Chapter 3

Kinematics in Two
Dimensions; Vectors
• Vectors and Scalars
• Addition of Vectors – Graphical Methods (One and Two-
Dimension)
• Multiplication of a Vector by a Scalar
• Subtraction of Vectors – Graphical Methods
• Adding Vectors by Components
• Projectile Motion
• Projectile Motion Is Parabolic
• Relative Velocity
Short review with few
questions – Chapter 2
 2.1 Walking the Dog

You and your dog go for a walk to

the park. On the way, your dog takes 1) yes
many side trips to chase a squirrel. 2) no

When you arrive at the park, do you

and your dog have the same displacement?

Yes, you have the same displacement. Since you and your dog had the
same initial and final positions, then you have (by definition) the same
displacement.
 2.2 Displacement

Does the displacement of an object 1) yes

2) no
depend on the specific location of
3) it depends on the
the origin of the coordinate system? coordinate system

Since the displacement is the 10 20 30 40 50

difference between two
coordinates, the origin does
not matter.

30 40 50 60 70
Dx = 60 - 30 = 30
 2.3 Position and Speed

1) yes
If the position of a car is zero, 2) no
does its speed have to be zero? 3) it depends on the
position

No, the speed does not depend on position, it depends on the change
of position. Since we know that the displacement does not depend on
the origin of the coordinate system, an object can easily start at
x = –3 and be moving by the time it gets to x = 0.
 2.4 Velocity in One Dimension

If the average velocity is non-zero over 1) yes

some time interval, does this mean that 2) no

the instantaneous velocity is never zero 3) it depends

during the same interval?

No!!! For example, your average velocity for a trip home

might be 60 mph, but if you stopped for lunch on the way
home, there was an interval when your instantaneous
velocity was zero, in fact!
 2.5 Acceleration

1) yes
If the velocity of a car is non-
2) no
zero (v ≠ 0), can the 3) depends on

acceleration of the car be zero? the velocity

Sure it can! An object moving with constant velocity

has a non-zero velocity, but it has zero acceleration

since the velocity is not changing.

 2.5 Falling Objects

Alice and Bill are at the top of 1) Alice’s ball

a building. Alice throws her 2) it depends on how hard the ball

was thrown
ball downward. Bill simply
3) neither -- they both have the
drops his ball. Which ball has same acceleration
the greater acceleration just 4) Bill’s ball
after release?

Both balls are in free fall once they are

Alice Bill
released, therefore they both feel the
v0
acceleration due to gravity (g). This
acceleration is independent of the initial vA vB
velocity of the ball.

Which one has the greater velocity when they hit the ground? A
 Vectors and Scalars
We have already introduced the concept of vectors and scalars in chapter 2. Let’s now
see some of the vector properties in more details.

Recalling:

Scalar: quantity specified by a number and

some unit (Ex.: temperature, mass, etc)

x1 x2
Vector: entity that contains information about
the magnitude and direction of certain quantity.

In our example, is the displacement vector pointing

in the +x direction with magnitude represented by Δx:

(2.1)

Notes: 1) The arrow is always drawn such that it points in the direction of the vector it
represents.
2) The magnitude of a vector is always positive. The sign in (2.1) gives the
direction of the vector (Ex.: negative indicates that it points in the –x direction).
 Vectors and Scalars
The length of the arrow representing a vector is usually drawn proportional to the
magnitude of the vector.
 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method
It is clear the importance of vectors when addressing problems in physics. We have
already seen how important it is to understand motion in one dimension of an object
by representing it using the displacement, velocity and acceleration vectors.

It is now useful to see some vector properties and understand how they can be used
to solve physics problems not only in one dimension but also in two (or three)
dimensions.

Example (one-dimension):

(a) A person walks 8 Km in the +x direction, and

then another 6 Km in the same direction
(figure (a)). Use the vector method to obtain
the person’s displacement.

(b) Solve the problem using figure (b).

 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method
(a) A person walks 8 Km in the +x direction, and
then another 6 Km in the same direction
(figure (a)). Use the vector method to obtain
the person’s displacement.

Let’s represent the first displacement (8 Km)

by the vector ; the second displacement
(6 km) by ; and the resulting
displacement by .

We can say the following:

The magnitude will be given by

 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method
(b) Solve the problem using figure (b).

Vector is pointing in the +x direction, but

vector points in the –x direction.

The resulting displacement vector can

still be given by

But now we should be careful with the

relative directions of the two vectors when
calculating the resulting magnitude of .

We can consider to be the opposite of

a vector of same magnitude as such
that:

is said to be the negative

of the vector
6 km
 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method

We can then rewrite as

The magnitude will be given by:

Note that the sign is that of the vector with

greatest magnitude; in this case.
Thus, will point in the direction (+x)
with a magnitude of 2 Km as depicted in
figure (b).
 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method

The equations for vector addition obtained on the previous slides are valid for any
arbitrary vectors. For instance, let and be any arbitrary vectors and the
result of the addition of these two vectors. Then:

(3.1)

Will have the same properties as those discussed in the previous example:

The sign of the vector will be that of one of the addition vectors, or , with
the greatest magnitude.

Note: If you add more than three vectors, you can always effectuate the addition in
steps. For example:

Let be such that

Then
 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method

Let c be a scalar and an arbitrary vector. The product of c by is a new vector

with magnitude cV1. The direction of is such that:

a) It points in the direction if c > 0 ;

b) It points in the opposite direction of if c < 0 ;

 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method
The discussions have been so far carried out based on one-dimensional space. But
do the results obtained also apply in two-dimensional cases?

Example:

A person walks 10 Km from the origin 0 B

in the +x direction (eastward). He then
decide to head north (+y direction) and
walks another 5 Km. Obtain his
displacement (direction and magnitude). A
0
Solution:

Let and be the vectors representing

his motion in the +x and +y directions, respectively.
We know that his resulting displacement corresponds to the length between his initial
and final positions (0 and B).
It is represented by the vector connecting these two positions and pointing
from 0 to B.
As in the previous examples, the resulting displacement is the addition of
the two intermediary displacements and :
 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method

However, a first look at the diagram below shows that in this case the magnitude of
the resulting displacement is such that:

if the vectors and are not along the

same line. B

In fact , and form a right triangle with

DR as the hypotenuse.
We can then use the theorem of A
Pythagoras to obtain DR : 0

The angle θ can be measured using a protractor for example.

 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method

Based on the previous example, we can introduce the general rules for graphically
adding two vectors, not matter the angles they make. This method is called
tail-to-tip.

a) Choose a reference frame represented by a pair of coordinate axes;

b) Draw one of the vectors, say , to scale on your coordinate system. You can
have this vector starting at the origin of your coordinate system if you want;

c) Draw the second vector, say , to scale, with its tail at the tip of the first vector;

d) The resultant, , is the vector connecting

the tail of the first vector and the tip of the B
second vector:

A
0

It makes an angle θ with the x axis. The length

of represents its magnitude.
 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method

Note:

The following identity is true: It is not important in which order the vectors
are added

(3.2)
 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method
The tail-to-tip vector addition method is valid not only for vectors at right angle, but
also for vectors at any angle :

The method can also be extended

to three or more vectors

Note: You can use the method of the vector addition step by step as mentioned
before, and reduce the problem to the addition of two vectors if you want.
 Addition
Additio n of Vectors – Graphical Method

And alternative to the tail-to-tip method is the so called parallelogram method.

In this method the following rules apply:

a) Two vectors, say and , are drawn such the they start from a common origin
chosen by you when you select you coordinate system;

b) A parallelogram is constructed using these two vectors as adjacent sides;

c) The resultant vector is diagonal drawn from the common origin.

 Subtraction of Vectors – Graphical Method

We have actually discussed about subtraction of vectors when we were talking about
addition of vectors. In fact, subtraction of vectors is the same as addition if you
consider the following identity:

(3.3)

And all properties for addition applies for subtraction.

Example:
 Vectors – Examples

Problem 3.3 (textbook)

Show that the vector

r
labeled
r
“incorrect”
r r in Fig. 3–6c is actually the difference of the
two vectors. Is it V2 - V1 , or V 1 - V 2 ?

Solution:
r
Label the “INCORRECT”
r r r vector as vector X . Then Fig. 3-6 (c) illustrates the
relationship V1 + X = V2 via the tail-to-tip method. Thus
r r r
X = V2 - V1