Physics 1A

Motion In Two And Three Dimensions

Projectile Motion

A special case where the particle moves in a vertical plane and accelerates due to
gravity. The Horizontal and vertical parts are independent of each other. The
horizontal velocity is constant throughout the motion. While the vertical
component is under constant downward acceleration due to gravity.














The Horizontal Motion
Because there is no acceleration in the horizontal direction, the horizontal
component vx of the projectiles velocity remains unchanged from its initial value
throughout the motion.
At any time t, the projectiles horizontal displacement x-x0 is given by


Because v0x =v0cos this becomes



Vertical Motion
Acceleration is constant in a downward direction





When the projectile reaches its maximum height the vertical velocity will be
zero.

The trajectory of a particle in motion is parabolic and is given by



Uniform Circular Motion













If a particle travels along a circle or circular arc of radius r at constant speed v, it
is said to be in uniform circular motion and has an acceleration a of constant
magnitude




The direction of the acceleration is towards the center of the circle and is said to
be centripetal. The time for the particle to complete the circle is



T is called the period of revolution, or simply the period of the motion.


Relative Motion

When two frames of reference A and B are moving relative to each other at a
constant velocity, the velocity of a particle P as measured by an observer in
frame A usually differs from that measured from frame B. the two measured
velocities re relative by



Where vBA is the velocity of B with respect to A. Both observers measure the
same acceleration for the particle:










The Horizontal Range

The horizontal range R of the projectile is the horizontal distance traveled by a
projectile when the it returns to its initial height. To find R, put x x0 = R and
y - y0 = 0