tall, that wouldn't be very precise. If you
told someone that you are 62 inches tall, that would be more precise. If you told someone that you are 62.3
inches tall, that would be even more precise, and if you told someone that you are 62.37 inches tall, that
would be very precise for a measurement of that nature.
The smaller the unit...
The smaller the unit you use to measure with, the more precise the measurement can be. For example,
assume that you measure someone's height with a measuring stick that is longer than the person is tall.
Assume also that the measuring stick is graduated only in feet. In that case, the best that you could hope
for would be to get the measurement correct to the nearest foot and perhaps estimate a second digit to the
nearest tenth of a foot.
One-inch graduations
On the other hand, if the measuring stick is graduated in inches and you are careful, you should be able
to get the measurement correct to the nearest inch and perhaps estimate another digit to the nearest tenth
of an inch. The second measurement using the one-inch graduations would be more precise than the rst
using the one-foot graduations.

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506 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Diminishing returns
If the measuring stick were graduated in tenth-inch units, however, that may or may not lead to a more
precise measurement. That would be approaching the point of diminishing returns where your inability to
take full advantage of the more precise graduations and the inability of the subject to always stand with the
same degree of rigidity might come into play.

2.5.3.2 Scientic notation

According to Wikipedia 20 , scientic notation is a way of writing numbers that accommodates values too
large or small to be conveniently written in standard decimal notation . The notation has a number of
useful properties and is commonly used by scientists and engineers. A variation of scientic notation is also
used internally by computers.
Scientic notation format
Numbers in scientic notation are written using the following format:
x * 10^y
which can be read as the value x multiplied by ten raised to the y power where y is an integer and
x is any real number. (Constraints are placed on the value of x when using the normalized form of
scientic notation which I will explain below.)
The values for x and y can be either positive or negative.
The term referred to as x is often called the signicand or the mantissa .
The computer display version of scientic notation
Because of diculties involved in displaying superscripts in the output of computer programs, a typical
display of a number in scientic notation by a computer program might look something like the following
example:
-3.141592653589793e+1
where

• either numeric value can be positive, negative, or zero,

• the number of digits in the numeric value to the left of the e (the mantissa) may range from a few
to many, and
• the e may be either upper-case or lower-case depending on the computer and the program.

A power of ten is understood

In this format, it is understood that the number consists of the value to the left of the e (the mantissa)
multiplied by ten raised to a power given by the value to the right of the e (the exponent).
For example, in JavaScript exponential format, the value -10*Math.PI is displayed as
-3.141592653589793e+1
The value Math.PI/10 is displayed as
3.141592653589793e-1
The value Math.PI is displayed as
3.141592653589793e+0
The value 0 is displayed as
0e+0
The normalized form of scientic notation
Using general scientic notation, the number -65700 could be written in several dierent ways including
the following:

• -6.57 * 10^4
• -65.7 * 10^3
• -657 * 10^2
20 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientic_notation

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 507

In normalized scientic notation, the exponent is chosen such that the absolute value of the mantissa is at
least one but less than ten. For example, -65700 is written:
-6.57 * 10^4
In normalized notation the exponent is negative for a number with absolute value between 0 and 1. For
example, the value 0.00657 would be written:
6.57 * 10^(-3)
The 10 and the exponent are usually omitted when the exponent is 0.

2.5.3.3 Signicant gures

According to Wikipedia 21 , The signicant gures of a number are those digits that carry meaning con-
tributing to its precision. This includes all digits except:

• Leading zeros where they serve merely as placeholders to indicate the scale of the number (.00356 for
example).
• Spurious digits introduced, for example, by calculations carried out to greater accuracy than that of
the original data, or measurements reported to a greater precision than the equipment supports.

A popular physics textbook provides a more complete set of rules for identifying the signicant gures in a
number:

1. Nonzero digits are always signicant.

2. Final or ending zeros written to the right of the decimal point are signicant.
3. Zeros written to the right of the decimal point for the purpose of spacing the decimal point are not
signicant.
4. Zeros written to the left of the decimal point may be signicant, or they may only be there to space
the decimal point. For example, 200 cm could have one, two, or three signicant gures; it's not clear
whether the distance was measured to the nearest 1 cm, to the nearest 10 cm, or to the nearest 100
cm. On the other hand, 200.0 cm has four signicant gures (see rule 5). Rewriting the number in
scientic notation is one way to remove the ambiguity.
5. Zeros written between signicant gures are signicant.

Ambiguity of the last digit in scientic notation

Again, according to Wikipedia 22 , it is customary in scientic measurements to record all the signicant
digits from the measurements, and to guess one additional digit if there is any information at all available to
the observer to make a guess. The resulting number is considered more valuable than it would be without
that extra digit, and it is considered a signicant digit because it contains some information leading to
greater precision in measurements and in aggregations of measurements (adding them or multiplying them
together).
Examples of signicant digits
Referring back to the physics textbook mentioned earlier, Image 1 (p. 508) shows:

• Four dierent numbers

• The number of signicant gures in each number.
• The default JavaScript exponential representation of each number.
21 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signicant_gures
22 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientic_notation

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508 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 1: Examples of signicant gures.

1. 409.8 4 4.098e+2
2. 0.058700 5 5.87e-2
3. 9500 ambiguous 9.5e+3
4. 950.0 * 10^1 4 9.5e+3

2.47

Note that the default JavaScript exponential representation fails to display the signicant trailing zeros for
the numbers on row 2 and row 5. I will show you some ways that you may be able to deal with this issue
later but you may not nd them to be very straightforward.

2.5.4 Discussion and sample code

Beyond knowing about scientic notation and signicant gures from a formatting viewpoint, you need to
know how to perform arithmetic while satisfying the rules for scientic notation and signicant gures.
Performing arithmetic involves three main rules :

1. For addition and subtraction, the nal result should be rounded so as to have the same number of
decimal places as the number that was included in the sum that has the smallest number of decimal
places. In accordance with the discussion early in this module, this is the least precise number.
2. For multiplication and division, the nal result should be rounded to have the same number of signif-
icant gures as the number that was included in the product with the smallest number of signicant
gures.
3. The two rules listed above should not be applied to intermediate calculations. For intermediate cal-
culations, keep as many digits as practical. Round to the correct number of signicant gures or the
correct number of decimal places in the nal result.

An exercise involving addition

Please copy the JavaScript code shown in Listing 1 (p. 509) into an html le and open the le in your
browser.

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 509

Listing 1: An exercise involving addition.

<!-- File JavaScript01.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

//Compute and display the sum of three

// numbers
var a = 169.01
var b = 0.00356
var c = 385.293
var sum = a + b + c
document.write("sum = " + sum + "<br/>")

//Round the sum to the correct number

// of digits to the right of the decimal
// point.
var round = sum.toFixed(2)
document.write("round = " + round + "<br/>")

//Display a final line as a hedge against

// unidentified coding errors.
document.write("The End")

</script>
</body></html>

2.48

Screen output
When you open the html le in your browser, the text shown in Image 2 (p. 509) should appear in your
browser.

Image 2: Screen output from Listing #1.

sum = 554.30656
round = 554.31
The End

2.49

The code in Listing 1 (p. 509) begins by declaring three variables named a , b , and c , adding
them together, and displaying the sum in the JavaScript default format in the browser window.
Too many decimal digits

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510 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

As you can see from the rst line in Image 2 (p. 509) , the result is computed and displayed with eight
decimal digits, ve of which are to the right of the decimal point. We know, however, from rule #1 (p. 508)
, that we should present the result rounded to a precision of two digits to the right of the decimal point in
order to match the least precise of the numbers included in the sum. In this case, the value stored in the
variable named a is the least precise.
Correct the problem
The code in Listing 1 (p. 509) calls a method named toFixed on the value stored in the variable sum
passing a value of 2 as a parameter to the method. This method returns the value from sum rounded to
two decimal digits. The returned value is stored in the variable named round . Then the script displays
that value as the second line of text in Image 2 (p. 509) .
The output text that reads "The End"
There is a downside to using JavaScript (as opposed to other programming languages such as Java).
By default, if there is a coding error in your script, there is no indication of the error in the output in the
main browser window. Instead, the browser simply refuses to display some or all of the output that you are
expecting to see.
Put a marker at the end
Writing the script in such a way that a known line of text, such as "The End" will appear following all
of the other output won't solve coding errors. However, if it doesn't appear, you will know that there is a
coding error and some or all of the output text may be missing.
JavaScript and error consoles
I explained how you can open a JavaScript console in the Google Chrome browser or an error console
in the Firefox browser in an earlier module. While the diagnostic information provided in those consoles
is limited, it will usually indicate the line number in the source code where the programming error was
detected. Knowing the line number will help you examine the code and x the error.
An exercise involving multiplication
Please copy the code shown in Listing 2 (p. 511) into an html le and open it in your browser.

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 511

Listing 2: An exercise involving multiplication.

<!-- File JavaScript02.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

//Compute and display the product of three

// numbers, each having a different number
// of significant figures.
var a = 169.01
var b = 0.00356
var c = 386.253
var product = a * b * c
document.write("product = " + product + "<br/>")

//Round the product to the correct number

// of significant figures
var rounded = product.toPrecision(5)
document.write("rounded = " + rounded + "<br/>")

//Display a final line as a hedge against

// unidentified coding errors.
document.write("The End")

</script>
</body></html>

2.50

The screen output

When you open your html le in your browser, the text shown in Image 3 (p. 511) should appear in your
browser window.

Image 3: Screen output from Listing #2.

product = 232.39900552679998
rounded = 232.40
The End

2.51

The code in Listing 2 (p. 511) begins by declaring three variables named a , b , and c , multiplying
them together, and displaying the product in the browser window. Each of the factors in the product have
a dierent number of signicant gures, with the factor of value 169.01 having the least number (5) of

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512 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

signicant gures. We know from rule #2 (p. 508) , therefore, that we need to present the result rounded
to ve signicant gures.
The toPrecision method
Listing 2 (p. 511) calls a method named toPrecision on the variable named product , passing the
desired number of signicant gures (5) as a parameter. The method rounds the value stored in product
to the desired number of digits and returns the result, which is stored in the variable named rounded .
Then the contents of the variable named rounded are displayed, producing the second line of text in
Image 3 (p. 511) .
What about other parameter values
Note that the method named toPrecision knows nothing about signicant gures. It was up to me to
gure out the desired number of signicant gures in advance and to pass that value as a parameter to the
method.
Although this has nothing to do with signicant gures, it may be instructive to examine the behavior
of the method named toPrecision for several dierent parameter values.
Image 4 (p. 512) shows the result of replacing the parameter value of 5 in the call to the toPrecision
method with the values in the rst column of Image 4 (p. 512) and displaying the value returned by the
method.

Image 4: Behavior of the toPrecision method.

1 rounded = 2e+2
2 rounded = 2.3e+2
3 rounded = 232
4 rounded = 232.4
5 rounded = 232.40
6 rounded = 232.399
7 rounded = 232.3990
10 rounded = 232.3990055
15 rounded = 232.399005526800
20 rounded = 232.39900552679998214

2.52

And the point is...

The point to this is to emphasize that the method named toPrecision is not a method that knows
how to compute and display the required number of signicant gures. Instead, according to the JavaScript
documentation:
"The toPrecision() method formats a number to a specied length. A decimal point and nulls are added
(if needed), to create the specied length."
It is up to you, the author of the script, to determine what that length should be and to provide that
information as a parameter to the toPrecision method.
Combined operations
This is where things become a little hazy. I have been unable to nd denitive information as to how
to treat the precision and the number of signicant gures when doing computations that combine addition
and/or subtraction with multiplication and/or division.
Two contradictory procedures

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 513

I have found two procedures documented on the web that seem to be somewhat contradictory. Both
sources seem to say that you should perform the addition and/or subtraction rst and that you should apply
rule #1 (p. 508) to the results. However, they dier with regard to how stringently you apply that rule
before moving on to the multiplication and/or division.
The more stringent procedure
One source seems to suggest that you should round the results of the addition and/or subtraction ac-
cording to rule #1 (p. 508) and replace the addition or subtraction expression in your overall expression
with the rounded result. Using that approach, you simply create one the factors that will be used later in
the multiplication and/or division. That factor has a well-dened number of signicant gures.
Then you proceed with the multiplication and/or division and adjust the number of signicant gures in
the nal result according to rule #2 (p. 508) .
The less stringent procedure
The other source seems to suggest that you mentally round the results of the addition and/or subtraction
according to rule #1 (p. 508) and make a note of the number of signicant gures that would result if you
were to actually round the result. However, you should not actually round the result at that point in time.
In other words, you should use the raw result of the addition and/or subtraction as a factor in the upcoming
multiplication and/or division knowing that you may be carrying excess precision according to rule #1 (p.
508) .
Then you proceed with the multiplication and/or division and adjust the number of signicant gures in
the nal result according to rule #2 (p. 508) . However, when you adjust the number of signicant gures,
you should include the number of signicant gures from your note in the decision process. If that is the
smallest number of signicant gures of all the factors, you should use it as the number of signicant gures
for the nal result.
An exercise involving combined operations
Evaluate the following expression and display the nal result with the correct number of signicant
gures.
(169.01 + 3294.6372) * (0.00365 - 29.333)
Please copy the code from Listing 3 (p. 514) into an html le and open it in your browser.

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514 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 3: An exercise involving combined operations.

<!-- File JavaScript03.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

//Compute, fix the number of decimal places,

// and display the sum of two numbers.
var a1 = 169.01
var a2 = 3294.6372
var aSum = (a1 + a2).toFixed(2)
document.write("aSum = " + aSum + "<br/>")

//Compute, fix the number of decimal places,

// and display the difference between two
// other numbers.
var b1 = 0.00356
var b2 = 29.333
var bDiff = (b1 - b2).toFixed(3)
document.write("bDiff = " + bDiff + "<br/>")

//Compute and display the product of the

// sum and the difference.
var product = aSum * bDiff
document.write("product = " + product + "<br/>")

//Round the product to the correct number

// of significant figures based on the least
// number of significant figures in the
// factors.
var final = product.toPrecision(5)
document.write("final = " + final + "<br/>")

//Display a final line as a hedge against

// unidentified coding errors.
document.write("The End")

</script>
</body></html>

2.53

When you open your html le in your browser, the text shown in Image 5 (p. 515) should appear in the
browser window.

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 515

Image 5: Screen output from Listing #3.

aSum = 3463.65
bDiff = -29.329
product = -101585.39085000001
final = -1.0159e+5
The End

2.54

The more stringent procedure

The code in Listing 3 (p. 514) implements the more stringent procedure (p. 513) , not because it is
necessarily the correct one. Rather, it is simpler to implement in a script.
Do addition and subtraction rst
Listing 3 (p. 514) begins by adding two numbers, adjusting the precision to the least precise of the two
numbers, and saving the result in the variable named aSum .
Then Listing 3 (p. 514) subtracts one number from another number, adjusts the precision to the least
precise of the two numbers, and saves the result in the variable named bDi .
Display to get information on signicant gures
Both results are displayed immediately after they are obtained. This is necessary for me to know which
one has the least number of signicant gures. I need to know that to be able to properly adjust the number
of signicant gures in the nal product.
In other words, it was necessary for me to write and execute the addition/subtraction portion of the
script in order to get the information required to write the remainder of the script.
Do the multiplication
Then Listing 3 (p. 514) multiplies the sum and dierence values and displays the result in the default
format with far too many signicant gures as shown by the third line of text in Image 5 (p. 515) .
Finally Listing 3 (p. 514) adjusts the number of signicant gures in the product based on the number of
signicant gures in bDi and displays the nal result with ve signicant gures in normalized scientic
(exponential) notation.

2.5.5 Run the scripts

I encourage you to run the scripts that I have presented in this lesson to conrm that you get the same
results. Copy the code for each script into a text le with an extension of html. Then open that le in
your browser. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make
certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

2.5.6 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0340 Scientic Notation and Signicant Figures
• File: Game0340.htm
• Published: 10/12/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

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516 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

2.6 GAME 2302-0350 Units and Dimensional Analysis23

2.6.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 516)

· General (p. 516)
· Viewing tip (p. 517)
* Images (p. 517)
* Listings (p. 517)
• General background information (p. 517)
· Formatting mathematical expressions (p. 517)
· What do we mean by units? (p. 518)
· SI units (p. 518)
· Prexes for powers of ten (p. 520)
· Dimensional analysis (p. 520)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 521)
· Manual exercise on converting units (p. 521)
· Using JavaScript to convert units (p. 523)
· More substantive JavaScript examples (p. 527)
* Free fall exercise (p. 527)
* A plotting exercise (p. 529)
• Run the scripts (p. 533)
• Miscellaneous (p. 533)

2.6.2 Preface

2.6.2.1 General
This module is part of a series of modules designed for teaching the physics component of GAME2302
Mathematical Applications for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. (See
23 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45005/1.2/>.

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 517

GAME 2302-0100: Introduction 24 for the rst module in the course along with a description of the course,
course resources, homework assignments, etc.)
The purpose of this module is to explain units and dimensional analysis.

2.6.2.2 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this document in a separate browser window and use the
following links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

2.6.2.2.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 518) . Single-line format.
• Image 2 (p. 519) . SI base units.
• Image 3 (p. 520) . Examples of SI derived units.
• Image 4 (p. 520) . A sampling of SI prexes.
• Image 5 (p. 525) . Screen output for Listing #1.
• Image 6 (p. 529) . Screen output for Listing #2.
• Image 7 (p. 531) . Screen output for Listing #3.
• Image 8 (p. 532) . The trajectory of the falling rock.

2.6.2.2.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 524) . Convert from paces to miles.
• Listing 2 (p. 528) . Free fall exercise.
• Listing 3 (p. 530) . A plotting exercise.

2.6.3 General background information

As a young engineering student many years ago, I was told that when evaluating mathematical expressions,
I should always embed the units in the expression, manipulate them algebraically, and conrm that the units
that survive until the end of the evaluation are correct relative to the problem specications.
Three good reasons
There are at least three good reasons for following this procedure:

• It shows what the units of the result are. A common mistake is to get the correct numerical result of
a calculation but to write it with the wrong units.
• It shows where unit conversions must be performed. If units that should have canceled do not cancel,
we need to go back and perform the necessary conversions. For example, when a speed in miles per
hour is being calculated and the result comes out with units of miles per second, we should convert
seconds to hours.
• It helps to locate mistakes. If a velocity (meters per second) is being calculated and the units come
out as seconds per meter, we know to look for an error.

2.6.3.1 Formatting mathematical expressions

Multiple-line format
We might typically write a fraction as a horizontal line with the numerator above the line and the
denominator below the line using superscripts to indicate exponents. The product of two fractions would
typically be written in the same format with a multiplication indicator joining the two fractions.
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518 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Single-line format
Image 1 (p. 518) shows multiplication and division of fractions in a single-line format similar to how we
write expressions in computer programs.

Image 1: Single-line format.

((3*x^2)/(4*x) * (6/(4*x) = (18*x^2)/(16*x^2) = 18/16

2.55

Expressions in this format may be more dicult for people to work with than the multiple line format
described above. With enough time and practice, I might become almost as procient in evaluating expres-
sions as shown in Image 1 (p. 518) as in evaluating expressions in a multiple-line format, but I'm afraid that
I would need a lot of time and a lot of practice to achieve that prociency.
We must work with what we are given
However, we must work with what we are given so the mathematical expressions in this module (and
most of the other modules as well) will mostly be presented in a single-line format. The good news is that
the single-line format can usually be easily translated into a format that is suitable for evaluation using
JavaScript and other programming languages.

2.6.3.2 What do we mean by units?

Let me try to answer this important question with an example.
If you were to walk from your home to your school and count your steps, you might report that the
distance from your home to your school is 2112 steps or paces. If you are a male student, this would
probably be approximately one mile, using assumptions that I will explain later. If you are a female, it
would probably be somewhat less than a mile because your pace would probably be a little shorter than
your male friend's pace.
A pace is a unit of measurement
In this case, the pace would be a unit of measurement. However, it would not be a standard unit because
the length of a pace for one student is often dierent from the length of a pace for a dierent student. A
male student, for example, typically has a longer pace length than a female student.
Standard units
Standard units are units whose value has been set by some ocial agency that has the authority to
set standards. One such standard unit is the mile, which as you may know is equal to 5280 foots (more
commonly pronounced feet).
A foot (not a feet) is also a standard unit, which you may also know is equal to 12 inches. An inch is
another standard unit.

2.6.3.3 SI units
The discrepancy between the pronunciation of the unit foot and its plural feet is an example of the need
for more consistency in the use of units. Many physics books use a system of units called SI units . SI is
an abbreviation for a French name, which I am unable to pronounce.
I won't attempt to explain much about SI units. You can probably Google SI units and nd hundreds of
web pages that explain the system in varying levels of detail.
Tables of SI units

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 519

Most of those references will probably also provide tables for the units. I will also attempt to provide
tables in Image 2 (p. 519) and Image 3 (p. 520) .
Don't ignore the details
Note, however, that you should not ignore the online SI-unit tables altogether. They are likely to contain
important information that I won't reproduce here, such as the fact that the meter is a unit of length and
its value is the length of the path travelled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1/299792458 of a
second .
Base units and derived units
When reading about SI units, you will nd that they are often divided into base units and derived units.
I will put the base units in Image 2 (p. 519) and some sample derived units in Image 3 (p. 520) .

Image 2: SI base units.

Base Quantity Name Symbol

length meter m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
electric current ampere A
thermodynamic temperature kelvin K
amount of substance mole mol
luminous intensity candela cd

2.56

Note that the list of derived units in Image 3 (p. 520) is only a sampling of dierent units that can be
derived from the base units.
The exponentiation indicator
As is the case throughout these modules, the character "^" that you see used extensively in Image 3
(p. 520) indicates that the character following the ^ is an exponent. Note also that when the exponent is
negative, it is enclosed along with its minus sign in parentheses for clarity.

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520 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 3: Examples of SI derived units.

area square meter m^2

volume cubic meter m^3
speed, velocity meter per second m/s
acceleration meter per second squared m/s^2
wave number reciprocal meter m^(-1)
mass density kilogram per cubic meter kg/m^3
specific volume cubic meter per kilogram m^3/kg
current density ampere per square meter A/m^2

2.57

2.6.3.4 Prexes for powers of ten

As an alternative to explicitly writing powers of ten, SI uses prexes for units to indicate power of ten factors.
Image 4 (p. 520) shows some of the powers of ten and the SI prexes used for them.

Image 4: A sampling of SI prexes.

Prefix-(abbreviation) Power of Ten

peta-(P) 10^15
tera-(T) 10^12
giga-(G) 10^9
mega-(M) 10^6
kilo-(k) 10^3
deci-(d) 10^(-1)
centi-(c) 10^(-2)
milli-(m) 10^(-3)
micro-(Greek letter mu) 10^(-6)
nano-(n) 10^(-9)
pico-(p) 10^(-12)
femto-(f) 10^(-15)

2.58

2.6.3.5 Dimensional analysis

As typically used in physics, the word dimensions means basic types of units such as time, length, and mass
(see Image 2 (p. 519) ). (This is a dierent meaning than the common meaning of the word dimensions in
computer programming  such as an array with three dimensions.)

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 521

There are many dierent units that are used to express length, for example, such as foot, mile, meter,
inch, etc.
Because they all have dimensions of length, you can convert from one to another. For example one mile
is equal to 5280 feet.
Cannot convert between units of dierent dimensions
When evaluating mathematical expressions, we can add, subtract, or equate quantities only if they have
the same dimensions (although they may not necessarily be given in the same units). For example, it is
possible to add 3 meters to 2 inches (after converting units), but it is not possible to add 3 meters to 2
kilograms.
To analyze dimensions, you should treat them as algebraic quantities using the same procedures that we
will use in the upcoming exercise on manually converting units.

2.6.4 Discussion and sample code

Let's work through an exercise manually to determine the distance from your home to your school in miles
given that we know the distance in paces. (I will convert this to a JavaScript script later in the module.)
As we discussed earlier, you have already determined that the distance from your home to your school
is 2112 paces. We have also recognized that the length of one of your paces is likely to be dierent from the
length of someone else's paces.

2.6.4.1 Manual exercise on converting units

This is a somewhat long and tedious explanation, but unless you already have quite a lot of experience in
this area, you should probably bear with me as I walk you through it.
Convert your pace length to standard units
First we must convert the length of your pace to standard units, which we can then convert to miles.
A calibration exercise
Assume that you go into an empty parking lot, mark your starting position, walk 100 paces, and then
mark your ending position on the pavement. Assume that you then use a measuring tape to measure the
distance from the starting position to the ending position and you nd that distance to be 3000 inches.
From that, we could conclude that for your pace length,
100 paces = 3000 inches
Thus, we have calibrated your pace length in terms of the standard unit inch.
The plural versus the singular
Note that the use of the plural such as inches and the singular such as inch has no impact on the
results of our computations. we can switch back and forth from the plural to the singular at will as long as
it makes sense to do so.
A conversion factor
If we divide both sides of the above equation (p. 521) by 100 paces, we get
1 = 3000 inches/100 paces = 30 inches/pace
Note that we now have a 1 on the left side and a fraction on the right side.
Multiplication by 1
Multiplying a value by 1 doesn't change the value. This means that if we multiply a term in an algebraic
expression by
30*inch/pace
we won't change the intrinsic value of the term, although we might change the units in which that value
is expressed.
The term
30*inch/pace
can be used to convert a quantity in units of paces to the same quantity in units of inches.
Move your body forward

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522 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

So now we know that on the average, each time you execute one pace, you have moved your body forward
by 30 inches. The next task is to determine how far you have moved your body when you have executed
2112 paces (the distance from home to school measured in paces).
Convert from paces to inches
We can begin by determining the distance from home to school in inches as follows:
distance = (2112*pace) * (30*inch/pace)
A review of algebra
At this point, let's review a little algebra:
Given the expression: ((w/x)*(y/z))
we can rewrite this as
(w*y)/(x*z)
Given this expression, we can reverse the process by rearranging and factoring out the terms producing
our original expression:
((w/x)*(y/z))
An algebraic manipulation
We determined earlier that
distance = (2112*pace) * (30*inch/pace)
Applying the algebraic process shown above to the problem at hand, we can rearrange terms and factor
our expression to produce
distance = (2112 * 30 * pace * inch)/pace
The distance in inches
At this point, we have a fraction that contains the unit pace in both the numerator and the denominator.
We can cancel those two terms leaving us with
distance = (2112 * 30 * inch) = 63360 * inch
So good so far. We now know the distance from home to school as expressed in units of inches (even
though the original measurement was made in paces and not in inches). The distance hasn't changed. What
has changed is the units in which we are expressing that distance.
Still not what we are looking for
While this is interesting, it still isn't what we are looking for. We want to know the distance in miles.
Therefore, we need to convert the distance in inches to the distance in miles.
How many inches are in a mile?
At this point, we don't know how many inches are in a mile (but we could calculate it if we wanted to).
However, we do know how many inches are in a foot and we know how many feet are in a mile.
A conversion factor for inches to feet
For starters, lets calculate a factor that we can use to convert from inches to feet. We know that
12*inches = 1*foot
If we divide each side by 12*inches, we get
1 = 1*foot/12*inches
Let's refer to this as a conversion factor
Multiplication by 1
Since the expression on the right side is equal to 1, we can multiply any expression in an equation with
the conversion factor
1*foot/12*inches
without changing the intrinsic value of that expression. (Once again, although we won't be changing the
intrinsic value of the expression, we may cause that intrinsic value to be expressed in dierent units.)
We can use this conversion factor to convert a distance value expressed in inches into the value for the
same distance expressed in feet.
A conversion factor for feet to inches
We could also use the reciprocal of the expression to convert a distance value expressed in feet into the
value for the same distance expressed in inches. I will have more to say on this later.
A conversion factor for feet to miles

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 523

Similarly, we could use the same procedure to show that

1 = 1*mile/5280*foot
Again, since the expression on the right side is equal to 1, we can multiply any expression in an equation
with the expression on the right without changing the intrinsic value of the original expression. This con-
version expression can be used to convert from feet to miles. Its reciprocal could be used to convert from
miles to feet.
Back to the problem at hand
We determined earlier that the distance expressed in inches from home to school is
distance = 63360 * inch
We can probably agree that multiplying the expression on the right as follows would not change the
intrinsic value for the distance.
distance = 63360 * inch * 1 * 1
In fact, we could probably agree that it wouldn't change anything at all.
Substitute the two conversion factors
Having agreed on that, we can substitute the two conversion factors derived earlier, each of which has a
value of 1, for the last two factors in our distance equation.
distance = 63360 * inch * (1*foot/12*inch) * (1*mile/5280*foot)
Rearranging the terms
We can rearrange the terms and rewrite this equation as
distance = (63360 * inch * 1*foot * 1 * mile)/(12*inch*5280*foot)
Canceling like terms
Canceling out like terms in the numerator and denominator leaves us with
distance = (63360*mile)/(12*5280)
Doing the arithmetic, we get
distance = 1*mile
(Obviously, I started out with a set of numbers that were designed to cause the nal answer to be one
mile, but that was simply for convenience.)
There you have it
You have seen a detailed procedure for converting from a distance expressed in paces (for a specic
individual) to the same distance expressed in miles. Obviously, once you understand the overall procedure,
you could omit and/or combine some of the steps to simplify the process.

2.6.4.2 Using JavaScript to convert units

Let's write, execute, and analyze a script that solves the same problem.
The objective of the script is to convert a distance of 2112 paces to a distance in miles where it is given
that

• 100 paces = 3000 inches

• 12 inches = 1 foot
• 5280 feet = 1 mile

Please copy the code from Listing 1 (p. 524) into an html le and open the le in your browser.

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524 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 1: Convert from paces to miles.

>!-- File JavaScript01.html ------------------------------ >

>html body >
>script language="JavaScript1.3" >

var d = 2112 //distance, units = paces

document.write(
"d = " + d + " paces" + "<br/>")

var d2 = 3000 //distance, units = inches

var d3 = 100 //distance, units = paces

var f1 = d2/d3 //factor, units = inches/pace

document.write(
"f1 =" + f1 + " inches/pace" + "<br/>")

//pace*inch/pace = inch
var d = d *f1 //distance, units = inches
document.write(
"d = " + d + " inches" + "<br/>")

var f2 = 1/12 //factor, units = feet/inch

document.write(
"f2 = " + f2 + " feet/inch" + "<br/>")

//inch*feet/inch = feet
var d = d *f2 //distance, units = feet
document.write(
"d = " + d + " feet" + "<br/>")

var f3 = 1/5280 //factor, units = miles/foot

document.write(
"f3 = " + f3 + " miles/foot" + "<br/>")

//feet*mile/feet = mile
var d = d *f3 //distance, units = miles
document.write(
"d = " + d + " mile" + "<br/>")

//Now reverse the process using reciprocals

//(pace/inch)*(inch/foot)*(foot/mile) = pace/mile
var f4 =(1/f1)*(1/f2)*(1/f3) //factor, units = paces/mile
document.write(
"f4 = " + f4 + " paces/mile" + "<br/>")

//miles*paces/mile = paces
var d = d *f4 //distance, units = paces
document.write(
"d = " + d + " paces" + "<br/>")

document.write("TheAvailable
End") for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

>/script >
>/body /html >
 525

Screen output
When you open the html le in your browser, the text shown in Image 5 (p. 525) should appear in your
browser window.

Image 5: Screen output for Listing #1.

d = 2112 paces
f1 =30 inches/pace
d = 63360 inches
f2 = 0.08333333333333333 feet/inch
d = 5280 feet
f3 = 0.0001893939393939394 miles/foot
d = 1 mile
f4 = 2112 paces/mile
d = 2112 paces
The End

2.60

Discuss the output rst

Let's begin our discussion with the screen output shown in Image 5 (p. 525) and then go back and
examine the code that produced that output.
Image 5 (p. 525) begins with a distance (labeled d ) expressed in units of paces. The value is 2112
paces, which is the distance from your home to your school discussed earlier.
Convert paces to inches
Then Image 5 (p. 525) shows the conversion factor (labeled f1 ) that can be used to convert a value
expressed in paces to a value expressed in inches.
That conversion factor is applied to the original distance producing an output consisting of the same
distance expressed in inches instead of paces. The distance is now 63360 inches.
Convert from inches to feet
Following that, f2 shows the conversion factor that can be used to convert a value expressed in inches
to the same value expressed in feet.
That conversion factor is applied to the current distance value producing an output consisting of the
same distance expressed in feet instead of inches. The distance is now 5280 feet.
Convert from feet to miles
Finally, Image 5 (p. 525) shows the conversion factor (labeled f3 ) that can be used to convert a value
expressed in feet to the same value expressed in miles.
That conversion factor is applied to the current distance value producing a nal output consisting of
the same distance expressed in miles instead of feet. That distance is now one mile (obviously I chose the
numbers to make it come out that way).
That is the number that we were looking for.
Reverse the process
If a conversion factor X can be used to convert from A-units to B-units, the reciprocal of X can be used
to convert from B-units back to A-units.
As you will see later, the conversion factor f4 shown in Image 5 (p. 525) was computed as the product
of the reciprocals of f1 , f2 , and f3 . The result is that the conversion factor labeled f4 can be used
to convert a value expressed in miles to the same value expressed in paces (according to the pace-length for
one individual).

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526 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

That conversion factor was applied to the distance expressed in miles to produce the same distance
expressed in paces. As you might have guessed, this value of 2112 paces shown near the end of Image 5 (p.
525) matches the value shown at the beginning of Image 5 (p. 525) .
Analysis of the script
Now lets analyze the script code in Listing 1 (p. 524) that produced the text output shown in Image 5
(p. 525) .
Listing 1 (p. 524) begins by declaring and initializing the variables d , d2 , and d3 , which are
respectively,

• The home to school distance in paces.

• The two values that represent the relationship between paces and inches for one individual.

Various values are displayed as the script executes using calls to the document.write method. You should
have no diculty identify the code that displays the values, so I will skip over that code in this discussion.
Compute, save, and apply the conversion factor f1
Then Listing 1 (p. 524) declares a variable named f1 and populates it with the value of a conversion
factor that can be used to convert paces to inches. This conversion factor is computed from the known
relationship between paces and inches mentioned earlier.
The conversion factor named f1 is applied to the distance in paces converting it to a value that represents
the same distance in inches (63360 inches).
Analysis of the units
The comment that reads
//pace*inch/pace = inch
is an analysis that shows the units that will result from applying the conversion factor to the distance at
this point. As you can see, the pace terms will cancel and the result will be in inches.
Compute, save, and apply the conversion factor f2
Following that, a conversion factor named f2 is computed that can be used to convert a value expressed
in inches to the same value expressed in feet. This conversion factor is based on the known fact that there
are 12 inches in a foot.
The factor named f2 is applied to the distance that is now expressed in inches converting it to a new
value that expresses the same distance in feet (5280 feet).
Analysis of the units
The comment that reads
//inch*feet/inch = feet
is an analysis that shows the units that will result from applying the conversion factor to the distance at
this point. As you can see, the inch terms will cancel and the result will be in feet.
Compute, save, and apply the conversion factor f3
Following that, a conversion factor named f3 is computed that can be used to convert a value expressed
in feet to the same value expressed in miles. This conversion factor is based on the known fact that there
are 5280 feet in a mile.
The factor named f3 is applied to the distance that is now expressed in feet converting it to a new value
that expresses the same distance in miles (1 mile).
Analysis of the units
The comment that reads
//feet*mile/feet = mile
is an analysis that shows the units that will result from applying the conversion factor to the distance at
this point. As you can see, the feet terms will cancel and the result will be in miles.
That satises the specications
That satises the original program specication. However, I mentioned earlier that if a conversion factor
X can be used to convert from A-units to B-units, the reciprocal of X can be used to convert from B-units
back to A-units.
Reversing the process

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 527

Continuing with Listing 1 (p. 524) , the comment that reads

//(pace/inch)*(inch/foot)*(foot/mile) = pace/mile
shows the units that survive from a product of the reciprocals of f1 , f2 , and f3 . As you can
see, after canceling out inches and feet, the result of multiplying the reciprocals of those three conversion
factors is a new conversion factor that can be used to convert a value expressed in miles to a new value that
represents the same distance expressed in paces.
That conversion factor is applied to the distance in miles producing an output of 2112, which unsurpris-
ingly, is the distance in paces that we started o with.

2.6.4.3 More substantive JavaScript examples

Assume that you drop a rock from a balloon at a height of 10000 feet above the ground, Further assume
that the positive direction is up and the negative direction is down.
What would be the height of the rock above the ground at the end of ten seconds? What would be the
height of the rock at the end of twenty seconds?
An equation relating distance, acceleration, and time
As you will learn in a future module, the following equation gives the distance that the rock will travel
as a function of time assuming that the initial velocity is zero . (The assumption is that the rock was
simply dropped and not thrown .)
d = 0.5 * g * t^2
where

• d is the distance traveled

• g is the acceleration of gravity (approximately -32.2 ft/s^2)
• t is time is seconds

2.6.4.3.1 Free fall exercise

Please copy the code from Listing 2 (p. 528) into an html le and open it in your browser.

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528 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 2: Free fall exercise.

>!-- File JavaScript02.html --<

>html<>body<
>script language="JavaScript1.3"<

//Function to compute free-fall distance for a given time

// in seconds.
function distance(time){
var g = -32.174; //acceleration of gravity in feet/sec^2
var d = 0.5 * g * time * time;//(feet/sec^2)*sec^2 = feet
return new Number(d.toFixed(0));
}//end function

//Compute and display height at ten seconds.

var t1 = 10;//time in seconds
var d1 = distance(t1);//distance traveled in feet
var h1 = 10000 + d1;//height in feet

document.write("At " + t1 + " seconds:" +"<br/>");

document.write("distance traveled = " + d1 +" feet<br/>")
document.write("height = " + h1 +" feet<br/>")

//Compute and display height at twenty seconds.

var t2 = 20;//time in seconds
var d2 = distance(t2);//distance traveled in feet
var h2 = 10000 + d2;//height in feet

document.write("<br/>At " + t2 + " seconds:" +"<br/>");

document.write("distance traveled = " + d2 +" feet<br/>")
document.write("height = " + h2 +" feet<br/>")

document.write("<br/>The End")

>/script<>/body<>/html<

2.61

Screen output
When you open the html le in your browser, the text shown in Image 6 (p. 529) should appear in your
browser window.

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 529

Image 6: Screen output for Listing #2.

At 10 seconds:
distance traveled = -1609 feet
height = 8391 feet

At 20 seconds:
distance traveled = -6435 feet
height = 3565 feet

The End

2.62

As you can see from Image 6 (p. 529) , after ten seconds, the rock will have traveled a distance of -1609
feet. (The minus sign indicates downward motion.)
Adding this value to the initial height of 10000 feet produces a value of 8391 for the height of the rock
at the end of 10 seconds.
Similarly, Image 6 (p. 529) gives us 3565 for the height of the rock at 20 seconds.
Analysis of the code
The code in Listing 2 (p. 528) begins by dening a function that computes and returns the distance
traveled for a rock falling toward the earth for a given time interval since release assuming that the initial
velocity was zero (the rock was simply dropped).
This function implements the equation (p. 527) shown earlier, and expects to receive the time as an
input parameter. It returns the distance traveled during that time interval.
Note that the interaction of units is shown in the comments with the result that the returned value is in
feet.
Call the function twice in succession
Then the code calls that function twice in succession for two dierent time intervals (10 seconds and 20
seconds) to determine the distance traveled during each time interval.
In both cases, the distance traveled is added to the initial height of 10000 feet to determine the height of
the rock at the end of the time interval.
Also, in both cases, the time interval, the distance traveled, and the resulting height of the rock above
the ground are displayed as shown in Image 6 (p. 529) .
Note again that in all cases, the interactions of the various units are shown in the comments.

2.6.4.3.2 A plotting exercise

Let's do another exercise and this time plot the results.
Please prepare a piece of graph paper to plot a curve dened by several points. Interpret the grid lines
such that you can plot values ranging from 0 to 10000 feet on the vertical axis and you can plot values
ranging from 0 to 30 seconds on the horizontal axis.
JavaScript code
Copy the code from Listing 3 (p. 530) into an html le and open it in your browser.

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530 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 3: A plotting exercise.

<!-- File JavaScript03.html --<

<htmlbody<
<script language="JavaScript1.3"<

//Function to compute free-fall distance for a given time

// interval in seconds.
function distance(time){
var g = -32.174; //acceleration of gravity in feet/sec^2
var d = 0.5 * g * time * time;//(feet/sec^2)*sec^2 = feet
return new Number(d.toFixed(0));
}//end function

//Compute the height of the rock every two seconds from

// release until the rock hits the ground.
var t = 0;//seconds
while(t <= 30){
d = distance(t);//distance traveled in feet
h = 10000 + d;//height in feet

//Don't allow the height to go negative (underground)

if(h < 0){
h = 0;
}//end if

//Display time and height at current time.

document.write("time = " + t +
" height = " + h + "<br/<");
t = t + 2;
}//end while

document.write("<br/>The End")

</script/body/html<

2.63

The screen output

When you open the html le in your browser, the text shown in Image 7 (p. 531) should appear in your
browser window.

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 531

Image 7: Screen output for Listing #3.

time = 0 height = 10000

time = 2 height = 9936
time = 4 height = 9743
time = 6 height = 9421
time = 8 height = 8970
time = 10 height = 8391
time = 12 height = 7683
time = 14 height = 6847
time = 16 height = 5882
time = 18 height = 4788
time = 20 height = 3565
time = 22 height = 2214
time = 24 height = 734
time = 26 height = 0
time = 28 height = 0
time = 30 height = 0

The End

2.64

Plot the data

Plot the 16 points shown in Image 7 (p. 531) . Your horizontal axis should be the time axis and your
vertical axis should be the height axis.
If we have both done everything correctly, the shape of your curve should be an upside-down parabola
with its high point at a value of 10000. (If the word parabola is new to you, don't worry about it. It's not
important for the purpose of this module.)
The graph
Image 8 (p. 532) shows an image of the graph that describes the trajectory of the falling rock. As usual,
please ignore the lower-case letters scattered throughout the image. They were placed there when the image
was used for a dierent purpose earlier.

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532 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 8: The trajectory of the falling rock.

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 533

Change in height increases with time

Getting back to the height versus time values shown in Image 7 (p. 531) and plotted in Image 8 (p. 532)
, the value for height should decrease for each successive time value.
Also, the change in height should increase for each successive time interval until the height goes to zero.
The height goes to zero when the rock has landed on the ground somewhere between 24 and 26 seconds. It
continues at zero after that.
(Note that I put code into the script to prevent the value of height from going negative.)
The increase in the change in the height value during each successive time interval is the result of the
time being squared in the equation given earlier (p. 527) . It is also the result of the acceleration of gravity
that causes the downward speed of the rock to increase as the rock falls.
Analysis of the code
Listing 3 (p. 530) calls a function copied from the previous exercise inside a while loop to compute
the distance traveled and the resulting height for a series of time values ranging from 0 to 30 seconds in
two-second intervals.
Those values are displayed as shown in Image 7 (p. 531) .
Understanding the code in Listing 2 (p. 528) and Listing 3 (p. 530) is important. However, it is more
important at this point that you understand the handling of units as shown in the comments in the code.

2.6.5 Run the scripts

I encourage you to run the scripts that I have presented in this lesson to conrm that you get the same
results. Copy the code for each script into a text le with an extension of html. Then open that le in
your browser. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make
certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

2.6.6 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0350 Units and Dimensional Analysis
• File: Game0350.htm
• Published: 10/12/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

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534 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

2.7 GAME 2302-0360 Motion  Displacement and Vectors25

2.7.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 534)

· General (p. 534)
· Viewing tip (p. 534)
* Images (p. 534)
* Listings (p. 535)
• General background information (p. 535)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 535)
· Displacement (p. 535)
· Addition and subtraction of vectors (p. 540)
· Mathematical solutions (p. 547)
* Using the Math.atan method (p. 548)
* Mathematical solution to an earlier problem (p. 551)
* Subtracting vectors (p. 554)
* Adding more than two vectors (p. 554)
• Run the scripts (p. 556)
• Miscellaneous (p. 556)

2.7.2 Preface

2.7.2.1 General
This module is part of a series of modules designed for teaching the physics component of GAME2302
Mathematical Applications for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. (See
GAME 2302-0100: Introduction 26 for the rst module in the course along with a description of the course,
course resources, homework assignments, etc.)
The purpose of this module is to introduce motion and to explain displacement and vector analysis.

2.7.2.2 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this document in a separate browser window and use the
following links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

2.7.2.2.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 537) . A graphic showing displacement.
• Image 2 (p. 539) . Vector diagram for a familiar example.
• Image 3 (p. 542) . A triangle with sides of 30, 40, and ?.
• Image 4 (p. 544) . Vector diagram for the sum of six vectors.
• Image 5 (p. 546) . Illustration of the parallelogram law.
• Image 6 (p. 550) . Screen output for Listing #1.
• Image 7 (p. 553) . Screen output for Listing #2.
• Image 8 (p. 556) . Screen output for Listing #3.

25 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45006/1.2/>.

26 http://cnx.org/content/m44983/latest

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 535

2.7.2.2.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 549) . Using the Math.atan method.
• Listing 2 (p. 552) . The sum of two vectors.
• Listing 3 (p. 555) . The sum of four vectors.

2.7.3 General background information

Bodies - not a reference to people

To begin with, physics textbooks often refer to something called bodies . By this, they are not referring
to living bodies or the carcasses of once living creatures. Instead, they are referring to what people might
ordinarily call objects.
For example, somewhere in this series of modules, we will discuss something call ed a free body diagram
. A free body diagram can be drawn relative to any object, such as a child sitting motionless in a swing on
the playground or a piano hanging on a rope.
Rest and motion
While nothing in the universe is truly motionless (at rest), some things around us such as buildings seem
to be at rest, while other things such as planes, trains, and busses appear to be in motion.
There is no such thing as absolute rest. However, two bodies moving together at the same rate (with
reference to some third body) may be deemed to be at rest relative to one another.
Therefore, if you are standing motionless on the Earth, you are at rest relative to the Earth with reference
to the Sun.
Kinematics and kinetics
The fundamental properties of motion are often referred to as kinematics .
According to the course description, in addition to "applications of mathematics and science" , the course
is also to include "the utilization of matrix and vector operations, kinematics, and Newtonian principles in
games and simulations" ,
The relationships between motion and force are often referred to as kinetics . These are the topics
that will be covered in this and the next several modules in this collection.
Displacement
If one body is moved with respect to another body, either one of them may be said to have experienced
a displacement .
Displacement, along with vector analysis will be the primary topics covered in this module.

2.7.4 Discussion and sample code

2.7.4.1 Displacement
As mentioned above, if one body is moved with respect to another body, either one of them may be said to
have experienced a displacement .
Displacement is not the same as distance
Assume, for example, that you go to the local high school and run ve laps around the track, stopping
exactly where you started. The distance that you have run will be the length of the path that you followed
while running. However, while you may be completely out of breath by that point in time, the magnitude
of your displacement will have been zero.
Scalars versus vectors
Distance is a scalar quantity, while displacement is a vector quantity. Scalar quantities have only
magnitude, such as three kilometers.
Vector quantities have two parts: magnitude and direction . For example, you might describe a
vector quantity as having a magnitude of three kilometers and a direction of northwest.
Magnitude and direction

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536 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

A displacement vector must have both magnitude and direction. For example, if you were to run about
three-fourths of the way around the track, the distance that you ran would be the length of your path.
However, the magnitude of your displacement would be the straight-line distance from your starting point
to your stopping point.
The direction of your displacement would be an angle measured between some reference (such as due
east, for example) and an imaginary line connecting your starting point and your stopping point.
If you stop where you start...
Getting back to the original proposition, if your stopping point is exactly the same as your starting point,
the magnitude of your displacement vector will be zero and the angle of your displacement vector will be
indeterminate.
Vector notation
Assume that there are three spots marked on the top of a table as A, B, and C. If an object is moved
from A to B and then from B to C, using vectors, it may be stated that:
vecAC = vecAB + vecBC
where vecAB, vecBC, and vecAC represent vectors.
Typical notation
A typical notation for a vector in a physics textbook is something like AB, possibly in boldface and/or
italics, with a small arrow drawn above the two letters. However, there is no such small arrow on a QWERTY
keyboard, making it very dicult for me to reproduce in these modules.
My alternative notation
Therefore, in these physics modules, I will use the following notation
vecAB
to indicate a vector extending from the spot labeled A to the spot labeled B.
In order to determine direction in an unambiguous way, you often need to know where the vector starts
(the tail) and where it ends (the head). The notation used above indicates that the tail of the vector is at
A and the head is at B.
In some cases, particularly in JavaScript code where a vector is dened by magnitude and direction
instead of by a starting point and an ending point, I will refer to a vector simply as
vecA, vecB, etc.
A graphic illustrating displacement
Image 1 (p. 537) is a graphic that illustrates displacement.

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 537

Image 1: A graphic showing displacement.

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538 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

The triangle shown in Image 1 (p. 537) is a physical representation of the vector equation
vecAC = vecAB + vecBC
As usual, please ignore the lower-case letters scattered throughout the image, which were placed there
for a purpose other than for use in this module.
What does this mean?
This vector equation does not mean that the algebraic sum of two sides of the triangle are equal to the
third side. However, it does mean that the displacement vecAB together with the displacement vecBC, have
an eect that is equivalent to the single displacement vector vecAC.
Scalar addition and subtraction
When adding or subtracting scalars, you only need to take the magnitude values of the scalars into
account and perform normal arithmetic using those magnitude values. An example would be to add 6 birds
and 5 birds to produce a sum of 11 birds.
Vector addition and subtraction
However, when adding or subtracting vectors, you not only need to take the magnitude of the vectors
into account, you also need to take the directions of the vectors into account.
A thought exercise
Image 2 (p. 539) shows the vector diagram for a familiar example.

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 539

Image 2: Vector diagram for a familiar example.

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540 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Pretend that you are standing at point A in Image 2 (p. 539) . Then pretend that you walk 30 meters
due east and designate that location as point B.
Up to this point, your displacement can be represented by vecAB with a magnitude of 30 and an angle
of zero (assuming that due east represents an angle of zero).
Walk 40 meters due north
Now pretend that you walk 40 meters due north and mentally designate the stopping point as C. Your
displacement relative to point B can be represented as vecBC with a magnitude of 40 meters and a direction
of north or 90 degrees.
Displacement relative to point A
The interesting question is, what is your displacement relative to your starting point at A?
The displacement vector vecAC is the straight line from point A to point C, pointing in a direction from
A to C. This vector is shown in the vector equation
vecAC = vecAB + vecBC
as the sum of the two vectors that describe the two segments of your journey from A to C.
Graphical addition of vectors
This process of connecting two or more vectors tail-to-head in sequence and then measuring the distance
and direction from the tail of the rst vector to the head of the last vector is known as the graphical addition
of vectors . The resulting vector (in this case vecAC) is known as the sum of the vectors that make up the
sequence. (The resulting vector is often called the resultant.)
A 3-4-5 triangle
Recalling what we learned in an earlier module where I discussed a 3-4-5 triangle, the magnitude of the
vector from A to C (the hypotenuse of a right triangle with sides of 30 and 40) is 50 meters. You may also
recall that the angle is approximately 53 degrees relative to the horizontal (east-west) line.
You should be able to measure the length of vecAC as well as the angle between that vector and the
horizontal in Image 2 (p. 539) and get reasonable agreement with the above.
No requirement for a right triangle
While this example is based on a right triangle, that is not a requirement for adding vectors. I chose a
3-4-5 right triangle for the example because I knew what the answer would be in advance and also because
it should have been familiar to you.
Graphic representation of vectors
Many problems in kinematics and kinetics can be solved graphically using a graphical representation of
vectors.
Vectors are typically drawn as a heavy line between two points with an arrow head at one end and nothing
in particular at the other end. The end with the arrow head is commonly called the head of the vector and
the other end is commonly called the tail.
Somewhat inconvenient
Drawing vectors on graph paper can be inconvenient, particularly if you don't have graph paper available.
Fortunately, as you will soon learn, it isn't necessary to use graphics to solve vector problems. You can also
solve such problems mathematically, which will often be the better choice.

2.7.4.2 Addition and subtraction of vectors

There are at least two kinds of quantities in physics:

• scalars , having magnitude only

• vectors , having both magnitude and direction
You already know how to do scalar arithmetic. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't be interested in physics.
Another example
Let's go back to our original equation
vecAC = vecAB + vecBC

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 541

and assume that the magnitude of vecAB is 30 and the magnitude of vecBC is 40. The sum of those two
vectors (vecAC) can have a magnitude ranging anywhere from 10 to 70 depending on the relative angles of
vecAB and vecBC.
A triangle with sides of 30, 4 0, and ?
Consider the triangle shown in Image 3 (p. 542) .

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542 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 3: A triangle with sides of 30, 40, and ?

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 543

Pretend that instead of walking due north from point B as shown in Image 2 (p. 539) , you change
direction and walk northwest (135 degrees relative to the east-west horizontal line with east being zero
degrees) keeping the length at 40 meters.
What happened to the displacement?
What is the displacement of the point C relative to the point A? I can't do the arithmetic in my head
for this problem, but I can measure the length of vecAC to be about 28 meters and the angle of vecAC to
be a little less than 90 degrees. (I will show you how to write a script to solve this problem mathematically
later.)
Any number of displacements can be added
There is no limit to the number of displacement vectors that can be added in this manner. For example,
pretend that you walk from point A,

• 10 meters east to point B,

• 12 meters southwest to point C,
• 30 meters north to point D,
• 15 meters east to point E,
• 35 meters southwest to point F, and
• 44 meters north to point G where you stop.

Your displacement vecAG will be

vecAG = vecAB + vecBC + vecCD + vecDE + vecEF + vecFG
even if your zigzag path crosses back over itself one or more times.
Vector diagram for the sum of six vectors
Image 4 (p. 544) shows the graphical addition of the six vectors described above.

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544 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 4: Vector diagram for the sum of six vectors.

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 545

The displacement in Image 4 (p. 544) is the vector with its tail at A and its head at G, which you could
measure with a measuring stick and a protractor.
Can be extended to three (or more) dimensions
The physics textbook titled College Physics by Mendenhall, Eve, Keys, and Sutton contains the following
example.
"If a man climbs up the mast of a ship sailing east while the tide caries it south, then that sailor may
have three displacements at right angles, vecAB 30 feet upward, vecBC 100 feet eastward, vecCD 20 feet
southward, all with respect to the bed of the ocean. The three displacements vecAB, vecBC, and vecCD
are equivalent to the single displacement vecAD; and in the same way, any number of displacements may be
added together."
Dicult to draw
Of course, we can't easily draw that 3D vector diagram on a at sheet of paper or construct it on a at
computer monitor, but we can solve for the displacement vecAD if we are familiar with computations in
three dimensions. (An explanation of 3D computations is beyond the scope of this module.)
The parallelogram law
There is a law that states:
The sum of two vectors in a plane is represented by the diagonal of a parallelogram whose adjacent sides
represent the two vector quantities.
The resultant
As I mentioned earlier, the sum of two or more vectors is called their resultant .
In general, the resultant is not simply the algebraic or arithmetic sum of the vector magnitudes. Instead,
in our original vector equation
vecAC = vecAB + vecBC
vecAC is the resultant of the sum of vecAB and vecBC in the sense that a single vector vecAC would
have the same eect as vecAB and vecAD acting jointly.
Geometrical addition
The parallelogram law is a form of geometrical addition. In engineering and physics, it is often used to
nd graphical solutions to problems involving forces, velocities, displacements, accelerations, electric elds,
and other directed quantities. (Directed quantities have both magnitude and direction.)
Solving a vector problem with a parallelogram
Pretend that you walk from point A

• 5 meters east to point B, followed by

• 6 meters at an angle of 30 degrees (north of east) to point C.

Let's use a vector diagram and the parallelogram law to nd the resultant displacement vector vecAC.
Image 5 (p. 546) illustrates the use of the parallelogram law to nd a graphical solution to this problem.

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546 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 5: Illustration of the parallelogram law.

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 547

Put both vector tails at point A

Mentally designate the starting point on your vector diagram as point A. Construct a vector with a length
of 5 meters and an angle of 0 degrees relative to the horizontal with its tail at point A. Mentally designate
this vector as vecAB.
Construct a second vector with a length of 6 meters at an angle of 30 degrees with its tail at point A.
Mentally designate this vector as vecBC.
Parallel lines
Construct a line at least 6 meters long starting at the head of vecBC. Make this line parallel to vecAB.
(There are drawing tools that make it easy to draw a line that is parallel to another line. This is one
reason why this is a popular technique for graphically adding vectors.)
Construct another line, at least 7 meters long, starting at the head of vecAB. Make this line parallel to
vecBC.
A parallelogram
Note the point where the two lines intersect. The two lines and the two vectors should now form a
parallelogram as shown in Image 5 (p. 546) .
Solving for the resultant vector
According to the parallelogram law, the resultant vector, vecAC, is represented by a directed line that
extends from point A to the intersection of the two lines that you constructed earlier. In other words, the
sum of the two vectors is equal to a diagonal line that extends from the starting point to the opposite corner
on the parallelogram that you constructed.
Subtracting vectors
In normal arithmetic subtraction, a subtrahend is subtracted from a minuend to nd a dierence
.
To subtract a subtrahend vector from a minuend vector (in a plane), add 180 degrees to the direction of
the subtrahend vector, causing it to point in the opposite direction, and add the modied subtrahend vector
to the minuend vector.
If you subtract vecAB in the above example from vecBC, you should be able to show that the dierence
vector is represented by the other diagonal in the parallelogram. However, you will probably nd it easier
to do this mathematically rather than doing it graphically.

2.7.4.3 Mathematical solutions

The horizontal component of the sum of two or more vectors is the sum of the horizontal components of the
vectors.
The vertical component of the sum of two or more vectors is the sum of the vertical components of the
vectors.
The horizontal and vertical components
The horizontal and vertical components respectively of a vector vecAB are equal to

• vecABh = vecABmag * cos(angle)

• vecABv = vecABmag * sin(angle)

where

• angle is the angle that the vector makes relative to the horizontal axis.
• vecABh, vecABv, and vecABmag are respectively the horizontal component, the vertical component,
and the magnitude of the vector vecAB

The magnitude of the resultant vector

Given the horizontal and vertical components of the resultant vector, the magnitude of the resultant
vector can be found using the Pythagorean theorem as the square root of the sum of the squares of the
horizontal and vertical components.
The angle of the resultant vector

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548 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

The angle that the resultant vector makes with the horizontal axis is the arctangent (corrected for
quadrant) of the ratio of the vertical component to the horizontal component.

2.7.4.3.1 Using the Math.atan method

We will need to deal with several issues that arise when using the Math.atan method. Therefore, I will
write a script that contains a function to deal with those issues. Then we can simply copy that function into
future scripts without having to consider those issues at that time.
Please copy the code shown in Listing 1 (p. 549) into an html le and open the le in your browser.

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 549

Listing 1: Using the Math.atan method.

<!-- File JavaScript01.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

//The purpose of this function is to receive the adjacent

// and opposite side values for a right triangle and to
// return the angle in degrees in the correct quadrant.
function getAngle(x,y){
if((x == 0) && (y == 0)){
//Angle is indeterminate. Just return zero.
return 0;
}else if((x == 0) && (y > 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return 90;
}else if((x == 0) && (y < 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return -90;
}else if((x < 0) && (y >= 0)){
//Correct to second quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else if((x < 0) && (y <= 0)){
//Correct to third quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else{
//First and fourth quadrants. No correction required.
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI;
}//end else
}//end function getAngle

//Test for a range of known angles.

var angIn = 0;
var angOut = 0;
var x = 0;
var y = 0;
while(angIn <= 360){
x = Math.cos(angIn*Math.PI/180);
y = Math.sin(angIn*Math.PI/180);
angOut = getAngle(x,y).toFixed(1);
document.write("angle = " + angOut + "<br/>");
angIn = angIn + 30;
}//end while loop

document.write("The End")

</script>
</body></html>

2.71

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550 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

The screen output

The text shown in Image 6 (p. 550) should appear in your browser window when you open the html le
in your browser.

Image 6: Screen output for Listing #1.

angle = 0.0
angle = 30.0
angle = 60.0
angle = 90.0
angle = 120.0
angle = 150.0
angle = 180.0
angle = 210.0
angle = 240.0
angle = 270.0
angle = -60.0
angle = -30.0
angle = -0.0
The End

2.72

Structure of the script

The script shown in Listing 1 (p. 549) begins by dening a function named getAngle . The purpose
of this function is to return an angle in degrees in the correct quadrant based on the lengths of the adjacent
and opposite sides of an enclosing right triangle.
Then the script uses a while loop to test the function for a series of known angles ranging from 0 to
360 degrees inclusive.
An indeterminate result
The getAngle function calls the Math.atan method to compute the angle whose tangent is the
ratio of the opposite side (y) to the adjacent side (x) of a right triangle.
If both x and y are zero, the ratio y/x is indeterminate and the value of the angle cannot be computed.
In fact there is no angle corresponding to the ratio 0/0. However, the function must either return the value
of an angle, or must return some sort of ag indicating that computation of the angle is not possible.
In this case, the function simply returns the value zero for the angle.
Avoiding division by zero
If the value of x is zero and the value of y is not zero, the ratio y/x is innite. Therefore, the value of the
angle cannot be computed. However, in this case, the angle is known to be 90 degrees (for y greater than
zero) or 270 degrees (-90 degrees, for y less than zero). The getAngle function traps both of those cases
and returns the correct angle in each case.
Correcting for the quadrant
The Math.atan method receives one parameter and it is either a positive or negative value. If the
value is positive, the method returns an angle between 0 and 90 degrees. If the value is negative, the method
returns an angle between 0 and -90 degrees. Thus, the angles returned by the Math.atan method always
lie in the rst or fourth quadrants.
(Actually, as I mentioned earlier, +90 degrees and -90 degrees are not possible because the tangent of

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 551

+90 degrees or -90 degrees is an innitely large positive or negative value. However, the method can handle
angles that are very close to +90 or -90 degrees.)
A negative y/x ratio
If the y/x ratio is negative, this doesn't necessarily mean that the angle lies in the fourth quadrant. That
negative ratio could result from a positive value for y and a negative value for x. In that case, the angle
would lie in the second quadrant between 90 degrees and 180 degrees.
The getAngle function tests the signs of the values for y and x. If the signs indicate that the angle lies
in the second quadrant, the value returned from the Math.atan method is corrected to place the angle in
the second quadrant. The corrected angle is returned by the getAngle function.
A positive y/x ratio
Similarly, if the y/x ratio is positive, this doesn't necessarily mean that the angle lies in the rst quadrant.
That positive ratio could result from a negative y value and a negative x value. In that case, the angle would
lie in the third quadrant between 180 degrees and 270 degrees.
Again, the getAngle function tests the signs of the values for y and x. If both values are negative, the
value returned from the Math.atan method is corrected to place the angle in the third quadrant.
No corrections required...
Finally, if no corrections are required for the quadrant, the getAngle function returns the value returned
by the Math.atan method. Note however, that in all cases, the Math.atan method returns the angle in
radians. That value is converted to degrees by the getAngle function and the returned value is in degrees.
Positive and negative angles
As you can see from the results of the test shown in Image 6 (p. 550) , angles in the rst, second,
and third quadrants are returned as positive angles in degrees. However, angles in the fourth quadrant are
returned as negative angles in degrees.

2.7.4.3.2 Mathematical solution to an earlier problem

Earlier (p. 541) in this module, I described a problem involving the sum of two displacement vectors. One
vector had a magnitude of 30 meters with an angle of 0. The other vector had a magnitude of 40 meters
with an angle of 135 degrees.
On the basis of a graphic solution, I estimated the length of the resultant vector to be about 28 meters
and the angle of the resultant vector to be a little less than 90 degrees. I promised to provide a mathematical
solution for that problem later, and that time has come.
Please copy the code shown in Listing 2 (p. 552) into an html le and open that le in your browser.

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552 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 2: The sum of two vectors.

<!-- File JavaScript02.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

//The purpose of this function is to receive the adjacent

// and opposite side values for a right triangle and to
// return the angle in degrees in the correct quadrant.
function getAngle(x,y){
if((x == 0) && (y == 0)){
//Angle is indeterminate. Just return zero.
return 0;
}else if((x == 0) && (y > 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return 90;
}else if((x == 0) && (y < 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return -90;
}else if((x < 0) && (y >= 0)){
//Correct to second quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else if((x < 0) && (y <= 0)){
//Correct to third quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else{
//First and fourth quadrants. No correction required.
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI;
}//end else
}//end function getAngle

//Specify the magnitudes and angles of two vectors.

//Convert the angles from degrees to radians.
var vecABmag = 30;//at an angle of 0
var vecABang = 0*Math.PI/180;//degrees*radians/degrees=radians

var vecBCmag = 40;//at an angle of 135

var vecBCang = 135*Math.PI/180;//degrees*radians/degrees=radians

//Compute the horizontal and vertical components of each vector.

var vecABh = vecABmag*Math.cos(vecABang);
var vecABv = vecABmag*Math.sin(vecABang);

var vecBCh = vecBCmag*Math.cos(vecBCang);

var vecBCv = vecBCmag*Math.sin(vecBCang);

//Compute the sums of the horizontal and vertical components from

// the two vectors to get the horizontal and vertical component
// of the resultant vector.
var vecResultH = vecABh + vecBCh;
Available+ for
var vecResultV = vecABv free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
vecBCv;

//Use the Pythagorean theorem to compute the magnitude of the

// resultant vector.
 553

Screen output
When you open the html le in your browser, the text shown in Image 7 (p. 553) should appear in your
browser window.

Image 7: Screen output for Listing #2.

Hello from JavaScript

vecABv = 0
vecABh = 30
vecBCv = 28.284271247461902
vecBCh = -28.2842712474619
vecResultMag = 28.336261665087125
vecResultAng = 86.5286817554714
The End

2.74

Explanation of the code

Listing 2 (p. 552) begins with a copy of the getAngle method that I explained in conjunction with
Listing 1 (p. 549) . I won't repeat that explanation here.
Dene magnitudes and angles of vectors
Then Listing 2 (p. 552) declares and initializes four variables that represent the magnitude and angle of
each of the two vectors. The variable names that end with "mag" contain magnitude values and the variable
names that end with "ang" contain angle values, which are converted from degrees to radians.
Compute horizontal and vertical components
Then Listing 2 (p. 552) calls the Math.cos and Math.sin methods to compute the horizontal and
vertical components of each vector. The variable names that end with "h" contain horizontal component
values and the variable names that end with "v" contain vertical component values.
Compute the sums of the components
The procedure for adding two or more vectors is to

• Add the horizontal components of all the vectors to get the horizontal component of the resultant
vector.
• Add the vertical components of all the vectors to get the vertical component of the resultant vector.
• Compute the magnitude (if needed) of the resultant vector as the square root of the sum of the
squares of the horizontal and vertical components.
• Compute the angle (if needed) of the resultant vector as the arctangent of the ratio of the vertical
component and the horizontal component.

Listing 2 (p. 552) computes the sum of the horizontal components from each of the vectors and saves the
result in the variable named vecResultH . Then it computes the sum of the vertical components and
saves the result in the variable named vecResultV .
Compute the magnitude of the resultant
In many cases, simply knowing the horizontal and vertical components is the solution to the problem.
However, in some cases, it is necessary to convert those components into a magnitude and an angle.
There are a couple of ways to compute the magnitude. One way is to use the Pythagorean theorem as
described above (p. 553) to compute the square root of the sum of the squares of the horizontal and vertical
components.

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554 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

The Math.sqrt and Math.pow methods

The method named Math.sqrt can be called to return the square root of its positive argument. (If
the argument is negative, the method returns NaN, which is an abbreviation for "Not a Number".)
The method named Math.pow can be called to raise the value specied by the rst argument to the
power specied by the second argument.
Listing 2 (p. 552) calls those two methods to compute the magnitude of the resultant and to save that
value in the variable named vecResultMag .
Compute the angle of the resultant
Then Listing 2 (p. 552) calls the getAngle method that we developed earlier to get the angle of the
resultant and to save the angle in degrees in the variable named vecResultAng .
Display the results
Finally Listing 2 (p. 552) calls the document.write method several times in succession to display the
values stored in some of the variables mentioned above in the browser window as shown in Image 7 (p. 553)
. As you can see, the magnitude and angle of the resultant agrees with the estimate that I made using the
graphic method earlier.

2.7.4.3.3 Subtracting vectors

To subtract one vector from another using the mathematical approach, simply reverse the algebraic sign on
the horizontal and vertical components for the subtrahend vector and perform the addition shown in Listing
2 (p. 552) .

2.7.4.3.4 Adding more than two vectors

Let's work through a problem that requires the addition of four vectors.
A graphical solution
First I would like for you to lay out the vectors, tail-to-head on graph paper to create a solution to this
problem.
Pretend that you take a walk consisting of the following sequential segments. Angles are specied relative
to east with east being zero degrees. Positive angles are counter-clockwise and negative angles are clockwise.
The segments are as follows:

• 12 meters at 20 degrees
• 8 meters at 120 degrees
• 10.5 meters at -74 degrees
• 12.5 meters at 145 degrees

What is your nal displacement?

When you reach the end of the walk, what is your displacement (distance and direction) relative to
the location at which you began the walk. You should be able to do a reasonable job of measuring the
displacement using your vector diagram.
A mathematical solution
Please copy the code shown in Listing 3 (p. 555) into an html le and open the html le in your browser.

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 555

Listing 3: The sum of four vectors.

<!-- File JavaScript03.html -->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

//The purpose of this function is to receive the adjacent

// and opposite side values for a right triangle and to
// return the angle in degrees in the correct quadrant.
function getAngle(x,y){
if((x == 0) && (y == 0)){
//Angle is indeterminate. Just return zero.
return 0;
}else if((x == 0) && (y > 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return 90;
}else if((x == 0) && (y < 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return -90;
}else if((x < 0) && (y >= 0)){
//Correct to second quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else if((x < 0) && (y <= 0)){
//Correct to third quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else{
//First and fourth quadrants. No correction required.
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI;
}//end else
}//end function getAngle

//Specify the magnitudes and angles of four vectors.

//Convert the angles from degrees to radians.
var vecAmag = 12;
var vecAang = 20*Math.PI/180;//degrees*radians/degrees=radians

var vecBmag = 8;
var vecBang = 120*Math.PI/180;//degrees*radians/degrees=radians

var vecCmag = 10.5;

var vecCang = -74*Math.PI/180;//degrees*radians/degrees=radians

var vecDmag = 12.5;

var vecDang = 145*Math.PI/180;//degrees*radians/degrees=radians

//Compute the horizontal and vertical components of each vector.

var vecAh = vecAmag*Math.cos(vecAang);
var vecAv = vecAmag*Math.sin(vecAang);

var vecBh = vecBmag*Math.cos(vecBang);

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var vecBv = vecBmag*Math.sin(vecBang);

var vecCh = vecCmag*Math.cos(vecCang);

var vecCv = vecCmag*Math.sin(vecCang);
556 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Screen output
The text shown in Image 8 (p. 556) should appear in your browser when you open the html le in your
browser.

Image 8: Screen output for Listing #3.

Hello from JavaScript

vecResultMag = 8.11
vecResultAng = 90.49
The End

2.76

As you can see, the displacement vector is just a little over eight meters at an angle of about 90.5 degrees.
In other words, your ending position was approximately 8 meters north of your starting position. Hopefully
you were able to arrive at a very similar answer using vector diagram.
Explanation of the code
The code in Listing 3 (p. 555) is very similar to the code in Listing 2 (p. 552) . However, there is more
of it because the code is adding four vectors instead of only 2.
As before, Listing 3 (p. 555) begins with the getAngle method that we developed earlier.
Magnitude and angle for each vector
Then Listing 3 (p. 555) denes eight variables containing the magnitudes and angles of the four segments
of the walk.
(Note that the names that I used for the variables in this script are somewhat simpler than the names
that I used in Listing 2 (p. 552) .)
Horizontal and vertical components
Following that, Listing 3 (p. 555) computes the horizontal and vertical components for each of the four
vectors and saves those values in eight dierent variables.
Sums of components
Then Listing 3 (p. 555) computes and saves the sum of all four horizontal components and computes
and saves the sum of all four vertical components.
After that, there is essentially no dierence between the script in Listing 3 (p. 555) and the script in
Listing 2 (p. 552) .
Other vector operations
In addition to the addition and subtraction of vectors, there are other operations that can be performed
using vectors, such as the dot product and the cross product. However, those operations are beyond the
scope of this module.

2.7.5 Run the scripts

I encourage you to run the scripts that I have presented in this lesson to conrm that you get the same
results. Copy the code for each script into a text le with an extension of html. Then open that le in
your browser. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make
certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

2.7.6 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

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 557

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0360 Motion  Displacement and Vectors
• File: Game0360.htm
• Published: 10/13/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download a
PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed
version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this module may
not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

2.8 GAME 2302-0370 Motion  Uniform and Relative Velocity27

2.8.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 558)

· General (p. 558)
· Viewing tip (p. 558)
* Images (p. 558)
* Listings (p. 558)
• General background information (p. 558)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 559)
· A simple exercise on uniform velocity (p. 559)
· An exercise on average velocity (p. 561)
· Multiple concurrent velocities (p. 566)
* Exercise #1 for a man on a train (p. 566)
* Exercise #2 for a man on a train (p. 572)
* An exercise with three vectors in a plane (p. 573)
• Run the scripts (p. 576)
• Miscellaneous (p. 577)

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558 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

2.8.2 Preface

2.8.2.1 General
This module is part of a series of modules designed for teaching the physics component of GAME2302
Mathematical Applications for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. (See
GAME 2302-0100: Introduction 28 for the rst module in the course along with a description of the course,
course resources, homework assignments, etc.)
The purpose of this module is to explain uniform velocity and relative velocity.

2.8.2.2 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this document in a separate browser window and use the
following links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

2.8.2.2.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 560) . Screen output for Listing #1.
• Image 2 (p. 562) . Vector diagram for the hockey puck.
• Image 3 (p. 565) . Screen output for Listing #2.
• Image 4 (p. 567) . Vector diagram for a man on a train.
• Image 5 (p. 569) . Screen output for Listing #3.
• Image 6 (p. 572) . Another vector diagram for a man on a train
• Image 7 (p. 573) . Screen output for Exercise #2 for a man on a train.
• Image 8 (p. 574) . Vector diagram for man on aircraft carrier.
• Image 9 (p. 576) . Screen output for Listing #4.

2.8.2.2.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 560) . A simple exercise on uniform velocity.
• Listing 2 (p. 564) . An exercise on average velocity.
• Listing 3 (p. 568) . Exercise #1 for a man on a train.
• Listing 4 (p. 575) . An exercise with three vectors in a plane.

2.8.3 General background information

What is velocity?
Velocity is the time rate of change of position . Since displacement is the change of position, velocity
is also the rate of displacement . Since displacement is a vector quantity, velocity is also a vector quantity
 it has magnitude and direction.
An airplane may traverse 350 miles in a northeasterly direction in one hour. This statement describes a
vector quantity (velocity) because it has both magnitude and direction.
The same airplane may traverse 350 miles in a southwesterly direction in one hour. This statement
describes a dierent velocity. Even though the magnitude is the same in both cases, the direction is dierent.
Hence, the velocity is dierent.
What is speed?
Speed is distance covered in a unit of time without reference to direction. Since there is no reference to
direction, speed is a scalar quantity.
A car may traverse 60 miles in one hour. An airplane may traverse 350 miles in one hour. An excellent
runner may traverse one mile in three minutes. All of these statements describe scalar quantities (speed)
since there is no reference to direction.
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 559

A person in a seat on a Ferris wheel may travel around the axle in the center of the wheel at a constant
rotational speed. However, that person's velocity is not constant. The velocity is continually changing
because the direction of motion is continually changing.
Uniform velocity
Velocity is uniform when equal distances along a straight line are traversed in equal intervals of time. In
this case
v = s/t
where

• v is uniform velocity
• s is the distance traveled (displacement)
• t is an interval of time

What about the direction?

Because uniform velocity occurs along a straight line, the computations involving uniform velocity, dis-
tance, and time may not necessarily include the direction of that straight line. However, since both displace-
ment and velocity are vector quantities, it is understood that the direction of velocity is the same as the
direction of the displacement.
On the other hand, as you will see later, when combining two or more uniform velocities into a single
resultant velocity, the directions of the dierent uniform velocities becomes extremely important.
Speed, distance, and time
Note also that this same equation can be applied to computations involving speed, distance, and time
where

• v represents speed and not velocity

• s is the distance traveled (not necessarily in a straight line)
• t is an interval of time

Units of velocity
The units of velocity are units of distance (such as meters) divided by units of time (such as seconds).

2.8.4 Discussion and sample code

2.8.4.1 A simple exercise on uniform velocity

Let's begin this section with a short exercise involving uniform velocity.
How long does it take an airplane traveling at a uniform velocity of 350 miles per hour to traverse a
distance of 700 miles?
Please copy the code shown in Listing 1 (p. 560) into an html le and open the le in your browser.

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560 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 1: A simple exercise on uniform velocity.

<!---------------- File JavaScript01.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script" + "<br/>")

var velocity = 350;//uniform velocity in miles/hour

var distance = 700;//miles

var time = distance/velocity;//miles/(miles/hour) = hours

document.write("uniform velocity = " + velocity +

" miles/hour<br/>");
document.write("distance = " + distance + " miles<br/>");
document.write("time = " + time + " hours<br/>");
document.write("End Script")

</script>
</body></html>

Figure 2.77: Listing 1: A simple exercise on uniform velocity.

Screen output
The text shown in Image 1 (p. 560) should appear in your browser window when you open the html le
in your browser.

Image 1: Screen output for Listing #1.

Start Script
speed = 350 miles/hour
distance = 700 miles
time = 2 hours
End Script

Figure 2.78: Image 1: Screen output for Listing #1.

Analysis of the code

The equation given earlier (p. 559) that shows the relationship among uniform velocity, distance, and
time can be manipulated algebraically to nd any one of the three terms when the values of the other two
terms are known. The objective in this exercise is to nd the time required to traverse a known distance
with a known uniform velocity.

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 561

Algebraic manipulation of the equation

Multiplying both sides of the equation by t and dividing both sides by v allows us to rewrite the equation
as
t = s/ v
where

• v is uniform velocity
• s is the distance traveled
• t is an interval of time

The solution to the problem is...

This version of the equation is used in Listing 1 (p. 560) to solve for the time required to traverse 700
miles at a uniform velocity of 350 miles/hour. The answer is 2 hours as shown in Image 1 (p. 560) .
Declare and initialize variables
The code in Listing 1 (p. 560) begins by declaring and initializing variables named velocity and
distance . Note that the units are shown in the comments. I recommend that you always do that in order
to keep the units straight.
Perform the arithmetic
Then Listing 1 (p. 560) declares a variable named time and sets its value equal to distance divided
by velocity . Once again, note the treatment of the units in the comments, showing that the units for the
result of the division are hours.
Display the results
Finally, Listing 1 (p. 560) calls the document.write method several times in succession to display the
results shown in Image 1 (p. 560) .

2.8.4.2 An exercise on average velocity

A hockey puck is struck by a player causing it to travel northeast at a uniform velocity of 50 feet per second
for 15 feet, at which point it is struck by another player.
When struck by the second player, the direction of motion is changed to northwest with a uniform velocity
of 60 feet per second.
It is stopped by a third player after traveling 20 feet in the northwest direction.

• What is the time required for the puck to complete each leg of its journey?
• What is the average velocity of the puck from the start to the end of its journey?

Vector diagram for the hockey puck

Image 2 (p. 562) shows a vector diagram for the hockey puck.

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562 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 2: Vector diagram for the hockey puck.

Figure 2.79: Image 2: Vector diagram for the hockey puck.

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 563

Let's write a script to solve the problem

Please copy the code from Listing 2 (p. 564) into an html le and open it in your browser.

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564 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 2: An exercise on average velocity.

<!---------------- File JavaScript02.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/>");

//The purpose of this function is to receive the adjacent

// and opposite side values for a right triangle and to
// return the angle in degrees in the correct quadrant.
function getAngle(x,y){
if((x == 0) && (y == 0)){
//Angle is indeterminate. Just return zero.
return 0;
}else if((x == 0) && (y > 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return 90;
}else if((x == 0) && (y < 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return -90;
}else if((x < 0) && (y >= 0)){
//Correct to second quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else if((x < 0) && (y <= 0)){
//Correct to third quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else{
//First and fourth quadrants. No correction required.
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI;
}//end else
}//end function getAngle

//Compute the time required to traverse each leg. Identify

// the two legs as A and B.
var vecAmag = 15;//displacement in feet
var vecAang = 45;//displacement angle in degrees
var vecAvel = 50;//velocity magnitude in feet per second
var timeA = vecAmag/vecAvel;//feet/(feet/second) = seconds

var vecBmag = 20;//displacement in feet

var vecBang = 135;//displacement angle in degrees
var vecBvel = 60;//velocity magnitude in feet per second
var timeB = vecBmag/vecBvel;//feet/(feet/second) = seconds

//Compute the overall displacement

//Compute the horizontal and vertical components
// of each vector.
var vecAh = vecAmag*Math.cos(vecAang*Math.PI/180);
var vecAv = vecAmag*Math.sin(vecAang*Math.PI/180);

var vecBh = vecBmag*Math.cos(vecBang*Math.PI/180);

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var vecBv = vecBmag*Math.sin(vecBang*Math.PI/180);

//Compute the sums of the horizontal and vertical

// components from the two vectors to get the
 565

Screen output
The text shown in Image 3 (p. 565) should appear in your browser window when the html le is opened
in your browser.

Image 3: Screen output for Listing #2.

Start Script
Time for leg A = 0.30 seconds
Time for leg B = 0.33 seconds
Displacement magnitude = 25.00 feet
Displacement angle = 98.13 degrees
Total time = 0.63 seconds
Average velocity magnitude = 39.47 feet/second
Average velocity angle = 98.13 degrees
End Script

Figure 2.81: Image 3: Screen output for Listing #2.

Analysis of the code

In this exercise, the puck makes a journey across the ice consisting of two sequential legs in dierent
directions with dierent magnitudes of velocity. Although each leg involves motion along a line, the total
trip is not along a line.
The objective of the script is to

• Compute and display the time required to traverse each leg of the trip based on the given information.

• Compute and display the magnitude and the angle of the displacement from start to nish.
• Compute and display the time required to complete the entire trip, which is the sum of the times from
both legs.
• Compute and display the magnitude of the average velocity as the magnitude of the displacement
divided by the total time.
• Recognize that the angle of the average velocity is the same as the angle of the displacement.

The getAngle function

The code in Listing 2 (p. 564) begins with the getAngle function that we developed and used an
earlier module. The purpose of the function is to receive the adjacent and opposite side values for a right
triangle as parameters and to return the angle in degrees in the correct quadrant.
I explained this function in an earlier module and won't repeat that explanation in this module.
Compute the time for each leg
Following the denition of the getAngle function, Listing 2 (p. 564) computes the time required to
traverse each leg of the trip. For variable naming purposes, the two legs are identied as A and B.
Variable names that end with "mag" contain vector magnitudes. Variable names that end with "ang"
contain vector angles. Variable names that end with "vel" contain the magnitudes of straight-line, uniform
velocities.
The time to complete each leg of the trip is computed by dividing the magnitude of the displacement
vector for that leg by the magnitude of the straight-line velocity for that leg. The resulting times have units
of seconds, and are saved in the variables named timeA and timeB .
The overall displacement

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566 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

The magnitude and angle of the overall displacement for the two-leg trip (identied by the variables
named vecResultMag and vecResultAng respectively) are computed using procedures that were
explained in an earlier module. Therefore, I won't repeat that explanation in this module.
The magnitude of the overall displacement is stored in the variable named vecResultMag , and the
angle for the overall displacement is stored in the variable named vecResultAng .
The total time
The total time for the trip, identied by the variable named totalTime , is computed as the sum of
the times for the individual legs.
Magnitude of the average velocity vector
The magnitude of the average velocity vector, identied by the variable named vecVelMag , is compute
by dividing the magnitude of the displacement vector by the total time. This results in a value having units
of feet/second as shown by the comments.
The direction of the average velocity vector
The direction of the average velocity vector, identied by the variable named vecVelAng , is recognized
as being the same as the direction of the overall displacement vector with units of degrees.
Display the results
Finally, the document.write method is called several times in succession to display the output text
shown in Image 3 (p. 565) .

2.8.4.3 Multiple concurrent velocities

When a body has multiple concurrent velocities, the overall velocity of the body is equal to the vector sum
of the individual velocities. You can compute that vector sum in any way that works for you, including the
parallelogram rule, a tail-to-head vector diagram, or the mathematical techniques that we will use here.
Relative velocity
In this section, we will also be dealing with a topic called relative velocity . For example, suppose we
see a man walking down the aisle in a passenger car of a train that is moving slowly at a uniform velocity
along a straight track. How fast is the man moving?
The frame of reference
The answer to that question depends on the frame of reference of the observer. For example, to another
passenger in the same rail car, it may appear that the man is moving at about 3 feet per second, which is a
reasonably comfortable walking speed.
However, to someone standing on the ground outside of the passenger car (pretend that the side of the
car is transparent), it may appear that the man is moving much faster or much slower than 3 feet per second,
depending on which direction the man is moving relative to the motion of the train.
It could even turn out that insofar as the outside observer is concerned, the man isn't moving at all, or
is moving backwards.

2.8.4.3.1 Exercise #1 for a man on a train

A man is walking along the aisle in a passenger car of a train that is moving at 1 mile per hour toward the
east. The man is walking in the same direction that the train is moving. The man is walking at a uniform
velocity of 2.933 feet per second. (You will see shortly why I chose such a strange walking speed for the
man.) What is the man's overall velocity with reference to the ground?
Image 4 (p. 567) shows a vector diagram for the man on the train. The units for both velocity vectors
must be the same. Therefore, the length of the velocity vector for the man is based on a conversion from
2.933 feet per second to 2 miles per hour.

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 567

Image 4: Vector diagram for a man on a train.

Figure 2.82: Image 4: Vector diagram for a man on a train.

JavaScript code
Please copy the code shown in Listing 3 (p. 568) into an html le and open the le in your browser.

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568 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 3: Exercise #1 for a man on a train.

<!---------------- File JavaScript03.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/>");

//The purpose of this function is to receive the adjacent

// and opposite side values for a right triangle and to
// return the angle in degrees in the correct quadrant.
function getAngle(x,y){

if((x == 0) && (y == 0)){

//Angle is indeterminate. Just return zero.
return 0;
}else if((x == 0) && (y > 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return 90;
}else if((x == 0) && (y < 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return -90;
}else if((x < 0) && (y >= 0)){
//Correct to second quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else if((x < 0) && (y <= 0)){
//Correct to third quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else{
//First and fourth quadrants. No correction required.
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI;
}//end else
}//end function getAngle
//------------------------------------------------------------//

//The purpose of this function is to add two vectors, given

// the magnitude and angle (in degrees) for each vector.
// The magnitude and angle (in degrees) of the resultant
// vector is returned in a two-element array, with the
// magnitude in the element at index 0 and the angle in the
// element at index 1. Note that this function calls the
// getAngle function, which must also be provided in the
// script. To use this function to subtract one vector from
// another, add 180 degrees to the angle for the subtrahend
// vector before passing the angle to the function. To use
// this function to add more than two vectors, add the first
// two vectors as normal, then add the output from this
// function to the third vector, etc., until all of the
// vectors have been included in the sum.
function vectorSum(vecAmag,vecAang,vecBmag,vecBang){
var vecResult = new Array(2);
//Compute the horizontal and vertical components
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// of each vector.
var vecAh = vecAmag*Math.cos(vecAang*Math.PI/180);
var vecAv = vecAmag*Math.sin(vecAang*Math.PI/180);
 569

Screen output
The text shown in Image 5 (p. 569) should appear in your browser window when you open the html le
in your browser.

Image 5: Screen output for Listing #3.

Start Script
Velocity magnitude = 3.00 miles/hour
Velocity angle = 0.00 degrees
End Script

Figure 2.84: Image 5: Screen output for Listing #3.

Analysis of the code

As before, the script begins by dening the getAngle function, which doesn't require further explana-
tion.
The vectorSum function
As you can see from Listing 3 (p. 568) , this script contains a new function named vectorSum . The
purpose of this function is to add two vectors, given the magnitude and angle (in degrees) for each vector
as incoming parameters. (The function assumes that both incoming magnitude parameters are expressed in
the same units.)
The need to add two vectors occurs so often in physics that I decided to encapsulate the capability into a
function that we can copy into future scripts. That will relieve us of the need to rewrite the code each time
we need that functionality.
Return an array object
The magnitude and the angle (in degrees) of the resultant vector is returned in a two-element array
object, with the magnitude in the element at index 0 and the angle in the element at index 1. I will have a
more to say about arrays shortly.
Note that this function calls the getAngle function, which must also be provided in the script.
Subtraction of vectors
The function can also be used to subtract one vector from another. To subtract one vector from another,
simply add 180 degrees to the angle for the subtrahend vector before passing the angle to the function.
Adding more than two vectors
Although the function can only be used to add two vectors, it can be called repeatedly to add any number
of vectors two at a time.
To use this function to add more than two vectors, add the rst two vectors as normal. Then add the
vector output from the function to the third vector, etc., until all of the vectors have been included in the
sum.
The code in the vectorSum function
Most of the code in the function is the same as code that I have explained in earlier modules. However,
there are a couple of lines of code that are dierent.
The function begins with the following statement:
var vecResult = new Array(2);
The purpose of this statement is to create a two-element array object named vecResult .
What is an array object?
You can think of an array object as a software object containing pigeon holes into which you can store
data and from which you can later retrieve that data. This particular array object has two pigeon holes,
and they are numbered 0 and 1.

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570 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

This array object will be used as a container to return the magnitude and angle values for the resultant
vector.
Can only return one item
A JavaScript function can only return one item. Up to this point in these modules, that item has consisted
of a single numeric value, such as the angle value that is returned from the getAngle function.
However, the vectorSum function needs to return two dierent values. One way to do that is to put
those two values in the pigeon holes of an array object and return that array object as the one item that
can be returned.
Store the resulting magnitude in the array object
Once the array object is created, the code in the function shown in Listing 3 (p. 568) is essentially the
same as the code used earlier to add two vectors, down to the statement that begins with:
vecResult[0] = Math.sqrt(Math.pow(vecResultH,2) +...
That statement computes the magnitude of the resultant vector the same way as before, but instead of
storing the value of the magnitude in a variable, it is stored in the rst pigeon hole of the array object.
The value is directed into the rst pigeon hole (technically called element) by the "[0]" that you see
following the name of the array object in that statement.
Store the resulting angle in the array object
Immediately thereafter, the statement in Listing 3 (p. 568) that reads
vecResult[1] = getAngle(vecResultH,vecResultV);
computes the angle for the resultant vector and stores it in the second element in the array object (the
element identied by the index value 1).
Return the array object for use later
These same index values along with the square brackets "[ ]" will be used later to retrieve the magnitude
and angle values from the array object.
Finally, the function returns the array object to the calling script by executing the statement that reads
return vecResult;
The main script body
The main script body begins where indicated by the comment in Listing 3 (p. 568) .
The rst four statements establish values for the magnitude and direction of the two vectors that represent
the train and the man. There is nothing in those statements that you haven't seen before.
Note the treatment of the units
However, I encourage you to pay attention to the treatment of units in the comments for the value stored
in the variable named vecManMag . The arithmetic in that statement uses two dierent conversion
factors to convert the value from feet per second to miles per hour.
Once again, working through the units in this fashion can help you to organize your arithmetic correctly.
Call the vectorSum function
The statement that begins
var resultant = vectorSum(vecTrainMag...
calls the new vectorSum function to add the two vectors, passing the magnitude and angle for each
vector as parameters.
Store the returned array object in a variable
This statement also declares a new variable named resultant . The array object that is returned from
the vectorSum function is stored in this variable.
Once this statement nishes executing, the magnitude and angle of the resultant vector have been com-
puted and saved for later use. (In this script, the only use of those two values is to display them later.
However, they will be used in a more signicant way in another exercise later.)
Code to display the results
The call to the vectorSum function is followed by three calls to the document.write method. The
rst two calls display magnitude and angle values, and the third call simply displays some text to indicate
that the script has nished executing.
Displaying the magnitude value

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 571

If you examine the statement containing the rst call to the document.write method, you will see
that the argument list contains the following expression:
resultant[0].toFixed(2)
In this case, the "[0]" means to retrieve the value stored in the array element identied by the index value
0.
Once that value has been retrieved, the built-in toFixed method is called, passing the literal value 2
as a parameter, to format the value so that it will be displayed with two digits to the right of the decimal
point.
Image 5 (p. 569) shows that value displayed in the line of text that reads:
Velocity magnitude = 3.00 miles/hour
(Note that very few of the values that I display in these modules comply with the rules for decimal digits
and signicant gures that I explained in an earlier module.)
A partial solution to the problem
A partial answer to the question posed for this exercise is that the magnitude of the man's overall velocity
with respect to the ground is 3 miles per hour as shown in Image 5 (p. 569) .
The rest of the solution
The next statement in Listing 3 (p. 568) uses a similar syntax to retrieve the value from the second
element in the array object (the element with an index value of 1) and to display it as
Velocity angle = 0.00 degrees
as shown in Image 5 (p. 569) .
This means that the man is moving due east (the same direction that the train is moving) with a velocity
of 3 miles per hour with reference to the ground.
Analysis of the results
Now I will tell you why I used a strange walking speed (2.933 feet per second) for the man. As it turns
out, this is very close to 2 miles per hour, and I wanted the man to have a walking speed that would result
in simple numeric results.
Let's review the problem
The train is moving east with a uniform velocity of 1 mile per hour relative to the ground.
The man is moving east with a uniform velocity of 2 miles per hour (2.933 feet per second) relative to
the train.
What is the man's velocity relative to the ground?
The algebraic sum of the magnitudes
Because the man and the train are both moving along the same straight line, and the man's velocity is
stated relative to the train, the magnitude of the man's velocity relative to the ground is the algebraic sum
of the magnitudes of the two velocities. Because they are both moving in the same direction, that algebraic
sum is additive.
An analysis of the velocities
The train is moving 1 mile per hour with reference to the ground, and the man is moving 2 miles per
hour with reference to the train (along the same line and in the same direction as the train). Therefore, the
man is moving 1+2=3 miles per hour with reference to the ground.
This means that an observer standing on the ground at a point on a line perpendicular to the train would
perceive the man to be moving to the to the right with a velocity of 3 miles per hour (assuming that the
train is moving to the right).
A zero-degree angle is not required
Note that it isn't necessary that the train and the man be moving at an angle of zero degrees (east). The
magnitude of the result would be the same regardless of the direction that they are moving provided they
are moving along the same straight line.
We will specify a dierent common direction for the train and the man in the next exercise.

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572 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

2.8.4.3.2 Exercise #2 for a man on a train

A man is walking in a passenger car of a train that is moving at 1 mile per hour toward the northeast (45
degrees). The man is walking in the opposite direction than the train is moving at 2.933 feet per second.
(This means that the angle for the man's velocity vector is 225 degrees.)
What is the man's velocity with reference to the ground?
Another vector diagram for a man on a train
Image 6 (p. 572) shows another vector diagram for a man on a train. Once again, the units for both
velocity vectors must be the same. Therefore, the length of the velocity vector for the man is based on a
conversion from 2.933 feet per second to 2 miles per hour.

Image 6: Another vector diagram for a man on a train

Figure 2.85: Image 6: Another vector diagram for a man on a train

Make a new html le

Please copy the code from the previous exercise into a new html le, make the changes described below,
and open the html le in your browser.
• Change the value of vecTrainAng from 0 to 45.

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 573

• Change the value of vecManAng from 0 to 225.

(Because of the small dierences between this script and the previous script, I won't publish a copy of this
new script here.)
Screen output
The text shown in Image 7 (p. 573) should appear in your browser window when you open the le in
your browser.

Image 7: Screen output for Exercise #2 for a man on a train.

Start Script
Velocity magnitude = 1.00 miles/hour
Velocity angle = 225.00 degrees
End Script

Figure 2.86: Image 7: Screen output for Exercise #2 for a man on a train.

Analysis of the results

The man and the train are still moving along the same straight line even though the angle is no longer
0. Therefore, the magnitudes of the two vectors still add algebraically. In this case, however, the man and
the train are moving in opposite directions, so they are no longer additive.
The man has a greater velocity magnitude
The magnitude of the man's velocity in the direction of 225 degrees is greater than the magnitude of the
train's velocity in the opposite direction of 45 degrees.
As you can see from Image 7 (p. 573) , the man's velocity with reference to the ground is 1 mile per
hour at an angle of 225 degrees. This means that an observer standing on the ground at a point on a line
perpendicular to the train would perceive the man to be moving to the left at 1 mile per hour (assuming
that the train is moving to the right).

2.8.4.3.3 An exercise with three vectors in a plane

Now we are going to take a look at an exercise involving three vectors in a plane, which are not in a line.
An aircraft carrier is steaming east with a uniform velocity of 2 miles per hour relative to the ground
beneath the ocean. A large platform on the deck is sliding northeast with a uniform velocity of 2 miles per
hour relative to the ship. A man is walking north on the platform with a uniform velocity of 2 miles per
hour relative to the platform.
What is the velocity of the platform with reference to the ground below the ocean?
What is the velocity of the man with reference to the ground below the ocean?
Vector diagram for man on aircraft carrier
Image 8 (p. 574) shows a vector diagram for the man on the aircraft carrier.

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574 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 8: Vector diagram for man on aircraft carrier.

Figure 2.87: Image 8: Vector diagram for man on aircraft carrier.

Create the script

Please copy the code from Listing 4 (p. 575) into an html le and open the html le in your browser.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 575

Listing 4: An exercise with three vectors in a plane.

<!---------------- File JavaScript04.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/>");

//The purpose of this function is to receive the adjacent

// and opposite side values for a right triangle and to
// return the angle in degrees in the correct quadrant.
function getAngle(x,y){

if((x == 0) && (y == 0)){

//Angle is indeterminate. Just return zero.
return 0;
}else if((x == 0) && (y > 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return 90;
}else if((x == 0) && (y < 0)){
//Avoid divide by zero denominator.
return -90;
}else if((x < 0) && (y >= 0)){
//Correct to second quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else if((x < 0) && (y <= 0)){
//Correct to third quadrant
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI + 180;
}else{
//First and fourth quadrants. No correction required.
return Math.atan(y/x)*180/Math.PI;
}//end else
}//end function getAngle
//------------------------------------------------------------//

//The purpose of this function is to add two vectors, given

// the magnitude and angle (in degrees) for each vector.
// The magnitude and angle (in degrees) of the resultant
// vector is returned in a two-element array, with the
// magnitude in the element at index 0 and the angle in the
// element at index 1. Note that this function calls the
// getAngle function, which must also be provided in the
// script. To use this function to subtract one vector from
// another, add 180 degrees to the angle for the subtrahend
// vector before passing the angle to the function. To use
// this function to add more than two vectors, add the first
// two vectors as normal, then add the output from this
// function to the third vector, etc., until all of the
// vectors have been included in the sum.
function vectorSum(vecAmag,vecAang,vecBmag,vecBang){
var vecResult = new Array(2);
Available forand
//Compute the horizontal free vertical
at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
components
// of each vector.
var vecAh = vecAmag*Math.cos(vecAang*Math.PI/180);
var vecAv = vecAmag*Math.sin(vecAang*Math.PI/180);
576 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Screen output
The text shown in Image 9 (p. 576) should appear in your browser window when the html le is opened
in your browser.

Image 9: Screen output for Listing #4.

Start Script
Platform velocity magnitude = 3.70 miles/hour
Platform velocity angle = 22.50 degrees
Man velocity magnitude = 4.83 miles/hour
Man velocity angle = 45.00 degrees
End Script

Figure 2.89: Image 9: Screen output for Listing #4.

Analysis of the code

The velocity of the platform relative to the ground is the vector sum of the ship's velocity and the velocity
of the platform relative to the ship. The man's velocity is the vector sum of the platform's velocity relative
to the ground and the man's velocity relative to the platform.
Listing 4 (p. 575) begins with copies of the getAngle function and the vectorSum function, which
I have already explained. This discussion begins at the comment that reads "Main body of script begins
here."
The main body of the script
The main body begins with the declaration and initialization of six variables whose contents represent
the magnitude and the angle of the ship, the platform, and the man.
Add the rst two vectors
The vectorSum function is called to add the ship's velocity vector (relative to the ground) and the
platform's velocity vector (relative to the ship). The resultant vector produced by adding those two vectors
is stored in the array-object variable named platformVel for use later. This is the platform's velocity
vector relative to the ground.
Add the man's vector to the sum
Then the vectorSum function is called again to add the platform's velocity vector (relative to the
ground) and the man's velocity vector (relative to the platform). Note that the two values stored in the
platformVel array object are extracted and passed as parameters to the vectorSum function.
The resultant vector produced by that addition is saved in the array-object variable named manVel .
This is the man's velocity vector relative to the ground.
Display the results
Finally, the method named document.write is called four times in succession to extract and print the
four values stored in the two array objects, producing the text output shown in Image 9 (p. 576) .

2.8.5 Run the scripts

I encourage you to run the scripts that I have presented in this lesson to conrm that you get the same
results. Copy the code for each script into a text le with an extension of html. Then open that le in
your browser. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make
certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

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 577

2.8.6 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302-0370 Motion  Uniform and Relative Velocity
• File: Game0370.htm
• Published: 10/13/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

2.9 GAME 2302-0380 Motion  Variable Velocity and Acceleration29

2.9.1 Table of Contents

• Preface (p. 578)

· General (p. 578)
· Viewing tip (p. 578)
* Images (p. 578)
* Listings (p. 578)
• General background information (p. 578)
· Variable velocity (p. 579)
· Acceleration (p. 579)
· The acceleration of gravity (p. 580)
• Discussion and sample code (p. 581)
· Variable velocity exercise #1 (p. 581)
· Variable velocity exercise #2 (p. 587)
· Acceleration of gravity exercise #1 (p. 591)
· Acceleration of gravity exercise #2 (p. 595)
· Acceleration of gravity exercise #3 (p. 601)
· Other useful equations (p. 605)
29 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m45008/1.3/>.

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578 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

* Exercise to nd the velocity (p. 605)

* Exercise to nd the height (p. 607)
• Run the scripts (p. 609)
• Miscellaneous (p. 609)

2.9.2 Preface

2.9.2.1 General
This module is part of a series of modules designed for teaching the physics component of GAME2302
Mathematical Applications for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. (See
GAME 2302-0100: Introduction 30 for the rst module in the course along with a description of the course,
course resources, homework assignments, etc.)
The purpose of this module is to explain variable velocity and acceleration.

2.9.2.2 Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this document in a separate browser window and use the
following links to easily nd and view the Images and Listings while you are reading about them.

2.9.2.2.1 Images
• Image 1 (p. 582) . Graph for variable velocity exercise #1.
• Image 2 (p. 585) . Screen output for Listing #1.
• Image 3 (p. 586) . Displacement versus time for rst ve time intervals.
• Image 4 (p. 590) . Screen output for Listing #2.
• Image 5 (p. 594) . Screen output for Listing #3.
• Image 6 (p. 598) . Screen output for Listing #4 at 45 degrees.
• Image 7 (p. 599) . Trajectory for two dierent ring angles.
• Image 8 (p. 600) . Screen output for Listing #4 at 60 degrees.
• Image 9 (p. 604) . Screen output for Listing #5.
• Image 10 (p. 606) . Screen output for Listing #6.
• Image 11 (p. 609) . Screen output for Listing #7.

2.9.2.2.2 Listings
• Listing 1 (p. 584) . Variable velocity exercise #1.
• Listing 2 (p. 589) . Variable velocity exercise #2.
• Listing 3 (p. 593) . Acceleration of gravity exercise #1.
• Listing 4 (p. 597) . Acceleration of gravity exercise #2.
• Listing 5 (p. 603) . Acceleration of gravity exercise #3.
• Listing 6 (p. 606) . Exercise to nd the velocity.
• Listing 7 (p. 608) . Exercise to nd the height.

2.9.3 General background information

I will provide an introduction to variable velocity, acceleration, and the acceleration of gravity in this section.
I will provide exercises on those topics in the next section.
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 579

2.9.3.1 Variable velocity

What is velocity?
To review, you learned in an earlier module that velocity is the rate of change of position. Since displace-
ment is a change in position, velocity is also the rate of displacement.
Uniform versus variable velocity
Previous modules have dealt exclusively with uniform velocity. However, many situations in life involve
variable velocity and acceleration. For example, the simple act of stopping an automobile at a trac light
and then resuming the trip once the light turns green involves variable velocity and acceleration.
Three equations
I will explain both of these topics in this module using three well-known physics equations that deal with
the displacement of a projectile in a vacuum under the inuence of gravity .
The equation that we will spend the most time on is
h = v0*t + 0.5*g*t^2
where

• h is the distance of the projectile above the surface of the earth

• v0 is the initial velocity of the projectile
• t is time in seconds
• g is the acceleration of gravity, approximately 9.8 meters per second squared, or approximately 32.2 feet
per second squared at the surface of the earth. (We will also do an exercise involving the acceleration
of gravity on the moon.)

(I will provide the other two equations later (p. 605) .)

2.9.3.2 Acceleration
Everyone is familiar with the acceleration that occurs when a motor vehicle speeds up or slows down. When
the vehicle speeds up very rapidly, the positive acceleration forces us against the back of the seat. (This
involves the relationship among force, mass, and acceleration, which will be the subject of a future module.)
If the vehicle slows down very rapidly or stops suddenly, the negative acceleration may cause us to crash
into the windshield, the dashboard, or a deployed airbag.
The accelerator pedal
A common name for the pedal that causes gasoline to be fed to the engine is often called the accelerator
pedal because it causes the vehicle to speed up. (However, I have never heard anyone refer to the pedal that
causes the vehicle to slow down as the deceleration pedal. Instead, it is commonly called the brake pedal.)
Denitions
Displacement is a change in position.
Velocity is the rate of change of position or the rate of displacement .
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity .
Jerk is the rate of change of acceleration (not covered in this module).
According to this author 31 , there is no universally accepted name for the rate of change of jerk .
The algebraic sign of acceleration
When the velocity of a moving object increases, that is viewed as positive acceleration. When the velocity
of the object decreases, that is viewed as negative acceleration.
Uniform or variable acceleration
Acceleration may be uniform or variable. It is uniform only if equal changes in velocity occur in equal
intervals of time.
A vector quantity
Acceleration has both direction and magnitude. Therefore, acceleration is a vector quantity.
The units for acceleration
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580 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

The above denition (p. 579) for acceleration leads to some interesting units for acceleration. For
example, consider a situation in which the velocity of an object changes by 5 feet/second in a one-second
time interval. Writing this as an algebraic expression gives us
(5 feet/second)/second
Multiplying the numerator and the denominator of the fraction by 1/second gives us
5 feet/(second*second)
This is often written as
5 feet/second^2
which is pronounced ve feet per second squared.

2.9.3.3 The acceleration of gravity

The exercises in the remainder of this module are based on the following two assumptions:

• For practical purposes, the eect of the acceleration of gravity is the same regardless of the height of
an object above the surface of the earth, provided that the distance above the surface of the earth is
small relative to the radius of the earth.
• In the absence of an atmosphere, all objects fall toward the earth with the same acceleration regardless
of their masses.

Let's examine the validity of these two assumptions.

Newton's law of universal gravitation
This law 32 states that every point mass in the universe attracts every other point mass with a force
that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them. (Separately it has been shown that large spherically symmetrical masses attract and
are attracted as if all their mass were concentrated at their centers.)
Eect of gravity versus altitude
An object at the surface of the earth is approximately 3963 miles from the center of the earth. An object
that is six miles above the surface of the earth (typical ying altitude for a passenger plane) is approximately
3969 miles from the center of the earth.
Therefore, (if I didn't make an arithmetic error) the gravitational attraction between the earth and that
object changes by less than 0.5 percent when the object is transported from the surface of the earth to a
position that is six miles above the surface of the earth.
For practical purposes, therefore, we can assume that the acceleration of gravity is constant up to at least
32000 feet above the surface of the earth.
Acceleration is independent of mass
Newton's law, as applied to the gravitational attraction of the earth, expressed in algebraic terms, looks
something like the following :
f =E*m/d^2
where

• f is the attractive force between the earth and another object

• E is the mass of the earth
• m is the mass of the other object
• d is the distance between the center of mass of the earth and the center of mass of the other object

Force equals mass times acceleration

It is a well-known principle of physics that an object that is free to move will move and will accelerate
when subjected to a force. The acceleration of the object will be proportional to the force and inversely
proportional to its mass. In other words,
a = f/m
where
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 581

• a is the acceleration in units such as meters/sec^2

• f is force in units such as kilograms*meters/sec^2 (newtons)
• m is mass in units such as kilograms

By multiplying both sides of the equation by m, we get a more common presentation of this relationship,
which is
f = m*a
where the symbols mean the same as listed above (p. 580) .
A ratio of two dierent forces of gravity
Now let's use the equation from above (p. 580) to form a ratio of the forces exerted on two dierent
masses by the earth, assuming that both masses are the same distance from the center of the earth.
f1/f2 =(E*m1/d^2)/(E*m2/d^2)
Cancel like terms to simplify
If we cancel like terms from the numerator and denominator of the expression on the right, we can
simplify the ratio to
f1/f2 = m1/m2
Replacing the forces on the left by the expression from above (p. 581) , we get
m1*a1/m2*a2 = m1/m2
Multiplying both sides by m2/m1 we get
a1/a2 = 1
or
a1 = a2
This shows that the acceleration resulting from the gravitational force exerted on two objects that are
equally distant from the center of mass of the earth is the same regardless of the dierences in mass of the
two objects.

2.9.4 Discussion and sample code

I will present and explain several dierent scenarios based on the above assumptions in this section.

2.9.4.1 Variable velocity exercise #1

An archer that is six feet tall shoots an arrow directly upward with a velocity of 100 feet per second. Assume
the arrow is at a height of 6 feet when it leaves the bow. Also ignore the eects of air resistance.
Plot height versus time
Use your graph paper and plot the height of the arrow on the vertical axis versus time on the horizontal
axis. Plot one point each 0.25 seconds. Allow for a maximum time value of about 7 seconds and a maximum
height value of about 165 feet.
Your plot should look something like the curve in Image 1 (p. 582) .

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582 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 1: Graph for variable velocity exercise #1.

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 583

Create a script
Let's analyze this situation using a script. Copy the code shown in Listing 1 (p. 584) into an html le
and open the le in your browser.

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584 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 1: Variable velocity exercise #1.

<!---------------- File JavaScript01.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/>");

//Declare and initialize constants

var g = -32.2;//acceleration of gravity in ft/(sec*sec)
var v0 = 100;//initial velocity in ft/sec
var h0 = 6;//initial height in feet
var tInc = 0.25;//calculation interval in seconds

//Declare and initialize working variables

var t = .0001;//current time in seconds
var h = h0;//current height in feet

//The following variable is used to insert spaces in

// the output display.
var sp = "&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"

//Compute and display various values for as long as the

// height of the projectile is above the ground.
while(h > 0){
//This is the general equation for the height of a
// projectile under the influence of gravity in a
// vacuum.
h = h0 + v0*t +0.5*g*t*t;

//Display the information for this iteration

document.write(
"t = " + t.toFixed(2) + " seconds" + sp +
" h = " + h.toFixed(1) + " feet" + sp +
"<br/>");

//Increment the time for the next iteration.

t = t + tInc;
}//end while loop

document.write("End Script");

</script>
</body></html>

2.91

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 585

Screen output
The text shown in Image 2 (p. 585) should appear in your browser window when you open the html le
in your browser.

Image 2: Screen output for Listing #1.

Start Script
t = 0.00 seconds h = 6.0 feet
t = 0.25 seconds h = 30.0 feet
t = 0.50 seconds h = 52.0 feet
t = 0.75 seconds h = 72.0 feet
t = 1.00 seconds h = 89.9 feet
t = 1.25 seconds h = 105.8 feet
t = 1.50 seconds h = 119.8 feet
t = 1.75 seconds h = 131.7 feet
t = 2.00 seconds h = 141.6 feet
t = 2.25 seconds h = 149.5 feet
t = 2.50 seconds h = 155.4 feet
t = 2.75 seconds h = 159.2 feet
t = 3.00 seconds h = 161.1 feet
t = 3.25 seconds h = 160.9 feet
t = 3.50 seconds h = 158.8 feet
t = 3.75 seconds h = 154.6 feet
t = 4.00 seconds h = 148.4 feet
t = 4.25 seconds h = 140.2 feet
t = 4.50 seconds h = 130.0 feet
t = 4.75 seconds h = 117.7 feet
t = 5.00 seconds h = 103.5 feet
t = 5.25 seconds h = 87.2 feet
t = 5.50 seconds h = 69.0 feet
t = 5.75 seconds h = 48.7 feet
t = 6.00 seconds h = 26.4 feet
t = 6.25 seconds h = 2.1 feet
t = 6.50 seconds h = -24.2 feet
End Script

2.92

Analysis of the output

Your curve should begin at a height of 6 feet and the height should increase on a point-by-point basis out
to about 3 seconds. The maximum height should occur around 3 seconds and should then start decreasing.
The height should go to zero between 6.25 seconds and 6.5 seconds.
Not a trip to outer space
As you are probably aware, shooting an arrow upward does not cause the arrow to go into outer space,
unless the arrow is self-propelled and manages to reach a velocity commonly known as the "escape velocity."
Instead, for any practical value of initial velocity (neglecting air resistance), gravitational attraction will
eventually cause the arrow to slow down, reverse course, and fall back to earth with continually increasing

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586 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

velocity until it strikes the earth and stops. That is the message conveyed by the plot of height in Image 1
(p. 582) and the output from the script shown in Image 2 (p. 585) .
The maximum height
At about 3 seconds and a height of about 161 feet, the kinetic energy provided by the initial velocity
will have been dissipated by the gravitational attraction of the earth. At that point, the arrow won't go any
higher. Instead, it will start falling back toward the earth. Somewhere around 6.25 seconds, it will strike
the earth.
The shape of the curve
The shape of this curve is controlled by only two factors: the initial velocity of the arrow and the
gravitational attraction of the earth. The archer has some degree of control over the initial velocity, but has
no control over the gravitational attraction of the earth.
In theory, in the absence of an atmosphere, if the arrow is shot straight up, the arrow should land in the
same place from which it was shot. In practice in the real world, wind and other factors would probably
prevent that from happening.
Variable velocity
We learned in an earlier module that if velocity is uniform, the displacement should be the same during
each successive equal interval of time. However, we can see from Image 2 (p. 585) that is not true in this
case. For example, Image 3 (p. 586) shows the displacement versus time for the rst ve time intervals and
we can see that it is anything but uniform.

Image 3: Displacement versus time for rst ve time intervals.

Interval Displacement
1 24
2 22
3 20
4 17.9
5 15.9

2.93

Successively decreasing or increasing displacement

Referring back to Image 2 (p. 585) (along with Image 3 (p. 586) ), we see that the displacement during
the rst 0.25 second time interval was 24 feet, but the displacement between 2.75 seconds and 3.0 seconds
was only 1.9 feet, Furthermore, the displacement was -0.2 feet during the interval between 3 seconds and
3.25 seconds indicating that the arrow had begun falling back to the earth.
As you can see in Image 2 (p. 585) , from that point until contact with the ground, the displacement
increased during each 0.25 second interval.
In this case, the velocity clearly wasn't uniform. Instead it was variable. The velocity decreased as the
arrow was going up, and increased as the arrow was falling back down.
Measuring variable velocity in the real world
Measuring variable velocity in the real world can be dicult. What you need to do is to measure the
displacement of an object in as short a time interval as possible and then divide the displacement by the value
of the time interval. If you can do this at enough points in time, you can construct curves that represent the
variable velocity to which the object is being subjected.
Estimating variable velocity graphically

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 587

Assuming that you are able to create a plot of displacement versus time at closely-spaced points, you can
estimate the variable velocity curve by connecting each pair of points with a straight line and measuring the
slope of each such straight line segment. An estimate of the velocity during the interval dened by a pair of
points is the slope of the line that connects those points. The closer the points are, the better will be the
estimate of the velocity at a point half way between those two points.
In the situation where you are able to collect enough data to draw a smooth curve of displacement versus
time, the instantaneous velocity at any point on that curve is the slope of a line that is tangent to the curve
at that point. Note, however, that the construction of such a tangent line is dicult.
Units of velocity
If may recall from your high school geometry course that the slope of a line is given by the "rise over
run." In other words, the slope of the line is the ratio of the height to the base of a right triangle for which
the hypotenuse is on or parallel to the line.
Estimate some variable velocity values
At this point, I encourage you to use an object with a straight edge, place it rmly on two points that
dene a time interval on your graph, estimate the slope of the edge, and record that slope as your estimate
of the velocity at the center of that time interval. We will do something similar in our script.
Explanation of the code
The code in Listing 1 (p. 584) begins by declaring and initializing values to contain the parameters of
the problem:

• The acceleration of gravity in feet/sec^2. Note that this value is negative indicating that the gravita-
tional attraction is toward the center of the earth (down).
• The initial velocity of the arrow in feet/sec. This value is positive because the direction of velocity is
away from the center of the earth (up).
• The height of the arrow when it is released, positive values meaning up from the ground.
• The time interval at which successive estimates of the height of the arrow will be computed.

Working variables
Following that, the code in Listing 1 (p. 584) declares and initializes two working variables for time and
distance that will change as the program progresses.
Then Listing 1 (p. 584) declares and initializes a variable named sp that is used solely to insert spaces
between the columns in the output display.
A while loop
A while loop is used to evaluate the equation given earlier (p. 579) , to compute and display the height
of the arrow every 0.25 seconds for as long as the arrow is above the ground (height is positive). The loop
continues to iterate and display time and height values in two separate columns (see Image 2 (p. 585) ) until
the computation produces one negative height value.
When the test at the top of the while loop determines that the previously-computed value for height
was negative,

• the body of the loop is skipped,

• the "End Script" message is displayed, and
• the script terminates.

This is not a complicated script in comparison with some of the scripts that were presented in earlier modules.
Given the output shown in Image 2 (p. 585) , you should be able to estimate and plot the velocity of the
arrow on the same graph by dividing the displacement during each time interval by the value of the time
interval.

2.9.4.2 Variable velocity exercise #2

Estimating variable velocity with a computer model
Let's write a script that approximates the graphic procedure that I described above.

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588 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Copy the code from Listing 2 (p. 589) into an html le and open the le in your browser.

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 589

Listing 2: Variable velocity exercise #2.

<!---------------- File JavaScript2.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/>");

//Declare and initialize constants

var g = -32.2;//acceleration of gravity in ft/sec/sec
var v0 = 100;//initial velocity in ft/sec
var h0 = 6;//initial height in feet
var tInc = 0.25;//calculation interval in seconds

//Declare and initialize working variables

var t = .0001;//current time in seconds
var h = h0;//current height in feet
var v = 0;//current velocity in feet/sec

var oldT = 0;//previous time in seconds

var delT = 0;//change in time in seconds

var oldH = h0;//previous height in feet

var delH = 0;//change in height in feet

//The following variable is used to insert spaces in

// the output display.
var sp = "&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"

//Compute and display various values for as long as the

// height of the projectile is above the ground.
while(h > 0){
//This is the general equation for the height of a
// projectile under the influence of gravity in a
// vacuum.
h = h0 + v0*t +0.5*g*t*t;

//Compute and save the time interval since the

// previous estimate of height, etc.
delT = t-oldT;
oldT = t;//Save the current time for the next iteration

//Estimate the velocity based on the change in

// height since the previous estimate.
delH = h-oldH;
v = delH/delT;//compute velocity
oldH = h;//Save the current height for the next iteration.

//Display the information for this iteration

document.write(
"t = " + t.toFixed(2) + " seconds" + sp +
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+
" v = " + v.toFixed(2) + " feet/second" + sp +
"<br/>");
590 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Screen output
The text shown in Image 4 (p. 590) should appear in your browser window when the html le opens in
your browser.

Image 4: Screen output for Listing #2.

Start Script
t = 0.00 seconds h = 6.0 feet v = 100.00 feet/second
t = 0.25 seconds h = 30.0 feet v = 95.97 feet/second
t = 0.50 seconds h = 52.0 feet v = 87.92 feet/second
t = 0.75 seconds h = 72.0 feet v = 79.87 feet/second
t = 1.00 seconds h = 89.9 feet v = 71.82 feet/second
t = 1.25 seconds h = 105.8 feet v = 63.77 feet/second
t = 1.50 seconds h = 119.8 feet v = 55.72 feet/second
t = 1.75 seconds h = 131.7 feet v = 47.67 feet/second
t = 2.00 seconds h = 141.6 feet v = 39.62 feet/second
t = 2.25 seconds h = 149.5 feet v = 31.57 feet/second
t = 2.50 seconds h = 155.4 feet v = 23.52 feet/second
t = 2.75 seconds h = 159.2 feet v = 15.47 feet/second
t = 3.00 seconds h = 161.1 feet v = 7.42 feet/second
t = 3.25 seconds h = 160.9 feet v = -0.63 feet/second
t = 3.50 seconds h = 158.8 feet v = -8.68 feet/second
t = 3.75 seconds h = 154.6 feet v = -16.73 feet/second
t = 4.00 seconds h = 148.4 feet v = -24.78 feet/second
t = 4.25 seconds h = 140.2 feet v = -32.83 feet/second
t = 4.50 seconds h = 130.0 feet v = -40.88 feet/second
t = 4.75 seconds h = 117.7 feet v = -48.93 feet/second
t = 5.00 seconds h = 103.5 feet v = -56.98 feet/second
t = 5.25 seconds h = 87.2 feet v = -65.03 feet/second
t = 5.50 seconds h = 69.0 feet v = -73.08 feet/second
t = 5.75 seconds h = 48.7 feet v = -81.13 feet/second
t = 6.00 seconds h = 26.4 feet v = -89.18 feet/second
t = 6.25 seconds h = 2.1 feet v = -97.23 feet/second
t = 6.50 seconds h = -24.2 feet v = -105.28 feet/second
End Script

2.95

A graphical representation of velocity

The velocity values shown in Image 4 (p. 590) are plotted in Image 1 (p. 582) along with the height
values and the acceleration values, which will be computed shortly..
Analysis of the results
The dierence between Image 2 (p. 585) and Image 4 (p. 590) is the addition of a column of velocity
information on the right in Image 4 (p. 590) . As you can see, the velocity begins with a positive value of
100 feet/second at the top of the velocity column.
The velocity goes to zero somewhere between 3 and 3.25 seconds, which is the point where the height of
the arrow reaches its maximum.

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 591

At 3.25 seconds, the velocity switches from positive to negative meaning that the arrow begins falling
back toward the earth. The velocity reaches -100 feet/second somewhere between 6.25 and 6.5 seconds,
which is about the same time that the arrow hits the ground.
Hopefully you have recognized that the velocity curve for this particular situation is a straight line with
a negative slope. That straight line crosses the horizontal axis going from positive territory into negative
territory about half way between the original release of the arrow and the point where the arrow strikes the
ground.
Analysis of the code
A comparison of Listing 2 (p. 589) with Listing 1 (p. 584) shows the addition of the following variables:

• var oldT = 0; //previous time in seconds

• var delT = 0; //change in time in seconds
• var oldH = h0; //previous height in feet
• var delH = 0; //change in height in feet

Save values for use in next iteration

As you will see when I get into an explanation of the while loop, the variables oldT and oldH are
used to save the time value and the height value during each iteration to make those values available during
the next iteration.
Compute changes in time and height
Inside the while loop, the current value of t and the value stored in oldT are used to compute the
change in time since the previous iteration. The current value of h and the value stored in oldH are used
to compute the change in height since the previous iteration. These change values are saved in the variables
named delT and delH .
Velocity is the ratio of the changes
In this case, the value in delH represents the displacement of the arrow during the time interval and
the value stored in delT represents the length of the time interval. As you already know, the velocity is
the ratio of those two values. The value for velocity is computed along with the time and the height and
then the script executes the next iteration of the while loop.
The while loop
The while loop in Listing 2 (p. 589) begins the same as in Listing 1 (p. 584) . After the new height
value is computed, the script performs the computations described above to estimate and display the velocity
for the time interval since the previous iteration.
In addition, the script saves the current values of t and h in oldT and oldH to be used to estimate
the velocity during the next iteration of the while loop.
Finally, the time value is increased by the value stored in the variable named tInc , and control goes
back to the top of the loop where the current value of height is tested to determine if it has become negative
(meaning that the arrow has hit the ground).

2.9.4.3 Acceleration of gravity exercise #1

To repeat the earlier denition, acceleration is the rate of change of velocity.
You learned earlier that velocity is the rate of change of position. Then you learned that we can estimate
the velocity of a moving object at a point in time by determining the slope of a curve that plots the position
of the object versus time at that particular point in time.
Positive and negative velocity
Positive slopes indicate positive velocity and negative slopes indicate negative velocity. In the case of our
arrow, the velocity went to zero and switched from positive to negative at the point where the arrow reached
its maximum height and began to fall back toward the earth. In a math class, that point would likely be
referred to as an inection point on the curve of position versus time.
Estimating acceleration

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592 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

We can extend that procedure to estimate the acceleration of a moving object at a point in time by
determining the slope of a curve that plots the velocity of the object versus time at that particular point in
time. Positive slopes indicate positive acceleration and negative slopes indicate negative acceleration.
Estimate some velocity values graphically
If you have the velocity curve from Image 4 (p. 590) plotted on your graph, I recommend that you
estimate and record the slope and hence the acceleration at a few points. That should be easy to do in this
case, because the velocity curve should be a straight line with a negative slope.
A constant acceleration value
If the velocity curve is a straight line with a negative slope, and if the acceleration at any point in
time is equal to the slope of the velocity curve, that means that the acceleration has a constant negative
value throughout the time interval of interest. In fact, you should nd that the value of the acceleration is
approximately -32.2 feet/second^2, which is known as the acceleration of gravity .
Create a script
Copy the code from Listing 3 (p. 593) into an html le and open that le in your browser.

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 593

Listing 3: Acceleration of gravity exercise #1.

<!---------------- File JavaScript99.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/>");

//Declare and initialize constants

var g = -32.2;//acceleration of gravity in ft/(sec*sec)
var v0 = 100;//initial velocity in ft/sec
var h0 = 6;//initial height in feet
var tInc = 0.25;//calculation interval in seconds

//Declare and initialize working variables

var t = .0001;//current time in seconds
var h = h0;//current height in feet
var v = 0;//current velocity in feet/sec
var a = 0;//current acceleration in feet/(sec*sec)

var oldT = 0;//previous time in seconds

var delT = 0;//change in time in seconds

var oldH = h0;//previous height in feet

var delH = 0;//change in height in feet

var oldV = 0;//previous velocity in feet/sec

var delV = 0;//change in velocity in feet/sec

//The following variable is used to insert spaces in

// the output display.
var sp = "&nbsp;&nbsp;";

//Compute and display various values for as long as the

// height of the projectile is above the ground.
while(h > 0){
//This is the general equation for the height of a
// projectile under the influence of gravity in a
// vacuum.
h = h0 + v0*t +0.5*g*t*t;

//Compute and save the time interval since the

// previous estimate of height, etc.
delT = t-oldT;
oldT = t;//Save the current time for the next iteration.

//Estimate the velocity based on the change in

// height since the previous estimate.
delH = h-oldH;
v = delH/delT;//compute velocity
oldH = h;//Save the current height for the next iteration.

Available for freebased

//Estimate the acceleration at Connexions
on the<http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
change in
// velocity once the data pipeline is full.
delV = v - oldV;
oldV = v;//Save the current velocity for the next iteration.
594 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Screen output
The text shown in Image 5 (p. 594) should appear in your browser window when the html le is opened
in your browser.

Image 5: Screen output for Listing #3.

Start Script
t = 0.00 sec h = 6 ft v = 100.00 ft/sec a = 0.00 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 0.25 sec h = 30 ft v = 95.97 ft/sec a = 0.00 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 0.50 sec h = 52 ft v = 87.92 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 0.75 sec h = 72 ft v = 79.87 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 1.00 sec h = 90 ft v = 71.82 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 1.25 sec h = 106 ft v = 63.77 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 1.50 sec h = 120 ft v = 55.72 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 1.75 sec h = 132 ft v = 47.67 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 2.00 sec h = 142 ft v = 39.62 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 2.25 sec h = 149 ft v = 31.57 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 2.50 sec h = 155 ft v = 23.52 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 2.75 sec h = 159 ft v = 15.47 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 3.00 sec h = 161 ft v = 7.42 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 3.25 sec h = 161 ft v = -0.63 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 3.50 sec h = 159 ft v = -8.68 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 3.75 sec h = 155 ft v = -16.73 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 4.00 sec h = 148 ft v = -24.78 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 4.25 sec h = 140 ft v = -32.83 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 4.50 sec h = 130 ft v = -40.88 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 4.75 sec h = 118 ft v = -48.93 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 5.00 sec h = 103 ft v = -56.98 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 5.25 sec h = 87 ft v = -65.03 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 5.50 sec h = 69 ft v = -73.08 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 5.75 sec h = 49 ft v = -81.13 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 6.00 sec h = 26 ft v = -89.18 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 6.25 sec h = 2 ft v = -97.23 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
t = 6.50 sec h = -24 ft v = -105.28 ft/sec a = -32.20 ft/(sec*sec)
End Script

2.97

A graphical representation of acceleration

The acceleration values shown in Image 5 (p. 594) are plotted in Image 1 (p. 582) along with the height
values and the velocity values.
Analysis of the results
The main dierence between Image 5 (p. 594) and Image 4 (p. 590) is the addition of an acceleration
column on the right in Image 5 (p. 594) . (In addition, I abbreviated feet and seconds as ft and sec, and
reduced the space between columns to make it all t in the available space.)
Except for the rst two values at the top of the acceleration column, every acceleration value is -32.2
ft/(sec*sec). This is what we predicted earlier when we observed that the velocity curve is a straight line

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 595

with a constant negative slope. (Note that the procedure used to estimate the acceleration did not allow for
an accurate estimate of acceleration for the rst two values in the acceleration column.)
Free fall
According to Wikipedia 33 , free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon
it.
Since this denition does not specify velocity, it also applies to objects initially moving upward (which is
the case with our arrow that was shot upward).
Free fall was demonstrated on the moon by astronaut David Scott on August 2, 1971. He simultaneously
released a hammer and a feather from the same height above the moon's surface. The hammer and the feather
both fell at the same rate and hit the ground at the same time. This demonstrated Galileo's discovery that
in the absence of air resistance, all objects experience the same acceleration due to gravity.
By the way, it is no accident that the value shown for acceleration in Image 4 (p. 590) matches the value
specied for the acceleration of gravity near the beginning of the code in Listing 3 (p. 593) .
Analysis of the code
The code in Listing 3 (p. 593) is very similar to the code in Listing 2 (p. 589) with the addition of the
code necessary to estimate the acceleration values on the basis of the slope of the velocity curve.
The code that estimates the acceleration in Listing 3 (p. 593) is so similar to the code that estimates the
velocity in Listing 2 (p. 589) that I won't bore you by explaining the code in detail.
However, there is one bit of new code that is worthy of note. Without going into detail as to the reasons
why, this procedure is incapable of accurately estimating the slope of the velocity curve during the rst two
time intervals. Therefore, an if statement was written into the while loop to force the acceleration
estimate to be zero for the rst two time intervals.

2.9.4.4 Acceleration of gravity exercise #2

In the previous exercises, the arrow was shot straight up in the air. However, that is rarely the case.
Normally, an arrow is shot in an attempt to strike a target some horizontal distance away.
A more realistic scenario
Let's modify our scenario such that the archer shoots the arrow with an initial velocity of 100 feet per
second at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the horizontal axis. We will compute and plot the horizontal and
vertical position of the arrow at uniform increments in time from the beginning to the end of its trajectory.
Motion of a projectile with uniform acceleration
The following equation describes the straight-line motion of a projectile with uniform acceleration .
d = v0*t +0.5*a*t^2
where

• d is distance in units of distance

• v0 is the initial velocity in units of distance/time
• t is time in units of time
• a is acceleration in units of distance/time^2

As usual, the units for distance, time, velocity, and acceleration must be consistent with one another.
Shooting the arrow straight up
If we shoot an arrow straight up, as was the case in the previous exercises, the initial velocity doesn't have
a horizontal component. Instead, the initial velocity has only a vertical component and the corresponding
motion of the arrow has only a vertical component. In other words, the arrow goes straight up and it comes
down in the same spot.
Shooting the arrow other than straight up
However, if we shoot the arrow in a direction other than straight up or straight down, the initial velocity
has both a vertical component and a horizontal component. Therefore, the resulting motion has both a
vertical component and a horizontal component.
33 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_fall#Uniform_gravitational_eld_without_air_resistance

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596 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

To determine the position of the arrow at some time after it is released, we must determine both the
vertical and the horizontal component of its motion.
Compute vertical and horizontal components independently
The equation given above (p. 595) can be used to compute the vertical and horizontal components of
motion independently of one another. This approach can be used to give us the position as a function of
time along each axis. We can then use that information to determine and plot the position of the arrow in
x-y space at one or more points in time.
Vertical and horizontal motion components are independent
It is important to understand that the vertical and horizontal components of motion are independent of
one another. In other words, changing the vertical component of motion doesn't eect the horizontal motion
and changing the horizontal component of motion doesn't eect the vertical motion. The overall motion
seen by an observer is the superposition of the two.
Create a script
Please copy the code shown in Listing 4 (p. 597) into an html le and open the le in your browser.

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 597

Listing 4: Acceleration of gravity exercise #2.

<!---------------- File JavaScript04.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/>");

//Define common parameters

var ang = 45;//firing angle degrees re the horizontal
var tInc = 0.25;//calculation interval in seconds
var v0 = 100;//initial velocity in ft/sec

//Define horizontal parameters

var ax = 0;//horizontal acceleration
var vx0 = v0*Math.cos(
ang*Math.PI/180);//component of initial velocity in ft/sec
var x0 = 0;//initial x-offset in feet

//Define vertical parameters

var ay = -32.2;//vertical acceleration in ft/sec*sec
var vy0 = v0*Math.sin(
ang*Math.PI/180);//component of initial velocity in ft/sec
var y0 = 6;//initial height in feet

//Declare and initialize working variables

var t = .0001;//current time in seconds
var x = x0;//current x in feet
var y = y0;//current height in feet

//The following variable is used to insert spaces in

// the output display.
var sp = "&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"

//Compute and display the horizontal and vertical

// positions of the projectile at uniform increments
// of time
while(y > 0){
//These are the general equations for the straight-
// line motion of a projectile under the influence
// of uniform acceleration in a vacuum.
y = y0 + vy0*t + 0.5*ay*t*t;
x = x0 + vx0*t + 0.5*ax*t*t;

//Display the information for this iteration

document.write(
"t = " + t.toFixed(2) + " seconds" + sp +
" x = " + x.toFixed(1) + " feet" + sp +
" y = " + y.toFixed(1) + " feet" + sp +
"<br/>");

//Increment the time for the next iteration.

t = t + tInc; Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>
}//end while loop

document.write("End Script");
598 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Screen output
The text shown in Image 6 (p. 598) should appear in your browser when you open the html le in your
browser.

Image 6: Screen output for Listing #4 at 45 degrees.

Start Script
t = 0.00 seconds x = 0.0 feet y = 6.0 feet
t = 0.25 seconds x = 17.7 feet y = 22.7 feet
t = 0.50 seconds x = 35.4 feet y = 37.3 feet
t = 0.75 seconds x = 53.0 feet y = 50.0 feet
t = 1.00 seconds x = 70.7 feet y = 60.6 feet
t = 1.25 seconds x = 88.4 feet y = 69.2 feet
t = 1.50 seconds x = 106.1 feet y = 75.8 feet
t = 1.75 seconds x = 123.8 feet y = 80.4 feet
t = 2.00 seconds x = 141.4 feet y = 83.0 feet
t = 2.25 seconds x = 159.1 feet y = 83.6 feet
t = 2.50 seconds x = 176.8 feet y = 82.2 feet
t = 2.75 seconds x = 194.5 feet y = 78.7 feet
t = 3.00 seconds x = 212.1 feet y = 73.2 feet
t = 3.25 seconds x = 229.8 feet y = 65.8 feet
t = 3.50 seconds x = 247.5 feet y = 56.3 feet
t = 3.75 seconds x = 265.2 feet y = 44.8 feet
t = 4.00 seconds x = 282.8 feet y = 31.2 feet
t = 4.25 seconds x = 300.5 feet y = 15.7 feet
t = 4.50 seconds x = 318.2 feet y = -1.8 feet
End Script

2.99

A graphical representation of the trajectory

Image 7 (p. 599) shows the trajectory of the arrow for ring angles of 45 degrees and 60 degrees. The
vertical axis shows the height in feet and the horizontal axis shows the ight distance in feet.

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 599

Image 7: Trajectory for two dierent ring angles.

2.100

Analysis of the output

Image 6 (p. 598) shows the x and y coordinates of the arrow's position every 0.25 seconds from the time
that it is released until it strikes the ground a little less than 4.5 seconds later. This is the data for the case
where the ring angle was 45 degrees.
Compute for a dierent angle
Next, I recommend that you modify the script by changing the value of the variable named ang from 45
degrees to 60 degrees and load the modied version of the html le into your browser. This should produce
the output shown in Image 8 (p. 600) . This output is also plotted in Image 7 (p. 599) .
Which arrow went higher?
Which arrow went further along the horizontal axis?

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600 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Image 8: Screen output for Listing #4 at 60 degrees.

Start Script
t = 0.00 seconds x = 0.0 feet y = 6.0 feet
t = 0.25 seconds x = 12.5 feet y = 26.7 feet
t = 0.50 seconds x = 25.0 feet y = 45.3 feet
t = 0.75 seconds x = 37.5 feet y = 61.9 feet
t = 1.00 seconds x = 50.0 feet y = 76.5 feet
t = 1.25 seconds x = 62.5 feet y = 89.1 feet
t = 1.50 seconds x = 75.0 feet y = 99.7 feet
t = 1.75 seconds x = 87.5 feet y = 108.3 feet
t = 2.00 seconds x = 100.0 feet y = 114.8 feet
t = 2.25 seconds x = 112.5 feet y = 119.4 feet
t = 2.50 seconds x = 125.0 feet y = 121.9 feet
t = 2.75 seconds x = 137.5 feet y = 122.4 feet
t = 3.00 seconds x = 150.0 feet y = 120.9 feet
t = 3.25 seconds x = 162.5 feet y = 117.4 feet
t = 3.50 seconds x = 175.0 feet y = 111.9 feet
t = 3.75 seconds x = 187.5 feet y = 104.3 feet
t = 4.00 seconds x = 200.0 feet y = 94.8 feet
t = 4.25 seconds x = 212.5 feet y = 83.2 feet
t = 4.50 seconds x = 225.0 feet y = 69.7 feet
t = 4.75 seconds x = 237.5 feet y = 54.1 feet
t = 5.00 seconds x = 250.0 feet y = 36.5 feet
t = 5.25 seconds x = 262.5 feet y = 16.9 feet
t = 5.50 seconds x = 275.0 feet y = -4.7 feet
End Script

2.101

Perhaps you could do the same thing for some other launch angles and determine which launch angle
provides the greatest horizontal range and which launch angle provides the greatest vertical height.
For example, how far does the arrow y when launched at an angle of 0 degrees from a height of 6 feet?
Analysis of the code
The code in this script treats the horizontal and vertical components of motion independently and uses
the equation given above (p. 595) to determine the position along that axis as a function of time every 0.25
seconds.
Common parameter values
The code in Listing 4 (p. 597) begins by dening common parameter values for the ring angle, the time
increment at which coordinate values will be computed and displayed, and the initial velocity of the arrow
in the ring direction.
Horizontal and vertical parameters
Following that, the code in Listing 4 (p. 597) denes horizontal parameters and vertical parameters that
will be used to compute the horizontal and vertical components of motion respectively.
Horizontal acceleration
The horizontal acceleration is set to zero. In the absence of air resistance, there is nothing to cause the
horizontal component of the arrow to speed up or slow down until it stops suddenly when it hits the ground.

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 601

Vertical acceleration
The vertical acceleration is set to the acceleration of gravity at the surface of the earth, which is the same
value used for the previous exercises in this module.
Decompose the initial velocity
The cosine and sine functions are used to decompose the initial velocity into horizontal and vertical
components of velocity.
Initial horizontal and vertical positions
Finally, the horizontal position when the arrow is released is set to 0 and the vertical position is set to 6
feet, approximately the height of the release point for an archer that is six feet tall.
Working variables
After dening the horizontal and vertical parameters, the code in Listing 4 (p. 597) declares working
variables for time, horizontal position (x), and vertical position (y).
A while loop
A while loop is used to iterate for as long as the arrow is above the ground.
During each iteration, the equation given above (p. 595) is evaluated twice, once to determine the height
of the arrow and once to determine the horizontal position of the arrow at the current time.
Time starts at 0, and increments by +0.25 seconds during each iteration.
The document.write method is called inside the while loop to display the results shown in Image 6
(p. 598) .

2.9.4.5 Acceleration of gravity exercise #3

A quadratic equation
Now let's turn things around and approach the problem from a dierent viewpoint. If we subtract d
from both sides of the motion equation given above (p. 595) , replace a by g to avoid confusion later,
and then rearrange the terms, we get the following equation :
0.5*g*t^2+v0*t-d = 0
where

• d is distance in units of distance

• v0 is the initial velocity in units of distance/time
• t is time in units of time
• g is acceleration in units of distance/time^2

In this form, you may recognize this as a standard quadratic equation which is often written as
a*t^2 + b*t + c = 0
(Now you know why I replaced the acceleration term a by the acceleration term g earlier. I need to
use the symbol a in the standard quadratic equation.)
Standard solution for a quadratic equation
Given values for a, b, and c, you should know that the solution for determining the values for t is to nd
the roots of the equation.
There are two roots (hence two values for t). You should also know that the two roots can be found by
evaluating the quadratic formula in two forms.
t1 = (-b+Math.sqrt(b*b-4*a*c))/(2*a);
t2 = (-b-Math.sqrt(b*b-4*a*c))/(2*a);
Using the solution
Relating the coecients in the standard motion equation (p. 601) to the coecients in the standard
quadratic equation (p. 601) gives us:

• a = 0.5*g
• b = v0
• c = -d

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602 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

The scenario
Let's use the scenario posed in the rst exercise (p. 581) in this module. In this scenario, an archer that
is six feet tall shoots an arrow directly upward with a velocity of 100 feet per second. Assume that the arrow
is at a height of 6 feet when it leaves the bow. Also ignore the eects of air resistance.
Referring back to Image 1...
We learned from the table in Image 2 (p. 585) that the arrow was at a height of 89.9 feet at 1 second
on the way up from the surface of the earth, and was at a height of 89.9 feet again on the way down at
approximately 5.2 seconds.
Let's pretend that we don't have the table in Image 1 (p. 585) and write a script that uses the quadratic
form of the standard motion equation (p. 601) along with the quadratic formula (p. 601) to compute the
times that the arrow was at a height of 89.9 feet.
Do it also for the moon
To make the problem even more interesting, let's also cause the script to compute and display the times
that the arrow was at a height of 89.9 feet assuming that the archer was standing on the surface of the moon
instead of the earth.
An issue involving the initial height
The standard motion equation (p. 601) can be used to compute the time that the arrow has traveled to
any specic height, relative to the height from which it was released. Therefore, since the arrow was released
from a height of 6 feet and it initially traveled up, we need to determine the time at which it had traveled
83.9 feet to nd the time that it was actually at 89.9 feet.
The JavaScript code
Please copy the code from Listing 5 (p. 603) into an html le and open the le in your browser.

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

 603

Listing 5: Acceleration of gravity exercise #3.

<!---------------- File JavaScript05.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/><br/>");

//The purpose of the getRoots function is to compute and

// return the roots of a quadratic equation expressed in
// the format
// a*x^2 + b*x + c = 0
//The roots are returned in the elements of a two-element
// array. If the roots are imaginary, the function
// returns NaN for the value of each root.
function getRoots(a,b,c){
var roots = new Array(2);
roots[0] = (-b+Math.sqrt(b*b-4*a*c))/(2*a);
roots[1] = (-b-Math.sqrt(b*b-4*a*c))/(2*a);
return roots;
}//end getRoots

//Initialize the problem parameters.

var gE = -32.2;//gravity in ft/sec*sec on Earth
var gM = -32.2*0.167;//gravity in ft/sec*sec on the Moon
var v0 = 100;//initial velocity in ft/sec
var d0 = 6;//initial height in feet
var d = 89.9-d0;//target height corrected for initial height

//Equate problem parameters to coefficients in a

// standard quadratic equation.
var a = 0.5*gE;
var b = v0;
var c = -d;

//Solve the quadratic formula for the two times at which the
// height matches the target height corrected for the
// initial height.
var roots = getRoots(a,b,c);

//Extract the two time values from the array.

var t1 = roots[0];//time in seconds
var t2 = roots[1];//time in seconds

//Display the results for the earth.

document.write("On Earth <br/>");
document.write("Arrow is at " + (d+d0) + " feet at " +
t1.toFixed(2) + " seconds" + "<br/>");
document.write("Arrow is at " + (d+d0) + " feet at " +
t2.toFixed(2) + " seconds" + "<br/><br/>");

//Compute and display for the moon

//Adjust the value Available
of a toforrepresent
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the acceleration
// of gravity on the moon
a = 0.5*gM;
604 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Screen output
The text shown in Image 9 (p. 604) should appear in the browser window when you open the html le
in the browser.

Image 9: Screen output for Listing #5.

Start Script

On Earth
Arrow is at 89.9 feet at 1.00 seconds
Arrow is at 89.9 feet at 5.21 seconds

On the Moon
Arrow is at 89.9 feet at 0.86 seconds
Arrow is at 89.9 feet at 36.33 seconds

End Script

2.103

A function named getRoots

The quadratic formula isn't very complicated, but it is fairly tedious and easy to type incorrectly. There-
fore, I decided to encapsulate it in a function that we can copy into future scripts saving us the need to type
it correctly in the future.
Listing 5 (p. 603) begins with the denition of a function named getRoots that receives the parameters
a, b, and c, and returns the roots of the quadratic equation in a two-element array.
Real or imaginary roots
The roots of a quadratic equation can be either real or imaginary. If the roots are imaginary, this function
simply returns NaN (not a number) for each root.
The parameters of the problem
Following the denition of the getRoots function, Listing 5 (p. 603) declares and initializes several
variables to establish the parameters of the problem, such as the acceleration of gravity on the earth and
moon, the initial velocity of the arrow, etc.
The computed height versus the target height
The target height for the problem is 89.9 feet. Note that the variable named d contains that value less
the initial height of 6 feet. Thus, the script will nd the time at which the arrow has traveled 83.9 feet on
the way up, and the time that it has traveled that same distance on the way back down.
Establish quadratic coecients
The next three lines of code use the problem parameters to establish values for the standard coecients
of a quadratic equation, a, b, and c, as described above (p. 601) . Note that at this point in the script, the
coecient named a is based on the acceleration of gravity on earth. (Later, it will be changed to reect
the acceleration of gravity on the moon.)
Get the roots of the quadratic equation
Then the script calls the getRoots function, passing a, b, and c as parameters, and stores the returned
array containing the roots in the variable named roots .
Following that, the script extracts the roots from the array and displays them as shown by the text in
the upper half of Image 9 (p. 604) .
Repeat the process for the moon

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 605

Then Listing 5 (p. 603) sets the value of the coecient named a to reect the acceleration of gravity
on the moon, repeats the process, and displays the results in the lower half of Image 9 (p. 604) .
Note that the arrow reaches the target height somewhat quicker on the moon due to the lower acceleration
of gravity, and takes much longer to arrive at the same height on the way back down to the surface of the
moon. Were we to create a chart similar to Image 2 (p. 585) for the moon, we would see that the arrow
goes much higher before turning around and falling back to the surface of the moon.

2.9.4.6 Other useful equations

You have learned how to use the following equation to solve various physics problems involving motion in a
straight line with uniform acceleration so far in this module.
h = v0*t + 0.5*g*t^2
where
• h is the distance of the projectile above the surface of the earth in units of distance
• v0 is the initial velocity of the projectile in units of distance/time
• t is time in seconds
• g is the acceleration of gravity, approximately 9.8 meters per second squared, or approximately 32.2
feet per second squared.

Some physics textbooks also list the following equations as being important .
v = v0 + g*t
v^2 = v0^2 + 2*g*h
where v is the velocity of the object and the other terms are the same as described above (p. 605) .

2.9.4.6.1 Exercise to nd the velocity

Let's do an exercise using the rst of the two equations given above (p. 605) .
An individual on the surface of the earth shoots an arrow directly upward with a velocity of 100 feet per
second. How many seconds elapse before the arrow turns and starts falling towards the surface of the earth.
Ignore the eects of air resistance.
Create a script
Please copy the code from Listing 6 (p. 606) into an html le and open the le in your browser.

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606 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 6: Exercise to nd the velocity.

<!---------------- File JavaScript06.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/><br/>");

//Initialize the problem parameters.

var g = -32.2;//gravity in ft/sec*sec on Earth
var v0 = 100;//initial velocity in ft/sec

//Given that v = v0 + g * t
//At what time does the velocity go to zero?

//Rearrange the terms in the equation.

var t = -v0/g;

//Display the results

document.write("Arrow has zero velocity at " +
t.toFixed(2) + " seconds " + "<br/>");

document.write("<br/>End Script");

</script>
</body></html>

2.104

Screen output
The text shown in Image 10 (p. 606) should appear in your browser window when you open the html le
in your browser.

Image 10: Screen output for Listing #6.

Start Script

Arrow has zero velocity at 3.11 seconds

End Script

2.105

Analysis of the code

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 607

Compared to working through the solutions to the previous exercises, this one seems almost trivial.
After establishing values for the acceleration of gravity and the initial velocity of the arrow, the code in
Listing 6 (p. 606) rearranges the rst equation given above (p. 605) and solves for the value of time at which
the velocity goes to zero. This is the point in time when the arrow turns from moving up and begins falling
back toward the earth.
The results are shown in Image 10 (p. 606) . You should compare this result with Image 1 (p. 582) ,
which shows that the arrow reaches its maximum height at approximately 3 seconds, which agrees very well
with the result shown in Image 10 (p. 606) .

2.9.4.6.2 Exercise to nd the height

Let's do an exercise using the second of the two equations given above (p. 605) .
An individual that is six feet tall standing on the surface of the earth shoots an arrow directly upward
with a velocity of 100 feet per second. What is the maximum height achieved by the arrow before it turns
and falls back towards the surface of the earth? Ignore the eects of air resistance.
Create a script
Please copy the code from Listing 7 (p. 608) into an html le and open the le in your browser.

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608 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

Listing 7: Exercise to nd the height.

<!---------------- File JavaScript07.html --------------------->

<html><body>
<script language="JavaScript1.3">

document.write("Start Script <br/><br/>");

//Initialize the problem parameters.

var g = -32.2;//gravity in ft/sec*sec on Earth
var v0 = 100;//initial velocity in ft/sec
var h0 = 6;//initial height

//Given that v^2 = v0^2 + 2*g*h

//What is the maximum height reached by the arrow?
//Note that the maximum height is six feet more than
// the value given by the above equation because that
// equation is based on the point of release.

//The maximum height occurs when the velocity goes to zero.

//Setting the velocity to zero and rearranging the terms
// in the equation gives:
var h = h0 + (-(v0 * v0))/(2*g);

//Display the results

document.write("Arrow reaches maximum height of " +
h.toFixed(2) + " feet " + "<br/>");

document.write("<br/>End Script");

</script>
</body></html>

2.106

Screen output
The text shown in Image 11 (p. 609) should appear in your browser window when the html le is opened
in your browser.

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 609

Image 11: Screen output for Listing #7.

Start Script

Arrow reaches maximum height of 161.28 feet

End Script

2.107

Analysis of the code

Once again, compared to working through the previous exercises, this one also seems almost trivial.
After establishing values for the acceleration of gravity, the initial velocity of the arrow, and the height at
which the arrow was released, the code in Listing 7 (p. 608) rearranges the second equation given above (p.
605) and solves for the value of the height (relative to the release point) at which the velocity goes to zero.
This is the point in the trajectory where the arrow turns from moving up and begins falling back toward the
earth.
Note that in order to get the actual height, it was necessary to add the initial height of 6 feet to the
computed height.
Compare the results
The results are shown in Image 11 (p. 609) . You should compare this result with Image 2 (p. 585) ,
which shows that the arrow reaches its maximum height at approximately 161.1 feet, which agrees very well
with the result shown in Image 11 (p. 609) .

2.9.5 Run the scripts

I encourage you to run the scripts that I have presented in this lesson to conrm that you get the same
results. Copy the code for each script into a text le with an extension of html. Then open that le in
your browser. Experiment with the code, making changes, and observing the results of your changes. Make
certain that you can explain why your changes behave as they do.

2.9.6 Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

note: Housekeeping material

• Module name: GAME 2302 Motion  Variable Velocity and Acceleration
• File: Game0380.htm
• Published: 10/13/12
• Revised: 12/31/12

note: Disclaimers: Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to
download a PDF le for this module at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a
pre-printed version of the PDF le, you should be aware that some of the HTML elements in this
module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no nancial compensation from the Connexions website even
if you purchase the PDF version of the module.

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610 CHAPTER 2. PHYSICS

In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle
books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. I neither receive
compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such
a book, please be aware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it
was made and published without my prior knowledge.
Aliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College
in Austin, TX.

-end-

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INDEX 611

Index of Keywords and Terms

Keywords are listed by the section with that keyword (page numbers are in parentheses). Keywords
do not necessarily appear in the text of the page. They are merely associated with that section. Ex.
apples, Ÿ 1.1 (1) Terms are referenced by the page they appear on. Ex. apples, 1

2 2D, Ÿ 1.17(233), Ÿ 1.18(309), Ÿ 1.19(367), Ÿ 1.9(103), Ÿ 1.10(124), Ÿ 1.11(129),

Ÿ 1.20(412) Ÿ 1.12(130), Ÿ 1.13(145), Ÿ 1.14(146),
Ÿ 1.15(186), Ÿ 1.16(187), Ÿ 1.17(233),
3 3D, Ÿ 1.17(233), Ÿ 1.18(309), Ÿ 1.19(367), Ÿ 1.18(309), Ÿ 1.19(367), Ÿ 1.20(412)
Ÿ 1.20(412) gravity, Ÿ 2.9(577)
A acceleration, Ÿ 2.7(534), Ÿ 2.9(577) I inection point, Ÿ 2.9(577)
acceleration of gravity, Ÿ 2.6(516), Ÿ 2.9(577) instantaneous velocity, Ÿ 2.9(577)
accuracy, Ÿ 2.5(504)
angle, Ÿ 2.3(463) J Java, Ÿ (1), Ÿ 1.3(7), Ÿ 1.4(39), Ÿ 1.5(52),
animation, Ÿ 1.16(187) Ÿ 1.6(53), Ÿ 1.7(93), Ÿ 1.8(102), Ÿ 1.9(103),
arccosine, Ÿ 2.3(463) Ÿ 1.10(124), Ÿ 1.11(129), Ÿ 1.12(130),
arcsine, Ÿ 2.3(463) Ÿ 1.13(145), Ÿ 1.14(146), Ÿ 1.15(186),
arctangent, Ÿ 2.3(463) Ÿ 1.16(187), Ÿ 1.17(233), Ÿ 1.18(309),
argument, Ÿ 2.2(446) Ÿ 1.19(367), Ÿ 1.20(412)
arithmetic operators, Ÿ 2.2(446) JavaScript, Ÿ 2.2(446), Ÿ 2.4(496), Ÿ 2.5(504),
array object, Ÿ 2.8(557) Ÿ 2.6(516), Ÿ 2.7(534), Ÿ 2.8(557), Ÿ 2.9(577)

B body, Ÿ 2.7(534) K kinematics, Ÿ 2.7(534)

kinetics, Ÿ 2.7(534)
C cosine, Ÿ 2.3(463)
L line, Ÿ 1.3(7), Ÿ 1.4(39), Ÿ 1.5(52), Ÿ 1.6(53),
D dimensional analysis, Ÿ 2.6(516) Ÿ 1.7(93), Ÿ 1.8(102), Ÿ 1.9(103), Ÿ 1.10(124),
displacement, Ÿ 2.7(534), Ÿ 2.8(557) Ÿ 1.11(129), Ÿ 1.12(130), Ÿ 1.13(145),
dot product, Ÿ 1.19(367), Ÿ 1.20(412) Ÿ 1.14(146), Ÿ 1.15(186), Ÿ 1.16(187),
Ÿ 1.17(233), Ÿ 1.18(309), Ÿ 1.19(367),
F factor, Ÿ 2.4(496)
Ÿ 1.20(412)
ocking, Ÿ 1.18(309)
function, Ÿ 2.2(446) M math, Ÿ 1.3(7), Ÿ 1.4(39), Ÿ 1.5(52), Ÿ 1.6(53),
Ÿ 1.7(93), Ÿ 1.8(102), Ÿ 1.9(103), Ÿ 1.10(124),
G Game, Ÿ 1.1(3), Ÿ 1.2(6), Ÿ 1.3(7), Ÿ 1.4(39),
Ÿ 1.11(129), Ÿ 1.12(130), Ÿ 1.13(145),
Ÿ 1.5(52)
Ÿ 1.14(146), Ÿ 1.15(186), Ÿ 1.16(187),
GAME 2302 Mathematical Applications for
Ÿ 1.17(233), Ÿ 1.18(309), Ÿ 1.19(367),
Game Development, Ÿ (1)
Ÿ 1.20(412)
game programming, Ÿ 2.1(445)
Mathematical, Ÿ 1.1(3), Ÿ 1.2(6)
game-programming, Ÿ 1.6(53), Ÿ 1.7(93),
matrix, Ÿ 1.3(7), Ÿ 1.4(39), Ÿ 1.5(52), Ÿ 1.6(53),
Ÿ 1.8(102), Ÿ 1.9(103), Ÿ 1.10(124), Ÿ 1.11(129),
Ÿ 1.7(93), Ÿ 1.8(102), Ÿ 1.9(103), Ÿ 1.10(124),
Ÿ 1.12(130), Ÿ 1.13(145), Ÿ 1.14(146),
Ÿ 1.11(129), Ÿ 1.12(130), Ÿ 1.13(145),
Ÿ 1.15(186), Ÿ 1.16(187), Ÿ 1.17(233),
Ÿ 1.14(146), Ÿ 1.15(186), Ÿ 1.16(187),
Ÿ 1.18(309), Ÿ 1.19(367), Ÿ 1.20(412)
Ÿ 1.17(233), Ÿ 1.18(309), Ÿ 1.19(367),
GAME2302, Ÿ 1.1(3), Ÿ 1.2(6)
Ÿ 1.20(412)
Google calculator, Ÿ 2.4(496)
minuend, Ÿ 2.7(534)
graphics, Ÿ 1.6(53), Ÿ 1.7(93), Ÿ 1.8(102),
motion, Ÿ 2.7(534), Ÿ 2.8(557)

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612 INDEX

O object-oriented programming, Ÿ (1) sequence, Ÿ 2.2(446)

OOP, Ÿ (1) SI units, Ÿ 2.6(516)
signicant gures, Ÿ 2.5(504)
P parameter, Ÿ 2.2(446) sine, Ÿ 2.3(463)
physics, Ÿ 2.1(445), Ÿ 2.3(463), Ÿ 2.4(496), slides, Ÿ 1.2(6), Ÿ 1.5(52), Ÿ 1.8(102),
Ÿ 2.5(504), Ÿ 2.6(516), Ÿ 2.7(534), Ÿ 2.8(557), Ÿ 1.11(129), Ÿ 1.13(145), Ÿ 1.15(186)
Ÿ 2.9(577) slope of a line, Ÿ 2.9(577)
point, Ÿ 1.3(7), Ÿ 1.4(39), Ÿ 1.5(52), Ÿ 1.6(53), string, Ÿ 2.2(446)
Ÿ 1.7(93), Ÿ 1.8(102), Ÿ 1.9(103), Ÿ 1.10(124), string concatenation, Ÿ 2.2(446)
Ÿ 1.11(129), Ÿ 1.12(130), Ÿ 1.13(145), structured programming, Ÿ 2.2(446)
Ÿ 1.14(146), Ÿ 1.15(186), Ÿ 1.16(187), subtrahend, Ÿ 2.7(534), Ÿ 2.8(557)
Ÿ 1.17(233), Ÿ 1.18(309), Ÿ 1.19(367),
Ÿ 1.20(412) T tangent, Ÿ 2.3(463)
powers of ten, Ÿ 2.6(516) tangent line, Ÿ 2.9(577)
precision, Ÿ 2.5(504) translation, Ÿ 1.16(187)
programming, Ÿ 1.3(7), Ÿ 1.4(39), Ÿ 1.5(52) trigonometry, Ÿ 2.2(446), Ÿ 2.3(463),
proportion, Ÿ 2.4(496) Ÿ 2.7(534), Ÿ 2.8(557), Ÿ 2.9(577)

Q quadrant, Ÿ 2.3(463) U uniform velocity, Ÿ 2.8(557)

units, Ÿ 2.6(516)
R ratio, Ÿ 2.4(496)
relational operators, Ÿ 2.2(446) V variable, Ÿ 2.2(446)
relative velocity, Ÿ 2.8(557) variable velocity, Ÿ 2.9(577)
repetition, Ÿ 2.2(446) vector, Ÿ 1.3(7), Ÿ 1.4(39), Ÿ 1.5(52), Ÿ 1.6(53),
rest, Ÿ 2.7(534) Ÿ 1.7(93), Ÿ 1.8(102), Ÿ 1.9(103), Ÿ 1.10(124),
resultant, Ÿ 2.7(534), Ÿ 2.8(557) Ÿ 1.11(129), Ÿ 1.12(130), Ÿ 1.13(145),
review, Ÿ 1.4(39), Ÿ 1.7(93), Ÿ 1.10(124) Ÿ 1.14(146), Ÿ 1.15(186), Ÿ 1.16(187),
Ÿ 1.17(233), Ÿ 1.18(309), Ÿ 1.19(367),
S scale, Ÿ 2.4(496) Ÿ 1.20(412), Ÿ 2.8(557)
scientic notation, Ÿ 2.5(504) vector addition, Ÿ 1.14(146), Ÿ 1.15(186)
selection, Ÿ 2.2(446) velocity, Ÿ 2.7(534), Ÿ 2.8(557), Ÿ 2.9(577)

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ATTRIBUTIONS 613

Attributions
Collection: GAME 2302 - Mathematical Applications for Game Development
Edited by: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0095: Preface to GAME 2302"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45315/1.3/
Pages: 1-2
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0100: Introduction"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m44983/1.5/
Pages: 3-5
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "Game0100s Slides"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45611/1.2/
Page: 6
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0105: Getting Started"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m44990/1.4/
Pages: 7-38
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "Game0105r Review"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45585/1.3/
Pages: 39-52
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "Game0105s Slides"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45610/1.2/
Pages: 52-53
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
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614 ATTRIBUTIONS

Module: "GAME 2302-0110: Updating the Game Math Library for Graphics"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45009/1.4/
Pages: 53-92
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "Game0110r Review"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45586/1.3/
Pages: 93-102
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "Game0110s Slides"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45613/1.2/
Pages: 102-103
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0115: Working with Column Matrices, Points, and Vectors"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45010/1.3/
Pages: 103-123
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "Game0115r Review"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45587/1.4/
Pages: 124-129
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "Game0115s Slides"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45619/1.3/
Pages: 129-130
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0120: Visualizing Column Matrices"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45011/1.5/
Pages: 130-144
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
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Module: "Game0120s Slides"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45615/1.2/
Page: 145
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
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ATTRIBUTIONS 615

Module: "GAME 2302-0125: Vector Addition"

By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45012/1.2/
Pages: 146-185
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "Game0125s Slides"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45618/1.3/
Page: 186
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0130: Putting the Game-Math Library to Work"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45013/1.2/
Pages: 187-233
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0135: Venturing into a 3D World"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45016/1.3/
Pages: 233-309
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0140: Our First 3D Game Program"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45017/1.3/
Pages: 309-366
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0145: Getting Started with the Vector Dot Product"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45018/1.2/
Pages: 367-412
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0150: Applications of the Vector Dot Product"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45022/1.2/
Pages: 412-443
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
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Module: "GAME 2302-0300 Introduction to Physics Component"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m44992/1.2/
Pages: 445-446
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
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616 ATTRIBUTIONS

Module: "GAME 2302-0310 JavaScript"

By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45001/1.2/
Pages: 446-463
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0320 Brief Trigonometry Tutorial"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45002/1.2/
Pages: 463-496
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0330 Scale Factors, Ratios, and Proportions"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45003/1.2/
Pages: 496-503
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0340 Scientic Notation and Signicant Figures"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45004/1.3/
Pages: 504-516
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0350 Units and Dimensional Analysis"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45005/1.2/
Pages: 516-533
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0360 Motion  Displacement and Vectors"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45006/1.2/
Pages: 534-557
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0370 Motion  Uniform and Relative Velocity"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45007/1.2/
Pages: 557-577
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Module: "GAME 2302-0380 Motion  Variable Velocity and Acceleration"
By: Richard Baldwin
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m45008/1.3/
Pages: 577-610
Copyright: Richard Baldwin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Available for free at Connexions <http://cnx.org/content/col11450/1.29>

GAME 2302 - Mathematical Applications for Game Development
Course Description: Presents applications of mathematics and science in game and simulation programming.
Includes the utilization of matrix and vector operations, kinematics, and Newtonian principles in games and
simulations. Also covers code optimization.

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