College Physics: A Strategic Approach

Fourth Edition

Lecture
Presentation
Chapter 3
Vectors and Motion in Two
Dimensions

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Suggested Videos for Chapter 3 (1 of 2)
• Prelecture Videos • What the Physics?
– Vectors and Motion – Projectile Paths
– Projectile Motion
• Video Tutor Demos
– Circular Motion
– Dropped and Thrown Balls

• Class Videos – Ball Fired Upward from Movin

g Cart
– Motion on a Ramp
– Acceleration Due to
Changing Direction

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Suggested Videos for Chapter 3 (2 of 2)
• PhET s • End-of-Chapter Video Tutor
Solutions
– Vector Addition
– Problem 3.19
– Projectile Motion
– Problem 3.33
• Figure Video – Problem 3.37
– Figure 3.26 – The Motion – Problem 3.53
of Two Balls Launched at t
he Same Time – Problem 3.69
– Problem 3.75
• Video Tutor Solution
– Chapter 3 – Dock Jump
ing

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Chapter 3 Vectors and Motion in Two
Dimensions

Chapter Goal: To learn more about vectors and to use

vectors as a tool to analyze motion in two dimensions.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Chapter 3 Preview Looking Ahead:
Vectors and Components
• The dark green vector is the ball’s initial velocity. The light green
component vectors show initial horizontal and vertical velocity.

• You’ll learn to describe motion in terms of quantities such as distance

and velocity, an important first step in analyzing motion.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chapter 3 Preview Looking Ahead:
Projectile Motion
• A leaping fish’s parabolic arc is an example of projectile
motion. The details are the same for a fish or a basketball.

• You’ll see how to solve projectile motion problems, determining

how long an object is in the air and how far it travels.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chapter 3 Preview Looking Ahead:
Circular Motion
• The riders move in a circle at a constant speed, but they have
an acceleration because the direction is constantly changing.

• You’ll learn how to determine the magnitude and the direction

of the acceleration for an object in circular motion.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chapter 3 Preview Looking Back:
Free Fall
• You learned in Section 2.7 that an
object tossed straight up is in free
fall. The acceleration is the same
whether the object is going up or
coming back down.
• For an object in projectile motion,
the vertical component of the
motion is also free fall. You’ll use
your knowledge of free fall to solve
projectile motion problems.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Chapter 3 Preview Stop to Think (1 of 2)
A player kicks a soccer ball straight up into the air. The ball
takes 2.0 s to reach its highest point. Approximately how
fast was the ball moving when it left the player’s foot?

A. 5 m/s
B. 10 m/s
C. 15 m/s
D. 20 m/s

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Chapter 3 Preview Stop to Think (2 of 2)
A player kicks a soccer ball straight up into the air. The ball
takes 2.0 s to reach its highest point. Approximately how
fast was the ball moving when it left the player’s foot?

D. 20 m/s

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reading Questions

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reading Question 3.1 (1 of 2)
The Fill in the blank of a vector is always a positive quantity.

A. x-component
B. y-component
C. Magnitude
D. Direction

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reading Question 3.1 (2 of 2)
The Fill in the blank of a vector is always a positive quantity.

C. Magnitude

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Reading Question 3.2 (1 of 2)

Ax is positive if A x is directed; Fill in the blank Ay is positive if

A y is directed Fill in the blank .

A. Right, up
B. Left, up
C. Right, down
D. Left, down

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

 Reading Question 3.2 (2 of 2)

Ax is positive if A x is directed; Fill in the blank Ay is positive if

A y is directed Fill in the blank .

A. Right, up

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reading Question 3.3 (1 of 2)
The acceleration of a cart rolling down a ramp depends on
A. The angle of the ramp.
B. The length of the ramp.
C. Both the angle of the ramp and the length of the
ramp.
D. Neither the angle of the ramp or the length of the
ramp.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reading Question 3.3 (2 of 2)
The acceleration of a cart rolling down a ramp depends on
A. The angle of the ramp.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reading Question 3.4 (1 of 2)
The acceleration vector of a particle in projectile motion
A. Points along the path of the particle.
B. Is directed horizontally.
C. Vanishes at the particle’s highest point.
D. Is directed down at all times.
E. Is zero.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reading Question 3.4 (2 of 2)
The acceleration vector of a particle in projectile motion
D. Is directed down at all times.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reading Question 3.5 (1 of 2)
The acceleration vector of a particle in uniform circular
motion

A. Points tangent to the circle, in the direction of motion.

B. Points tangent to the circle, opposite the direction of
motion.
C. Is zero.
D. Points toward the center of the circle.
E. Points outward from the center of the circle.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reading Question 3.5 (2 of 2)
The acceleration vector of a particle in uniform circular
motion

D. Points toward the center of the circle.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Section 3.1 Using Vectors

Prelecture Video: Vectors and Motion

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Using Vectors (1 of 3)
• A vector is a quantity with both a size (magnitude) and a
direction.
• The figure shows how to represent a particle’s velocity as

a vector v .
• The particle’s speed at this
point is 5 m/s and it is
moving in the direction
indicated by the arrow.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Using Vectors (2 of 3)
• The magnitude of a vector is represented by the letter
without an arrow.
• In this case, the particle’s speed—the magnitude of the

velocity vector v —is v = 5 m/s.
• The magnitude of a vector, a
scalar quantity, cannot be a
negative number.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Using Vectors (3 of 3)
• The displacement vector is a straight-line connection from the
initial position to the final position, regardless of the actual path.

• Two vectors are equal if they

have the same magnitude
and direction. This is
regardless of the individual
starting points of the vectors.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Vector Addition (1 of 2)

• C is the net displacement because it describes the net result

of the hiker’s having first displacement A, then displacement

B.
 
• The net displacement C is an initial displacement A plus a

second displacement B :
  
C A  B
• The sum of the two vectors is
called the resultant vector.
Vector addition is commutative:
   
A  B  B  A

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Vector Addition (2 of 2)
• The figure shows the tip-to-tail rule of vector addition
and the parallelogram rule of vector addition.

• PhET: Vector Addition

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
QuickCheck 3.1 (1 of 2)
   
Given vectors P and Q, what is P  Q ?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.1 (2 of 2)
   
Given vectors P and Q, what is P  Q ?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Multiplication by a Scalar (1 of 2)
• Multiplying a vector by a
positive scalar gives
another vector of
different magnitude but
pointing in the same
direction.
• If we multiply a vector by
zero the product is a vector
having zero length. The
vector is known as the zero
vector.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Multiplication by a Scalar (2 of 2)
• A vector cannot have a negative magnitude.
• If we multiply a vector by a negative number we reverse its
direction.
• Multiplying a vector by  1 reverses its direction without
changing its length (magnitude).

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.2 (1 of 2)
 
Which of the vectors in the second row shows A  B ?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.2 (2 of 2)
 
Which of the vectors in the second row shows A  B ?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Tactics Box 3.1 Subtracting Vectors
 
To subtract B from A :


1. Draw A.

2. Place the tail of  B

at the tip of A.

3. Draw an arrow from the tail of

 
A to the tip of  B. This is
 
vector A  B.
Text: p 74 age

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.3 (1 of 2)
   
Given vectors P and Q, what is P  Q ?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.3 (2 of 2)
   
Given vectors P and Q, what is P  Q ?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.4 (1 of 2)
 
Which of the vectors in the second row shows 2 A  B ?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.4 (2 of 2)
 
Which of the vectors in the second row shows 2 A  B ?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Section 3.2 Coordinate Systems
and Vector Components

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Coordinate Systems
• A coordinate system is an
artificially imposed grid that you
place on a problem in order to
make quantitative measurements.
• We will generally use Cartesian
coordinates.
• Coordinate axes have a positive
end and a negative end,
separated by a zero at the origin
where the two axes cross.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Component Vectors
• For a vector A and an xy-
coordinate system we can
define two new vectors
parallel to the axes that we
call the component vectors of

A.
• You can see, using the 
parallelogram rule, that A
is the vector sum of the
two component vectors:
  
A A x  A y
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Tactics Box 3.2 Determining the
Components of a Vector
1. The absolute value Ax of the x-component Ax is the

magnitude of the component vector A x .

2. The sign of Ax is positive if A x points in the positive

x-direction, negative if A xx points in the negative
x-direction.
3. The y-component Ayy is determined similarly.

Text: p 75 age

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Components (1 of 2)
• Component vectors can be
decomposed into component
vectors parallel to the coordinate
axes
• Each component vector can be
described by a single number (a
scalar) called the component
• Component Ax tells two things –

how big A x is and toward which
end of the axis it points

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Finding the Components of a Vector
• We can find the components using trigonometry
• For following case, we find that:
Ax Α cos and Ay Asin

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Components (2 of 2)
• If we know the x- and y- components, we can determine the
length with the Pythagorean theorem:
A  Ax2  Ay2

• We can also determine the angle  with the tangent:

 Ay 
1
 tan  
A
 x

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.5 (1 of 2)
What are the x- and y-components of this vector?
A. 3, 2
B. 2, 3
C.  3, 2
D. 2,  3
E.  3,  2

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.5 (2 of 2)
What are the x- and y-components of this vector?
B. 2, 3

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.6 (1 of 2)
What are the x- and y-components of this vector?
A. 3, 4
B. 4, 3
C.  3, 4
D. 4,  3
E. 3,  4

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.6 (2 of 2)
What are the x- and y-components of this vector?
E. 3,  4

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.7 (1 of 2)

What are the x- and y-components of vector C ?
A. 1,  3
B.  3,1
C. 1,  1
D.  4, 2
E. 2,  4

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.7 (2 of 2)

What are the x- and y-components of vector C ?
D.  4, 2

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.8 (1 of 2)

The angle  that specifies the direction of vector C is
A. tan 1 Cx / Cyy 
B. tan 1 Cy / Cx 

C. tan  Cx / Cy 
1

D. tan 1  Cx / Cy 
E. tan 1  Cy / Cxx 

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.8 (2 of 2)

The angle  that specifies the direction of vector C is

D. tan  Cx / Cy 
1

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.9 (1 of 2)
The following vector has length 4.0 units. What are the x-
and y-components?
A. 3.5, 2.0
B.  2.0,3.5
C.  3.5,2.0
D. 2.0,  3.5
E.  3.5,  2.0

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.9 (2 of 2)
The following vector has length 4.0 units. What are the x-
and y-components?
B.  2.0,3.5

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.10 (1 of 2)
The following vector has length 4.0 units. What are the x-
and y-components?

A. 3.5, 2.0
B. 2.0, 3.5
C.  3.5,2.0
D. 2.0,  3.5
E.  3.5,  2.0

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.10 (2 of 2)
The following vector has length 4.0 units. What are the x-
and y-components?
E.  3.5,  2.0

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.1 Finding the Components of
an Acceleration Vector (1 of 4)

Find the x- and y-components of the acceleration vector a
shown in the figure below:

Strategize We can find the components from the vector’s

magnitude and by using trigonometry, paying special attention to
how the angle is defined in the problem.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example 3.1 Finding the Components of
an Acceleration Vector (2 of 4)
Prepare Making a sketch is crucial to setting up this problem.

The figure below shows the original vector a decomposed into
component vectors parallel to the axes:

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.1 Finding the Components of
an Acceleration Vector (3 of 4)
Solve The acceleration vector

a (6.0m/s2 , 30 below the
negative x-axis) points to the
left (negative x-direction) and
down (negative y-direction), so
the components ax and ay
are both negative:

 
ax  a cos30 =  6.0m/s 2 cos30  5.2m/s 2
ay  a sin30 =  6.0m/s cos30  3.0m/s
2 2

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.1 Finding the Components of
an Acceleration Vector (4 of 4)
Assess The magnitude of the y-component is less than
that of the x-component, as seems to be the case in the
figure, a good check on our work. The units of ax and ayy

are the same as the units of vector a. Notice that we had
to insert the minus signs manually by observing that the
vector points down and to the left.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Working with Components (1 of 2)
• We can add vectors using components.
  
• Let’s look at the vector sum C  A  B for the vectors shown
in the figure below. You can see that the component vectors of
  
C are the sums of the component vectors of A and B .
The same is true of the components:
Cx  Ax  Bx and Cy  Ay  By .
Dx Ax  Bx  Cx  
Dy Ay  By  Cy  

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Working with Components (2 of 2)
   
F n  w  f

• The equation above is really just a shorthand way of writing

the two simultaneous equations:

Fx nx  w x  fx
Fy ny  w y  fy

• In other words, a vector equation is interpreted as meaning:

Equate the x-components on both sides of the equals sign,
then equate the y-components. Vector notation allows us to
write these two equations in a more compact form.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
QuickCheck 3.11 (1 of 2)

Ax is the Fill in the blank of the vector A x .

A. Magnitude
B. x-component
C. Direction
D. Size
E. Displacement

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.11 (2 of 2)

Ax is the Fill in the blank of the vector A x .

A. Magnitude

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Tilted Axes
• For motion on a slope, it is often most convenient to put
the x-axis along the slope.
• When we add the y-axis, this gives us a tilted coordinate
system.
• Finding components with tilted
axes is no harder than what
we have done so far. Vector

C can be decomposed into
 
C x and C y with:

Cx C cos  and Cy C cos 

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example Problem (1 of 5)
• The following vectors have length 4.0 units. For each
vector, what is the component parallel to the ramp?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Section 3.3 Motion on a Ramp

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Constant-Velocity Motion on a Ramp
• We start with an example problem of motion on a ramp, or
incline.
• Example provides practice using vectors to analyze motion.
• Example is a simple problem with an exact solution.
• This seemingly abstract example has real and important
applications.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.3 Finding the Height Gained
by a Car Moving Up a Slope (1 of 2)
A car drives up a steep 10 slope at a constant speed of 15
m/s. After 10 s, how much height has the car gained?
Strategize The vertical motion of the car is determined by the
vertical component of the velocity.
Prepare The figure below is a visual overview, with x- and

y-axes defined. The velocity vector v points up the slope. We
  
decompose v into component vectors v x and v y as shown:

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.3 Finding the Height Gained
by a Car Moving Up a Slope (2 of 2)

Solve The velocity component we need is v y , which describes
the vertical motion of the car. Using the rules for finding
components outlined previously, we find
Vy v sin = 15m / s sin10 2.6m / s

Because the velocity is constant, the car’s vertical displacement

(i.e., the height gained) during 10 s is:
y v y t 2.6m / s 10 s  26m

Assess The car is traveling at a pretty good clip—15 m/s is a bit

faster than 30 mph—up a steep slope, so it should climb a
respectable height in 10 s. Therefore, 26 m, or about 80 ft,
seems reasonable.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Accelerated Motion on a Ramp (1 of 2)
• A crate slides down a
frictionless (i.e., smooth)
ramp tilted at angle  .
• The crate is constrained to
accelerate parallel to the
surface.
• Both the acceleration and
velocity vectors are parallel
to the ramp.

• Class Video: Motion on a Ra

mp

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Accelerated Motion on a Ramp (2 of 2)
• We choose the coordinate
system to have the x-axis
along the ramp and the y-axis
perpendicular. All motion will
be along the x-axis.
• The acceleration parallel to
the ramp is a component of
the free-fall acceleration the
object would have if the ramp
vanished:
ax g sin

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.12 (1 of 2)
A ball rolls up the ramp,
then back down. Which is
the correct acceleration
graph?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.12 (2 of 2)
A ball rolls up the ramp,
then back down. Which is
the correct acceleration
graph?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.4 Maximum Possible Speed
for a Skier (1 of 5)
The Willamette Pass ski area in Oregon was the site of the 1993
U.S. National Speed Skiing Competition. The skiers started from
rest and then accelerated down a stretch of the mountain with a
reasonably constant slope, aiming for the highest possible speed
at the end of this run. During this acceleration phase, the skiers
traveled 360 m while dropping a vertical distance of 170 m. What
is the fastest speed a skier could achieve at the end of this run?
Strategize The fastest possible run is one with no friction or air
resistance, meaning the acceleration down the slope is given
by the equation: ax g sin . The problem is then one-
dimensional motion with constant acceleration.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.4 Maximum Possible Speed
for a Skier (2 of 5)

Prepare We make the visual overview in the figure below.

The motion diagram shows the acceleration of the skier
and the pictorial representation gives an overview of the
problem including the dimensions of the slope. As before,
we put the x-axis along the slope.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.4 Maximum Possible Speed
for a Skier (3 of 5)
Solve The acceleration is in the positive x-direction, so we use
the positive sign. What is the angle in our equation? The figure
shows that the 360-m-long slope is the hypotenuse of a triangle
of height 170 m, so we use trigonometry to find
170m
sin 
360m

which gives  sin 11 170 / 360  28 . Our equation then gives

ax g sin 9.8m / s2 sin

 
28  4.6m /s2
sin28

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.4 Maximum Possible Speed
for a Skier (4 of 5)
Solve For linear motion with constant acceleration, we can use
the third of the kinematic equations in Synthesis 2.1:
v x  v x   2ax x. The initial velocity v x i is zero; thus
2 2
f i

This is the fastest that any skier could hope to be moving at the
end of the run. Any friction or air resistance would decrease this
speed.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.4 Maximum Possible Speed
for a Skier (5 of 5)

Assess The final speed we calculated is 58 m/s, which is

about 130 m ph, reasonable because we expect a high
speed for this sport. In the competition noted, the actual
winning speed was 111 m ph, not much slower than the
result we calculated. Obviously, efforts to minimize friction
and air resistance are working!

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example Problem (2 of 5)
A new ski area has opened that emphasizes the extreme
nature of the skiing possible on its slopes. Suppose an ad
intones “Free-fall skydiving is the greatest rush you can
experience . . . but we’ll take you as close as you can get
on land. When you tip your skis down the slope of our
steepest runs, you can accelerate at up to 75% of the
acceleration you’d experience in free fall.” What angle
slope could give such an acceleration?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Section 3.4 Motion in Two
Dimensions

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Motion in Two Dimensions
• In two dimensions, the object
moves in an entire plane, not just
along a single line.
• In two-dimensional motion, an
objects displacement, velocity, and
acceleration vectors all change.
• This motion diagram for a car
rounding a curve shows that the car
slows as it approaches the curve,
rounds the curve slowly, and then
speeds up.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Using Vectors on Motion Diagrams
• In two dimensions, an object’s displacement is a vector:
   
 d  d
v   , same directionas d 
t  t 
Definition of velocity in two or more dimensions
• The velocity vector is simply the displacement vector
multiplied by the scalar 1 / t.
• Consequently the velocity vector points in the direction of
the displacement.
• We represent the velocity and displacement vectors extending
from one dot to the next.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.6 A Kayaker Goes Over a
Waterfall (1 of 2)
A kayaker paddles off the edge of a
waterfall, arcing down to the water below.
The partial motion diagram shows his
position at 0.1 s intervals. Estimate the
kayaker’s velocity during the time interval
from t = 0.5 s to t = 0.6 s.
Strategize The problem asks for the
kayaker’s velocity, so we’ll need to specify
both his speed and his direction. We’ll first
find his displacement from the motion
diagram and then use our equation to find
his velocity:

 d
v
t
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example 3.6 A Kayaker Goes Over a
Waterfall (2 of 2)

Prepare During this time interval, we estimate the distance he

traveled to be 0.8 m, and the angle of his motion looks to be
about 45 below the horizontal.
Solve From our estimates, the kayaker’s displacement during the
stated time interval is:

d 0.8m,45 below horizontal 
Then from our equation, his velocity is:
  0.8m 
v  , 45° below horizontal  8 m/s, 45°below horizontal 
 0.1 s 
Assess The kayaker’s speed of 8m / s, 18mph seems
reasonable for a daredevil kayaker.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Acceleration in Two Dimensions
• The vector definition of acceleration is a straightforward
extension of the one-dimensional version:
  
 v f  v i v
a 
t f  ti t

Definition of acceleration in two or more dimensions

• There is an acceleration whenever there is a change in velocity.

Velocity can change in either or both of two possible ways:

1. The magnitude can change, indicating a change in speed.

2. The direction of motion can change, indicating a change in
direction.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Tactics Box 3.3 Finding the Acceleration
Vector
To find the acceleration as the velocity
 
changes from v i to v f :

1. Draw the velocity vector v f .
 
2. Draw  v ii at the tip of v f .
  
3. Draw v v f  v i
 
 
v f   v i

This is the direction of a.

4. In the original motion diagram, draw a

vector at the middle point in the direction of
 
v  label it a. This is the average acceleration
 
as the object’s velocity changes from v i to v ff . Text p 84
age

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.13 (1 of 2)

• A particle undergoes acceleration a while moving from
point 1 to point 2. Which of the choices shows the velocity

vector v 2 as the object moves away from point 2?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.13 (2 of 2)

• A particle undergoes acceleration a while moving from
point 1 to point 2. Which of the choices shows the velocity

vector v 2 as the object moves away from point 2?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.14 (1 of 2)
• The diagram shows three
points of a motion diagram. The
particle changes direction with
no change of speed. What is
the acceleration at point 2?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.14 (2 of 2)
• The diagram shows three
points of a motion diagram. The
particle changes direction with
no change of speed. What is
the acceleration at point 2?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Section 3.5 Projectile Motion

Prelecture Video: Projectile Motion

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Projectile Motion (1 of 3)
• Balls flying through the air, long jumpers, and cars doing
stunt jumps are all examples of the two-dimensional
motion we call projectile motion.
• A projectile is an object that moves in two
dimensions under the influence of gravity and
nothing else.
• As long as we can neglect air resistance, any projectile
will follow the same type of path.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Projectile Motion (2 of 3)
• The vertical motions of the two balls are
identical.
• The vertical motion of the yellow ball is not
affected by the fact that the ball is moving
horizontally.
• The horizontal and vertical components
of an object undergoing projectile
motion are independent of each other.

• Video Tutor Demo: Dropped and Thrown Balls

• Figure 3.26 Video:
The Motion of Two Balls Launched at the Same Time
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Projectile Motion (3 of 3)
• For an object in free fall, the
acceleration is always
downward, with a magnitude
of g.
• The vertical component
of acceleration ay
for all projectile motion
is just the familiar  g of
free fall, while the horizontal
component ax is zero.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Analyzing Projectile Motion (1 of 2)

• The angle of the initial velocity above the horizontal (i.e.,

above the x-axis) is the launch angle.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Analyzing Projectile Motion (2 of 2)
• The ball finishes its motion
moving downward at the
same speed as it started
moving upward.
• Projectile motion is made
up of two independent
motions: uniform motion at
constant velocity in the
horizontal direction and
free-fall motion in the
vertical direction.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.15 (1 of 2)
• A heavy red ball is released
from rest 2.0 m above a flat,
horizontal surface. At exactly
the same instant, a yellow ball
with the same mass is fired
horizontally at 3.0 m/s. Which
ball hits the ground first?

A. The red ball hits first.

B. The yellow ball hits first.
C. They hit at the same time.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.15 (2 of 2)
• A heavy red ball is released
from rest 2.0 m above a flat,
horizontal surface. At exactly
the same instant, a yellow ball
with the same mass is fired
horizontally at 3.0 m/s. Which
ball hits the ground first?

C. They hit at the same time.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.16 (1 of 2)
• A 100-g ball rolls off a table and lands 2.0 m from the
base of the table. A 200-g ball rolls off the same table with
the same speed. It lands at distance
A. 1.0 m
B. Between 1 m and 2 m
C. 2.0 m
D. Between 2 m and 4 m
E. 4.0 m

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.16 (2 of 2)
• A 100-g ball rolls off a table and lands 2.0 m from the
base of the table. A 200-g ball rolls off the same table with
the same speed. It lands at distance
C. 2.0 m

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Synthesis 3.1 Projectile Motion (1 of 3)
• The horizontal and
vertical components of
projectile motion are
independent, but must
be analyzed together.
• Here, the vertical
component is analyzed.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Synthesis 3.1 Projectile Motion (2 of 3)
• Here, the horizontal motion is analyzed.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Synthesis 3.1 Projectile Motion (3 of 3)
• The kinematic equations for projectile motion are those for
constant-acceleration motion vertically and constant-velocity
horizontally:

• What the Physics? Projectile Paths

• Video Tutor Demo: Ball Fired Upward from Moving Cart
• PhET: Projectile Motion
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Section 3.6 Projectile Motion:
Solving Problems

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Problem-Solving Approach 3.1 Projectile
Motion Problems (1 of 3)
Strategize We will solve projectile motion problems by
considering the horizontal and vertical motions as separate but
related problems.
Prepare There are a number of steps that you should go through
in setting up the solution to a projectile motion problem:
• Make simplifying assumptions. Whether the projectile is a car
or a basketball, the motion will be the same.
• Draw a visual overview including a pictorial representation
showing the beginning and ending points of the motion.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Problem-Solving Approach 3.1 Projectile
Motion Problems (2 of 3)
Prepare
• Establish a coordinate system with the x-axis horizontal and
the y-axis vertical. In this case, you know that the horizontal
acceleration will be zero and the vertical acceleration will be
free fall: ax 0 and ayy  g.
• Draw a vector representing the initial velocity, and find its x-
and y-components in terms of the initial speed and the launch
angle.
• Define symbols and write down a list of known values. Identify
what the problem is trying to find.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Problem-Solving Approach 3.1 Projectile
Motion Problems (3 of 3)
Solve There are two sets of kinematic equations for projectile
motion, one for the horizontal component and one for the vertical:
Horizontal Vertical
xf xi  v x i t X sub f = x sub i + left parenthesis v sub x right parenthesis sub i times delta t.

y f y i  v y  t 
Y sub f = y sub i + left parenthesis v sub y right parenthesis sub i times delta t minus 1 half g times left parenthesis delta t right parenthesis squared.
1
g t 
22
i i 2
v x f v xx ii constant
Left parenthesis v sub x right parenthesis sub f = left parenthesis v sub x right parenthesis sub i = constant.

v  v   g t
y f y i
Left parenthesis v sub y right parenthesis sub f = left parenthesis v sub y right parenthesis sub i minus g times delta t.

t is the same for the horizontal and vertical components

of the motion. Find t by solving for the vertical or the
horizontal component of the motion; then use that value to
complete the solution for the other component
Assess Check that your result has the correct units, is
reasonable, and answers the question.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example 3.9 Dock Jumping (1 of 6)
In the sport of dock jumping, dogs run at full speed off the end of
a dock that sits a few feet above a pool of water. The winning
dog is the one that lands farthest from the end of the dock. If a
dog runs at 8.5 m/s (a pretty typical speed for this event) straight
off the end of a dock that is 0.61 m (2 ft, a standard height)
above the water, how far will the dog go before splashing down?
Strategize We can treat this as a projectile motion problem, so
the dog’s vertical motion is free fall and its horizontal motion is
uniform motion. The relevant equations are given in Synthesis
3.1

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.9 Dock Jumping (2 of 6)
Prepare We make a visual overview of the situation in the figure
to the right. We have chosen to put the origin of the coordinate
system at the base of the dock. The dog runs horizontally off the
end of the dock, so the initial components of the velocity are
v x i 8.5m / s and v y i 0m / s. We can treat this as a projectile
motion problem, so we can use the details and equations
presented in Synthesis 3.1 above.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.9 Dock Jumping (3 of 6)
Prepare We know that the horizontal and vertical motions are
independent. The fact that the dog is falling toward the water
doesn’t affect its horizontal motion.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.9 Dock Jumping (4 of 6)
Prepare When the dog leaves the end of the dock, it will
continue to move horizontally at 8.5 m/s. The vertical motion is
free fall. The jump ends when the dog hits the water—that is,
when it has dropped by 0.61 m. We are ultimately interested in
how far the dog goes, but to make this determination we’ll need
to find the time interval t that the dog is in the air.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.9 Dock Jumping (5 of 6)
Solve We’ll start by solving for the time interval t , the time the
dog is in the air. This time is determined by the vertical motion,
which is free fall with an initial velocity v  0m / s. We use
y i

the vertical position equation from Synthesis 3.1 to find the time
interval:
1
y f y i  v y  t   
2
t
ii 2
1
0m 0.61m  0m / s  t 
2

9.8m / s 2 t 
 2

Rearranging terms to solve for t , we find that:

t 0.35 s
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example 3.9 Dock Jumping (6 of 6)
Solve This is how long it takes the dog’s vertical motion to reach
the water. During this time interval, the dog’s horizontal motion is
uniform motion at the initial velocity. We can use the horizontal
-position equation with the initial speed and t 0.35 s to find
how far the dog travels. This is the distance we are looking for:
xf  xi  v x i t
0m  8.5m / s 0.35 s  3.0m
The dog hits the water 3.0 m from the edge of the dock.
Assess 3.0 m is about 10 feet. This seems like a reasonable
distance for a dog running at a very fast clip off the end of a 2-
foot-high dock. Indeed, this is a typical distance for dogs in such
competitions.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Range of a Projectile
• The range of a projectile is
the horizontal distance
traveled.
• For a projectile, its initial
speed and launch angle are
the two variables that
determine the range.
• For smaller objects air
resistance is critical, and the
maximum range comes at
an angle less than 45 .

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.17 (1 of 2)
Projectiles 1 and 2 are launched over level ground with
the same speed but at different angles. Which hits the
ground first? Ignore air resistance.

A. Projectile 1 hits first.

B. Projectile 2 hits first.
C. They hit at the same time.
D. There’s not enough information to tell.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
QuickCheck 3.17 (2 of 2)
Projectiles 1 and 2 are launched over level ground with
the same speed but at different angles. Which hits the
ground first? Ignore air resistance.

B. Projectile 2 hits first.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example Problem (3 of 5)
A grasshopper can jump a distance of 30 in (0.76 m) from a
standing start.
A. If the grasshopper takes off at the optimal angle for
maximum distance of the jump, what is the initial
speed of the jump?
B. Most animals jump at a lower angle than 45 .
Suppose the grasshopper takes off at 30
from the horizontal. What jump speed is
necessary to reach the noted distance?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Section 3.7 Circular Motion

Prelecture Video: Circular Motion

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Vectors and Circular Motion
• Cars on a Ferris wheel move at a constant speed but in a
continuously changing direction. They are in uniform circular
motion. The cars are not at constant velocity because the
direction of their velocity vectors change.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Circular Motion (1 of 3)
• For circular motion at a
constant speed, the
acceleration vector a points
toward the center of the circle.
• An acceleration that always
points directly toward the
center of a circle is called a
centripetal acceleration.
• Centripetal acceleration is just
the name for a particular type
of motion. It is not a new type
of acceleration.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.18 (1 of 2)
A car is traveling around a curve
at a steady 45 mph. Is the car
accelerating?
A. Yes
B. No

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.18 (2 of 2)
A car is traveling around a curve
at a steady 45 mph. Is the car
accelerating?
A. Yes

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.19 (1 of 2)
A car is traveling around a curve at a steady 45 m ph.
Which vector shows the direction of the car’s acceleration?

E. The acceleration is zero.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
QuickCheck 3.19 (2 of 2)
A car is traveling around a curve at a steady 45 m ph.
Which vector shows the direction of the car’s acceleration?

E. The acceleration is zero.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Circular Motion (2 of 3)

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Circular Motion (3 of 3)

The change of velocity is geometrically similar to the

change of displacement, so we can write:

v d

v r
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Motion in Two Dimensions: Circular
Motion
• The displacement is just the speed v times the time interval
t : d vt
v v t
• We can substitute this for d in our equation: 
2
v r
v v
• We can rearrange this as: 
t r
• The left hand side is acceleration, so this becomes:
  v2 
a  , towardcenter of circle 
 r 
Centripetal acceleration of object moving in a of circle radius r at speed v

• Class Video: Acceleration Due to Changing Direction

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
QuickCheck 3.20 (1 of 2)
A toy car moves around a circular track at constant speed.
It suddenly doubles its speed — a change of a factor of 2.
As a result, the centripetal acceleration changes by a factor
of
A. 1/ 4
B. 1/ 2
C. No change since the radius doesn’t change.
D. 2
E. 4

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

QuickCheck 3.20 (2 of 2)
A toy car moves around a circular track at constant speed.
It suddenly doubles its speed — a change of a factor of 2.
As a result, the centripetal acceleration changes by a factor
of
E. 4

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.12 Finding the Acceleration of
Speed Skaters (1 of 3)
World-class female short-track speed skaters can cover the 500
m of a race in 45 s. The most challenging elements of the race
are the turns, which are very tight, with a radius of approximately
11 m. Estimate the magnitude of the skater’s centripetal
acceleration in a turn.

Strategize The skaters are

moving in a circular path, so
they have a centripetal
acceleration directed inward,
toward the center of the curve.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.12 Finding the Acceleration of
Speed Skaters (2 of 3)
Strategize We’ll need to know their speed, which we can find from the
distance around the track and the time to complete the race
Prepare The centripetal acceleration depends on two quantities: the
radius of the turn (given as approximately 11 m) and the speed. The
speed varies during the race, but we can make a good estimate of the
speed by using the total distance and time:
500m
v 11m / s
45s
45 s

Solve We can use these values to estimate the magnitude of

the acceleration:

11 m/s 
2 2
v
a  11 m/s2
r 11 m
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example 3.12 Finding the Acceleration of
Speed Skaters (3 of 3)
Assess This is a large acceleration—a bit more than g—but the
photo shows the skaters leaning quite hard into the turn, so such
a large acceleration seems quite reasonable.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example Problem (4 of 5)
Turning a corner at a typical large intersection in a city
means driving your car through a circular arc with a radius
of about 25 m. If the maximum advisable acceleration of
your vehicle through a turn on wet pavement is 0.40 times
the free-fall acceleration, what is the maximum speed at
which you should drive through this turn?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Section 3.8 Relative Motion

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Relative Motion
• Amy, Bill, and Carlos are watching a runner.
• The runner moves at a different velocity relative to each
of them.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Relative Velocity

• The runner’s velocity relative to Amy is:

v x RA 5m  s
• The subscript “RA” means “Runner relative to Amy.”
• The velocity of Amy relative to Carlos is:
v x AC  15m  s
• The velocity of the Runner relative to Carlos is:
v x RC v x RA  v x AC 5m / s  15m / s  10m  s
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
QuickCheck 3.21 (1 of 2)
A factory conveyor belt rolls at
3 m/s. A mouse sees a piece of
cheese directly across the belt
and heads straight for the
cheese at 4 m/s. What is the
mouse’s speed relative to the
factory floor?

A. 1 m/s
B. 2 m/s
C. 3 m/s
D. 4 m/s
E. 5 m/s
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
QuickCheck 3.21 (2 of 2)
A factory conveyor belt rolls at
3 m/s. A mouse sees a piece of
cheese directly across the belt
and heads straight for the
cheese at 4 m/s. What is the
mouse’s speed relative to the
factory floor?

E. 5 m/s

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.13 Speed of a Seabird (1 of 3)

Researchers doing satellite tracking of albatrosses in the

Southern Ocean observed a bird maintaining sustained flight
speeds of 35 m/s—nearly 80 mph! This seems surprisingly fast
until you realize that this particular bird was flying with the wind,
which was moving at 23 m/s. What was the bird’s airspeed—its
speed relative to the air? This is a truer measure of its flight
speed.
Strategize We are asked how fast the bird appears to be moving
relative to someone drifting along at the same speed as the
wind. The equation we will use to find this relative velocity is:

v x bw v x ba  v x aw

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example 3.13 Speed of a Seabird (2 of 3)

Prepare The figure shows the wind and the albatross moving to the
right, so all velocities will be positive. We’ve shown the velocity v x bw
of the bird with respect to the water, which is the measured flight
speed, and the velocity v x aw of the air with respect to the water,
which is the known wind speed. We want to find the bird’s airspeed—
the speed of the bird with respect to the air.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example 3.13 Speed of a Seabird (3 of 3)

Solve We’ve noted three different velocities that are important in

the problem: v x bw , v x aw , and v x ba . We can combine
these in the usual way:
v x bw v x ba  v x aw
Then, to solve for v x ba , we can rearrange the terms:
v x ba v x bw  v x aw 35m / s  23m / s 12m / s

Assess 12 m/s—about 25 mph—is a reasonable airspeed

for a bird. And it’s slower than the observed flight speed,
which makes sense because the bird is flying with the wind.
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example 3.14 Finding the Ground Speed
of an Airplane (1 of 3)

Cleveland is approximately 300 miles east of Chicago. A

plane leaves Chicago flying due east at 500 mph. The pilot
forgot to check the weather and doesn’t know that the
wind is blowing to the south at 100 mph. What is the
plane’s velocity relative to the ground?
Strategize We will generalize the idea of relative velocity
to the case where the velocities are not directed along a
single line by using vectors to represent the velocities in
the equation:
  
v pg v pa  v ag

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Example 3.14 Finding the Ground Speed
of an Airplane (2 of 3)
Prepare The figure is a visual overview of the situation. We are

are given the speed of the plane relative to the air v pa and the

 
 
pa ; the speed of the
speed of the air relative to the ground v pa
plane relative to the ground will be the vector sum of these
velocities:
  
v pg v pa  v ag

This vector sum is shown in the figure above.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example 3.14 Finding the Ground Speed
of an Airplane (3 of 3)
Solve The plane’s speed relative to the ground is the hypotenuse of
the right triangle in the figure; thus:
v pg  v pa2  v ag2  500mph   100mph  510mph
22 22

The plane’s direction can be specified by the angle  measured

from due east:
 100mph 
 tan 1   tan 1 0.20  11 
 500mph 
The velocity of the plane relative to the ground is thus:

v pg 510mph,11°southof east 
Assess The good news is that the wind is making the plane move a
bit faster relative to the ground. The bad news is that the wind is
making the plane move in the wrong direction!
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example Problem (5 of 5)
A skydiver jumps out of an airplane 1000 m directly above
his desired landing spot. He quickly reaches a steady
speed, falling through the air at 35 m/s. There is a breeze
blowing at 7 m/s to the west.

A. At what angle with respect to vertical does he fall?

B. When he lands, what will be his displacement from his
desired landing spot?

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Summary

Video Tutor Solution Chapter 3: Dock Jumping

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Summary: General Principles (1 of 2)
Projectile Motion The motion consists of two
pieces:
A projectile is an object that
moves through the air under the 1. Vertical motion with free-
influence of gravity and nothing fall acceleration, ay  g
else.
2. Horizontal motion with
The path of the motion is a constant velocity
parabola.
Kinematic equations:
xf xi  v x i t
v x f v x i constant
1
y f y i  v y  t  g t 
2
i 2
v  v  g t
y f y i Text: p 90
age

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Summary: General Principles (2 of 2)
Circular Motion
An object moving in a circle at a
constant speed has a velocity that is
constantly changing direction, and so
experiences an acceleration:
• The velocity is tangent to the
circular path.
• The acceleration points toward the
center of the circle and has
magnitude

v2
a
r Text: p 90 age

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Summary: Important Concepts (1 of 2)
Vectors and Components The sign of the components
A vector can be decomposed depends on the direction of
into x- and y-components. the vector:

The magnitude and direction

of a vector can be expressed
in terms of its components. Text: p 90 age

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Summary: Important Concepts (2 of 2)
The Acceleration Vector
We define the acceleration vector as
  
 v f  v i v
a 
t f  ti t

We find the acceleration vector on a motion diagram as follows:

Text: p 90 age

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Summary: Applications (1 of 2)
Motion on a Ramp
An object sliding down a ramp
will accelerate parallel to the
ramp:

ax g sin

The correct sign depends on

the direction in which the ramp
is tilted.

Text: p 90 age

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Summary: Applications (2 of 2)
Relative Motion c = car, r = runner, g = ground
Velocities can be expressed
relative to an observer. We
can add relative velocities to
convert to another observer’s
point of view.
The speed of the car with
respect to the runner is

v x cr v x cg  v x gr

Text: p 90 age

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Copyright

This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is

provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their
courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of
any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will
destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work
and materials from it should never be made available to students
except by instructors using the accompanying text in their
classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these
restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and
the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials.

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved