Solutions to Jaan Kalda’s Problems in

Kinematics

With detailed diagrams and walkthroughs

Edition 2.0.0

Ashmit Dutta, Daniel Yang, Kushal Thaman, QiLin Xue, Tarun Agarwal

F
a

Updated April 5, 2020

Kalda Kinematics 1

Preface
Jaan Kalda’s handouts are beloved by physics students both in for a quick challenge, to students preparing for
international Olympiads. As of writing, the current kinematics handout (ver 2.0) has 66 unique problems and
45 main ‘ideas’.

This solutions manual came as a pilot project from the online community at artofproblemsolving.com.
Although there were detailed hints provided, full solutions have never been written. The majority of the
solutions seen here were written on a private forum given to those who wanted to participate in making
solutions. In an amazing show of an online collaboration, students from around the world came together to
discuss ideas and methods and created what we see today.

This project would not have been possible without the countless contributions from members of the com-
munity. Online usernames were used for those who did not wish to be named:

Rakshit, Evan Kim, Ameya Deshmukh, Alan Abraham, dbs27, Heramb Podar, Anant Lunia, Sumgato, Viraj
Jayam

Structure of The Solutions Manual

Each chapter in this solutions manual will be directed towards a section given in Kalda’s kinematics hand-
out. There are six major chapters: velocities, accelerations/displacements, optimal trajectories, rigid bod-
ies/hinges/ropes, miscellaneous topics, and revision problems. If you are stuck on a problem, cannot make
progress even with the hint, and come here for reference, look at only the start of the solution, then try again.
Looking at the entire solution wastes the problem for you and ruins an opportunity for yourself to improve.

Contact Us
Despite editing, there is almost zero probability that there are no mistakes inside this book. If there are any
mistakes, you want to add a remark, have a unique solution, or know the source of a specific problem, then
please contact us at [email protected]. The most current and updated version can be found on our website
physoly.tech

Please feel free to contact us at the same email if you are confused on a solution. Chances are that many
others will have the same question as you.

1
Kalda Kinematics 2

1 Solutions to Velocities Problems

This section will consist of the solutions to problems from problem 1-9 of the handout. In this section we will
be analyzing the usage of reference frames. Reference frames are defined as point or perspective of an action
or motion from different objects or people. For example, two different reference frames of a car moving on a
round could be one of an observer standing right by the road who sees the car to be moving on the road or the
person inside the car who does not see the car to be moving at all. Reference frames are extremely important
in physics as they allow us to solve seemingly complex problems which become greatly simplified with the use
of reference frames.

pr 1. In a time 2t, the barge moved a distance of 6 km in the ground frame, so this implies that the
speed of the water is:
∆d 6 km
vwater = = = 4 km/h
2t 1.5 hours
In the water’s reference frame, the barge is stationary and the boat travels at a constant speed
vboat rel water relative to the water, where:
∆d 30 − 6 km
vboat rel water = = = 16 km/h
2t 1.5 hours

pr 2. Moving into the frame of the red plane, we see the blue plane with a diagonally directed velocity.
800

600
1000

The closest approach would be when the faster plane’s path makes a perpendicular line with the slower
plane. This turns out into a geometry problem where we have two similar right triangles. We can break
up the velocity of the blue plane into components (since the displacement is in the same direction as
velocity, this is also the components of its displacement). The top triangle is a 3 − 4 − 5 right triangle
so the bottom right triangle must also be a 3 − 4 − 5 right triangle.

Now all we need to know now is to determine how far away the blue plane is when it is directly overhead
the red plane. The time it takes to reach this point is:
20 km
t= = 0.025 h
800 km/h
and the vertical distance it travels during this time is:
∆y = (600 km/h)(0.025 h) = 15 km/h

2
Kalda Kinematics 3

meaning the vertical separation is 5 km/h. Therefore:

d = 4 km

Solution 2: Let us work in the lab frame this time, but break the velocities of the two planes into a
direction perpendicular and towards the other plane. We only need to worry about this radial component.
Originally, the two planes will be nearing each other but will eventually get farther apart. The point at
which this happens is when the radial component of their velocities are directed in the same direction
and have the same magnitude. If we measured their radial acceleration at this point, it would be zero.

x α
800

y
α

600

Thus, we must have:

4
600 sin α = 800 cos α =⇒ tan α =
3
Due to similar triangles, we must also have:
4 y
=
3 x
Let t = 0 be when the fast plane is directly above the slow plane. The vertical separation at this point
is 5 km. Therefore, we have x = 800t and y = 5 − 600t We want:
5 − 600t 4
=
800t 3
Solving for t and plugging it into x and y can give you the separation, which turns out to be 4 km .

Solution 3: We can use generalized coordinates. The distance between the two planes is:

d~ = (20 − 800t)x̂ + (−20 + 600t)ŷ = ~s + ~v t

where ~s ≡ 20x̂ − 20ŷ and ~v ≡ −800x̂ + 600ŷ, which represents the relative velocity. As with before, we
want the relative velocity to be perpendicular to the displacement d. ~ One way of doing it is maximizing
the dot product:
|d~ × ~v | = |~s × ~v + ~v × ~v t| = |~s × ~v |
At the maximum, this cross product has to be equal to |d||~ ~ v |. Therefore, all we need is to evaluate:

~ = |~s × ~v |
|d| = 4 km
|~v |

3
Kalda Kinematics 4

Solution 4: Here’s a standard calculus method. The distance between the two planes after a time t is:

d2 = (20 − 800t)2 + (20 − 600t)2

d is maximized when d2 is maximized or when:

d
(20 − 800t)2 + (20 − 600t)2 = 2(20 − 800t)(−800) + 2(20 − 600t)(−600)


dt
0 = 4(20 − 800t) + 3(20 − 600t)
0 = 80 − 3200t + 60 − 1800t
t = 7/250

Plugging in t = 7/250 into the distance formula gives:

d = 4 km

pr 3. Consider the following diagram:

Moving into the reference frame moving leftward at velocity v/2 gives us the following diagram (where
u is the velocity of intersection):

v/2
u

a/2

Using SAS similarity we find that

u r
=p
v/2 r − (a/2)2
2

v v
u= p = p
2
2r r − (a/2) 2 2 1 − (a/2r)2

4
Kalda Kinematics 5

Solution 2: We start similarly to Solution 1 and move into a reference frame moving left at v/2.
p
Let y = r2 − a2 /4 be the height of of the intersection above the centers of the hoop. We then see that

dy dy da 1 v
= · =p ·
dt da dt (2r/a) − 1 2
2

Therefore,
s
q v2 v2 1
u = u2x + u2y = + · 2
4 4 (2r /a) − 1
v
u= p
2 1 − (a/2r)2

pr 4. We notice that the graph is quadratic so we can fit it to the equation

 
π 60 2
α= − (t − 7) + 60
180 49
π
=− (t − 7)2 + π/3
147
where α is in radians and t is in minutes.

Since we know that the upward ascending velocity is constant, it is

 
0 14π
vy = Lα (0) = 1000
147
= 299 m/min = 4.99 m/s

The height is simply

h = vy t = 2000 m
At t = 7 min, the change in elevation angle is momentarily 0, which means that the velocity vector also
points at 60 degrees.

Thus we can get

vx = vy tan(30◦ ) ≈ 2.8 m/s

You don’t need the equation of the curve to perform calculations, but even without it, the answer can appear a bit off.
e.g. the initial slope you get could be:

4◦ /0.2 min = 0.0698 rad/12 sec = 0.00582 sec−1

5
Kalda Kinematics 6

pr 5.

Ff

In the board’s frame of reference, there is only a horizontal force (the friction force), which has a constant
direction that is anti-parallel to the velocity. Thus, the chalk moves in a straight line .

pr 6. Let us assume that the block is originally pushed leftwards in the frame of the ground and the
conveyor is travelling upwards.
√
In the frame of the conveyor belt, the block is moving with a speed of 5 m/s. This is represented by
the red vector. Due to friction opposing the motion, the direction of motion relative to the belt will be
constant. The magnitude will steadily decrease to zero.

To move back to the frame of the ground, we can add back the velocity of the conveyor belt, as shown
below.

θ √
5 m/s

1 m/s

2 m/s

The blue vector shows the velocity of the block relative to the ground. Initially, it is 2 m/s but as friction
reduces the magnitude of the red vector (which represents the velocity relative to conveyor belt), the
blue vector will decrease to a minimum. This minimum occurs when it forms a right angled triangle
(represented by the dotted lines).

Therefore, the minimum velocity of the block relative to the ground is

2
v = 1 sin θ = √
5

6
Kalda Kinematics 7

pr 7.

uL
v cos α

ut
α
v cos α
s

Denote the dashed line by the wall which is a distance L away from the point source.

We express the lateral displacement of the ball as the sum of two components: lateral displacement in
the air’s frame of reference, and the lateral displacement of the moving frame.

In the air’s frame the displacement is given by

uL
utair =
v cos α
and the lateral displacement in the moving frame is given by s. This gives us

uL s L
ut = + s =⇒ t = +
v cos α u v cos α

pr 8. Draw a right trapezoid as follows:

We decompose ~v into parallel and perpendicular components, ~v = v~x + v~y ; let us mark points A, B and
C so that AB = v~x and BC = v~y (then, AC = ~v ).

Next we mark points D, E and F so that CD = v~y0 = v~y , DE = −v~x , and EF = 2u~x ; then, CF =
v~y0 − v~x + 2u~x ≡ v~0 and AF = 2v~y + 2u~x ≡ 2~u.

Due to the problem conditions, ∠ACF = 90◦ .

D −v~x 2u~x E

v~y0 = v~y
2v~y + 2u~x = 2~u
C
α β F

v~y
α

B v~x A

7
Kalda Kinematics 8

We now can see that ∆ACF is an isoceles triangle containing the lengths provided in the figure below.

Let us also mark point G as the centre of AF ; then, F C is both the median of the right trapezoid ABDF
(and hence, parallel to AB and the x−axis), and the median of the triangle ACF .

F
~u
C
α
β

~u
~v

By splitting ∆ACF into it’s median, we find,

v v
u cos α = =⇒ u = .
2 2 cos α

For this to also happen, we see that β = 180 − 2α because ∆ACF is an isoceles triangle.

pr 9. We move into the reference frame that is rotating clockwise at ω about the center of the mirror
(i.e. the mirror is stationary).

S0
ω

In this frame of reference, the image S 0 has angular velocity ω clockwise about the center of the mirror.

Moving back into the reference frame where S is stationary, we see that S 0 is moving with angular velocity
2ω about the center of the mirror, so the image has speed

v = 2ωa

8
Kalda Kinematics 9

2 Solutions to Accelerations/Displacements Problems

This chapter will contain problems 10-16 of the handout. In this section, we will be analyzing the usage of
non-constant velocity and graphs. When an object does not have a constant velocity, there is an acceleration
present meaning that the object is either speeding up or slowing down. The implementation of acceleration and
graphs allows us to figure out many problems. In this section, we will also be looking at the implementation of
cutting into tiny pieces and integrating to derive a result.

pr 10. Consider the following graph:

v (m/s)

2
t (s)
5 10 15
0

−2

Since the particle starts from the origin, the distance graph is simply the area under the velocity graph:

d (m)
18.75

16

14

12

10

2
t (s)
0
5 10 15 20

We need to find the maximum displacement, so our answer is 18.75 m

9
Kalda Kinematics 10

P
pr 11. Let us divide the displacement into tiny pieces, s = ∆s where ∆s = v∆t.
P
If the function v(t) were known, the last formula would have been completed our task, because v(t)∆t
is the sum of rectangles making up the area under the v − t-graph.

However, the acceleration is given to us as a function of v, hence we need to substitute ∆t with ∆v.

While trying to do that, we can introduce the acceleration (which is given to as a function of v):

∆t ∆v ∆v
∆t = ∆v · = = .
∆v ∆v/∆t a

In other words Z
Xv v
s= ∆v = dv.
a a(v)
v
This tells us that the answer is equal to the area under a graph which depicts as a function of v.
a(v)
Applying a quartic least-squares fit to some of the discernible data points, we can see that the curve a(v) is
well approximated by the function 0.00617211v 4 −0.0301639v 3 +0.0581573v 2 +0.0546369v +0.000715828.

Taking the integral, we can see that

Z 4 Z 4
v v
dv ≈ 4 3 2
dv
0 a(v) 0 0.00617211v − 0.0301639v + 0.0581573v + 0.0546369v + 0.000715828
≈ 39 m

Don’t worry if your answer isn’t exactly the same as ours, as this result may be difficult to determine by hand with the
graph provided. A rough approximation (within reasonable limits) would suffice.

pr 12.

B
x

α α

In the reference frame of ball A, ball B accelerates to the left with

aB = 2g sin α cos α

We can find that the initial length |AB| is

g t21 − t22 sin α

10
Kalda Kinematics 11

Therefore,
g t21 − t22 sin α cos α


x=
2
Since there is no relative acceleration in the y-direction, we need

aB t2
=x
2
2 − t2 sin α cos α


g t1 2
gt2 sin α cos α =
2
r
2 2
t1 − t2
t=
2

Solution 2: Each ball will accelerate with the same acceleration down their platform, meaning that
they will travel the same distance in the same timeframe.

Let x be the distance traveled by the individual balls and k be the distance between the two balls. Let
the height of the ball at point A be h1 and the height of the ball at point B be h2 .

If you draw a diagram you will find that there is a triangle formed by the position of the two balls and
h1 − h2
the intersection of the planks. The lengths of the triangle are x, x − , k.
sin α

A
h1 − h2
−x
sin α
k
O
B x

α α

By the Law of Cosines, we have

 2  
2 2 h1 − h2 h1 − h2
k =x + −x − 2x − x cos(2α)
sin α sin α

h1 − h2
Let β = for simplicity.
sin α
Simplifying the expression, we get that
p
k(x) = 2x2 (1 + cos (2α)) − 2xβ(1 + cos (2α)) + β 2

After taking the derivative of the quadratic and setting it equal to zero, we get that
B β
xm = − =
2A 2

11
Kalda Kinematics 12

Using acceleration along the ramp we can also find that

h1 gt2 sin α h2 gt2 sin α

= 1 = 2
sin α 2 sin α 2
gt2m sin α h1 − h2
xm = =
2 2 sin α
Plugging in everything we find that
s
h1 − h2
tm =
g sin2 α
v
u 2 2
u gt1 sin α gt22 sin2 α
u −
=
t 2 2
g sin2 α
r
t21 − t22
=
2

pr 13.

g sin α

g cos α d

Let t be the time it takes the ball to hit the ramp. Therefore, we find that
s
1 2 1 2d
d = at =⇒ d = g cos αt2 =⇒ t = .
2 2 g cos α

Now, we note that the total time T = 3t because the ball travels a distance d to collide with the ramp,
bounces up a distance d to the vertex of its parabolic trajectory, and then falls back down for the final
distance d.

This means that the distance between both bouncing points s is found by
1
s = g sin α(T 2 − t2 )
2  
1 2 2d
s = g sin α(8t ) = 4g sin α
2 g cos α
s = 8d tan α

12
Kalda Kinematics 13

Solution 2: Consider the following diagram:

90 − α

We rotate the plane by α counterclockwise such that gravity now has acceleration g cos α in the y-direction
and g sin α in the x-direction.
r
2gd
When the ball hits the plane, it strikes with velocity v0 = at an angle 90 − α to the
sin (90 − α)
inclined plane.

Then, we use modified projectile motion to get that

2v0 sin (90 − α) 2v0

t= =
g cos (α) g

We also have that

1
L = v0 cos (90 − α) t + g sin (α) t2
2
2
2v cos (90 − α) 4v02 g sin (α)
= 0 +
g 2g 2
2 2
2v sin (α) 2v0 sin (α)
= 0 +
g g
= 8gd tan α

13
Kalda Kinematics 14

pr 14.

β
v0 α

When on the plane, the puck experiences no change in its x-velocity, which is

v0 cos β = 5 m/s

However, it experiences an acceleration parallel to the plane with magnitude

a = g sin α

We note from the trajectory given that the puck drops 2.5 m below the apex of its trajectory while
undergoing a horizontal displacement of x = 5 m.
The time it takes to complete this motion is
x
t= =1s
v0 cos β
Therefore, we have that

gt2 sin α
= 2.5
2
5
sin α = 2
gt
α ≈ 30◦

pr 15. Due to symmetry the turtles meet at the centroid of the triangle formed, and form an equilateral
triangle at any instant. The velocity of the first turtle with respect to the other is obviously

0.1 cos (60◦ ) m/s

Thus, the relative velocity of separation is

3v
v(1 + cos (60◦ )) =
2
Since this is constant, the time taken for the turtles to meet is
d 2d
t= 3v = = 6.7 s
2
3v

14
Kalda Kinematics 15

Solution 2: The path length of any turtle in the motion is simply

s
rdθ 2
 
ds = dr 1 +
dr

Using polar coordinates, one can deduce that

dr
= −10 sin (60◦ )
dt
dθ 10
v = =5
dt 2
Hence we have
dθ 1 2dr
= − √ ⇒ ds = √
dr r 3 3
ds
Since t = , we find the total time by integrating this expression:
10
Z T Z 0
2
dt = − √ dr
0 3v √13
2d
T = = 6.7 s
3v

pr 16. Note that

ds vdt
dk = = .
L(t) L + ut
Integrating both sides gives us Z 1 Z T
vdt
dk =
0 0 L + ut
Using a s substitution s = L + ut ⇒ dx = udt and rearranging the integral gives us
Z T
v dx u
1= =⇒ = ln(ut + L) |T0
u 0 s v
 
u uT + L
= ln
v L

Substituting the values given in the problem tells us

 
uT + L uT
100 = ln =⇒ e100 = +1
L L
T = e100 − 1

15
Kalda Kinematics 16

3 Solutions to Optimal Trajectories Problems

This section will contain problems 17-22 of the handout. In this section, we will be analyzing trajectories. You
should have a good understanding of conics (parabolas in general) and projectile motion before getting into
this section. There are a lot of proofs and sometimes more they have more math than what you would call
physics. However, don’t be demotivated, there are a lot of great problems in this section and some of these
problems have ties to other areas of physics.

pr 17.

M P

O
One extreme case that we must consider first is directly travelling along the path AO, which gives
√
l2 + h2
t=
v
We’ll deal with this later, but we first use fact 5, as shown in the following diagram:
M P

φ A
α φ

x0
α
x

16
Kalda Kinematics 17

We use φ as defined above to make calculations easier and we get that

sin φ v
=
sin α u  
v sin α
φ = arcsin
u

Since

x0 = l − h tan φ
x = (l − h tan φ) cos α

We also have that

h x tan α
t= +
v cos φ u
h (l − h tan φ) sin α
= +
v cos φ u
h h sin φ sin α l sin α
= − +
v cos φ u cos φ u
2
h h sin φ l sin α
= − +
v cos φ v cos φ u
h cos φ l sin α
= +
v u
 
l
However, we must also note that, when φ ≥ arctan , the boy never actually reaches side OP .
h
Therefore, our answer is
 
h cos φ l sin α l
x = (l − h tan φ) cos α, t = + if φ < arctan
v u h
√
2
l +h 2
x = 0, t = otherwise
v

pr 18. Solution 1 (Fermat’s Principle):

a
α
v+w
n2 = u

n1 = 1

Let us move into the reference frame of the river such that everywhere in the water, the boy is travelling
at a constant speed u. This might seem troublesome at first because his destination would be moving,
but that doesn’t trouble us at all. As it will soon be made clear, the angle α the boy makes with the
shore-line will be independent of how far away the target is.

Consider a light beam that starts off from A and ends up travelling with a speed of v + w parallel to the

17
Kalda Kinematics 18

shoreline. Since it will take the fastest path, the boy will need to mimic this behavior. Snell’s Law gives:
 
◦ u u
n1 sin(90 ) = n2 sin α =⇒ sin α = =⇒ α = arcsin
v+w v+w

The total time the boy spends swimming is:

d a
t= =
u u cos α
Relative to the water, the boy swims a horizontal distance a tan α. The water during this time flows a
wa
distance wt = u cos α in the opposite direction. Therefore, the horizontal distance x is:
 w 
x= a − tan α
u cos α

Solution 2 (Huygens Principle):

A

ut
θ
θ

O (w + v)t B

Consider the same setup as before by moving into the frame of the river. This time however, the path
is reversed. The boy starts running from point O along the shore and eventually starts swimming to
location A. Imagine the boy emitting Chernenko radiation as he moves as shown in the diagram. The
wave speed is u while the speed of the boy is w +v > u. Physically, the outlines of all the circles represent
the superposition of all the points in which the boy can be at after a time t.

Due to Huygen’s Principle, we can see that this forms a wavefront that is moving towards A at a speed of
u. We can let this wavefront evolve until a part of it eventually reaches the point A. The path that this
part of the wave takes will represent the optimal path of the boy, that is, perpendicular to the wavefront.
We can determine the angle θ by considering two extreme paths the boy can take.

First, the boy can start swimming immediately and reach a distance ut after a time t. During this period,
the boy can also run a distance (w + v)t. The angle θ is thus given by:
u
cos θ =
w+v
and thus the angle α = 90◦ − θ normal to the shore is
 
u
α = arcsin
w+v

This is the same angle found in the first solution and as a result we can copy the exact steps to determine
x.

18
Kalda Kinematics 19

pr 19. We split up v into it’s vertical and horizontal components. From here we can see that each
parameter x, y and z as a function of t is
1
z = v0 t sin α − gt2 (1)
2
x = v0 cos αt (2)
x
t= (3)
v0 cos α
From here, we substitute equation 3 into equation 1 to yield
   2
x 1 x
z = v0 sin α − g .
v0 cos α 2 v0 cos α

Simplifying with trigonometry yields

gx2
z = x tan α − sec2 α
2v02
gx2
z = x tan α − 2 (tan2 α + 1)
2v0
gx 2 gx2
0 = 2 tan2 α − x tan α + 2
2v0 2v0

Here, we find a quadratic. For the region of space R to exist, the discriminant of this quadratic must be
greater than zero. This tells us
 2
gx2

2 gx
x −4 z+ 2 ≥0
2v02 2v0
2gx 2 g 2 x4
x2 − 2 z + 4 ≥ 0
v0 v0
2gx2 2 g2 4
z ≤ x − v
v02 x4 0

Simplifying this final expression gives us the answer. The region of space of R is

v02 gx2
z≤ − 2
2g 2v0

pr 20. Note that for a parabola with equation x2 = 4p(z − k), the focus is located at (0, k + p)

In problem 19, we have the equation

v02 gx2
z≤ − 2
2g 2v0
and with some manipulation we obtain
v04 2v02
x2 = − z.
g2 g
Factoring the equation gives
2v 2 v02
 
2
x =− 0 z−
g 2g

19
Kalda Kinematics 20

 2
v02

2 v0
x =4 − z−
2g 2g
Therefore, the focus of the parabola is at

v2 v2
 
0, 0 − 0 = (0, 0).
2g 2g

In problem 19, we assumed that the cannon was located at (0, 0), and so we are done.

pr 21. First, we make the following claim:

Claim: The optimal-velocity trajectory must contain both endpoints of the roof along its path.

Proof: Assume for the sake of contradiction that the optimal-velocity trajectory hits neither one of the
two endpoints of the roof. Then, we can clearly see that reducing the velocity by an small amount would
still result in the stone clearing the roof.

Now assume that the optimal-velocity trajectory hits only one of the two endpoints of the roof. In both
cases, the thrower can displace themself horizonally by an small amount, resulting the stone hitting
neither one of the two endpoints.

Thus, the optimal-velocity trajectory must contain both endpoints of the roof.

By idea 28, we can set the rightmost point of the roof (point F ) to be the focus of the region R of all
possible trajectories. Optimally, this parabola should pass through the left end of the roof.

F
a v

c
v0

By fact 9, we have that

a+b−c
h=
2

20
Kalda Kinematics 21

We know that if the projectile is thrown straight up, it hits the top of the red parabola, so
1 2
v = gh
2 p
v = g(a + b − c)
By idea 32, we have that
1 2
v + gh = constant
2
1 2 1 2
v = v + gc
2 0 2
p
v0 = vmin = g (a + b + c)

Solution 2: We begin this solution by also proving that the optimal-velocity trajectory must pass
through the two endpoints of the roof.

Then,
p we set of coordinates
 of F to be (0, 0), so the coordinates of the left end of the roof are
b2 − (a − c)2 , a − c , where we have taken the absolute value of the x-coordinate to make calcu-
lations easier.
!
a−c
Let θ = arctan p , let the initial launch angle (to the horizontal) be α, and let the initial
b2 − (a − c)2
velocity of the stone be v0 .

b
a−c

θ
p
b2 − (a − c)2

The equation for the slope of the roof is given by

y = x tan θ
Along the slope of the roof, we have that
x = v0 t cos α
gt2
y = v0 sin αt −
2
gt2
v0 sin αt − = v0 t cos α tan θ
2
2v
t= (sin α − cos α tan θ)
g

It suffices to maximize the horizontal distance travelled, which is

2v 2 cos α
x= (sin α − cos α tan θ)
g

21
Kalda Kinematics 22

Taking the derivative with respect to α, we get that

dx 2v 2
2 tan θ sin α cos α − sin2 α + cos2 α


=
dα g
2v 2
= cos (θ − 2α)
g cos θ
π θ
=⇒ α = +
4 2
From this, we can find that
r
a+b−c
sin α =
2b
r
−a + b + c
cos α =
2b
p
b − (a − c)2
2
cos θ =
b
a−c
tan θ = p
b2 − (a − c)2

Then, we must have that

vt cos α = b cos θ
2v 2 cos α (sin α − cos α tan θ)
= b cos θ
g
s
gb cos θ
v=
2 cos α(sin α − cos α tan θ)

Plugging everything in, this simplifies (quite miraculously) to

p
v = g(a + b − c)

Applying conservation of energy to find the velocity at the ground, we see that
p
v0 = g(a + b + c)

pr 22. Assume you are at (0, 0), and let the target be at (x0 , y0 ), x0 > 0.

The trajectory of the projectile is defined by

gx2
y = x tan(θ) −
2v 2 cos2 (θ)

the slope of the projectile (as a function of x) is thus

dy gx
= tan(θ) − 2 .
dx v cos2 (θ)
It suffices to prove that  
gx0
tan(θ) tan(θ) − = −1
v cos2 (θ)
2

22
Kalda Kinematics 23

gx20
since v 2 cos2 (θ) = , it suffices to prove that
2(x0 tan(θ) − y0 )
 
2(x0 tan(θ) − y0 )
tan(θ) tan(θ) − = −1
x0

we know that s
gx20
v= .
2 cos2 (θ)(x0 tan(θ) − y0 )
Minimizing v means maximizing

cos2 (θ)(x0 tan(θ) − y0 ) = x0 sin(θ) cos(θ) − y0 cos2 (θ)

y0
therefore, taking the derivative, we get that we need − cot(2θ) = .
x0
Plugging this in, we can verify that
 
2y0
tan(θ) tan(θ) − 2 tan(θ) + = tan(θ)(− cot(θ)) = −1
x0

Solution 2:

Due to idea 28, together with facts 6, 7, and 9, a vertical ray directed at the target is reflected by the
projectile’s trajectory to the focus, i.e. to the cannon.

When making use of idea 26, we see that this projectile’s trajectory is also optimal for shooting the
cannon’s position from the location of the target; hence, the projectile’s trajectory reflects a vertical ray
directed to the cannon towards the target.

If we combine these two observations we see that a vertical ray directed to the cannon is rotated after
two reflections from the trajectory by 180◦ , which means that the reflecting surfaces must have been
perpendicular to each other.

23
Kalda Kinematics 24

4 Solutions to Rigid Bodies/Hinges/Ropes Questions

This section will contain problem 23-27 of the handout. Some of the hardest problems in kinematics come from
rigid bodies/hinges/ropes. These types of problems generally want the solver to calculate a certain aspect of
motion of a singular system or multiple systems of objects interacting with each other. When solving these
types of problems. it is best to analyze how the motion will happen before getting right into the equations.

pr 23.

v1

l1

l2

v2

We know by idea 33 that the instantaneous axis of rotation O of the object exists.

Let l1 and l2 be the distance from O to the top and bottom boards, respectively.

In fact, we have that

l1 |v1 |
=
l2 |v2 |
By the properties of the instantaneous axis of rotation, we know that all points with speed |v1 | lie on a
circle centered at O with radius l1 , and all points with speed |v2 | lie on a circle centered at O with radius
l2 .

24
Kalda Kinematics 25

pr 24.

2v

v
As the wheel is rolling, we have that ω = .
R
The speed of the highest point in the lab frame is

v + ωR = 2v

Therefore, we find that the centripetal force at the highest point is

(2v)2
ac =
r
The speed of highest point in frame of wheel’s centre is ωR = v.

Therefore, the centripetal force in the wheels center is

v2
ac = ω 2 R =
R
As both frames are inertial frames,
v2 4v 2
= =⇒ r = 4R
R r

pr 25. a)

2L
30◦

30◦
2L

25
Kalda Kinematics 26

v02
First we can find that the horizontal projection of the acceleration is .
2l
Then, since the velocity of the joint and the end are equal, there can be no centripetal acceleration, so
the direction of the total acceleration must be perpendicular to the right rod, thus

v02 v2
= a cos 30◦ =⇒ a = √0
2l 3l

b) If we take the frame of reference moving upward at v0 , it is essentially the same setup and thus

v2
a = √0
3l

pr 26.

From constraints on the thread we can determine that

ωR = vCM sin α

For a no-slipping condition, we have

v0
vCM = v0 − ωR ⇒ vCM =
1 + sin α

Solution 2: We move into the frame moving left with velocity v

v0 dt v0
sin α = =
(v − v0 )dt v − v0

v sin α
v0 =
1 + sin α
Moving back into the reference frame of the wall, we get

v sin α v
v0 = v − =
1 + sin α 1 + sin α

26
Kalda Kinematics 27

pr 27.

α
u

Since the length of the rod is constant, we can consider the equation

x2 + y 2 = L2

Differentiating with respect to time, this gives

dx dy
2x + 2y =0
dt dt
xu + yv = 0
y
u = −v = −v tan α
x
Now, we find the acceleration
dv d(u tan α)
a= =
dt dt
Since u is constant, we have
d tan α dα
a=u = u sec2 α
dt dt
dα
The angular velocity is simply
dt
dα u cos α + v tan α sin α u
= =
dt L L cos α
This means that
dα u2
a = u sec2 α =
dt L cos3 α

27
Kalda Kinematics 28

5 Solutions to Miscellaneous Problems

This section will contain problem 28-34 of the handout. These problems are ones that are too unique or different
to be placed under one singular category. Therefore, all of these problems got their own category by themselves,
the Miscellaneous Problems Category. These problems are generally pretty interesting, but beware! You may
have to take out a compass and straightedge for some of these problems!

pr 28. Consider a reference frame moving with speed u opposite to the direction of the cars.

Cars at the end will be moving with speed v + u, and the distance between them will be vτ .

Cars at the front will be moving at speed u (because they are stopped) and have a distance l between
them.

Now we take ratios of speed to length and equate them to get

vτ l
=
v+u u
vτ u = vl + ul
vτ u − ul = vl =⇒ u(vτ − l) = vl
v
u= ≈ 3.4 m/s
vτ /l − 1

pr 29.

vt
A C M B

α ut

Consider the diagram above, where A is the engine of the left train, B is the engine of the right train,
M is the midpoint of AB, P is the intersection of the smoke trails, and C is that intersection projected
onto line AB.

Since both trains travel at v = 50 km/h, M is where the two trains met. In the time it took the trains
to travel from M to A and B, the wind caused the smoke to drift from point M to point P .

Let us set an arbitrary scale of 1 cm = 100 km.

28
Kalda Kinematics 29

Measuring , we find that

|AB| = 15.8 cm
|AM | = 7.9 cm = vt
t = 15.8 h
|P M | = 2.3 cm = ut
u = 14.55 km/h ≈ 15 km/h ≈ 4.2 m/s
α ≈ 27◦
Don’t worry if you didn’t set the same scale or measure the same distances as us; however, the ratios of your distances
and the final answer should still remain (approximately) the same

pr 30. From the first two collisions, we can deduce that all three bodies lie on the same plane. For
simplicity, let this be the x-y plane.

Additionally, we can assume that all three bodies lie on the x-axis, with body a at the origin O. We can
then plot the motion of the bodies in three dimensions (with time as the third dimension) as follows:

Since body a collides with body b, both the trajectories of a and b must lie on some unique plane P in
our 3-D plot.

Since body a collides with body b, both the trajectories of a and c must lie on some unique plane P 0 in
our 3-D plot.

However, both P and P 0 contain the trajectory of A and the x-axis, so they must be the same plane.

Therefore, yes , b and c would collide if a is missing.

29
Kalda Kinematics 30

pr 31.

ΩRt

R0
α
R

In the free-falling frame, all the particles move with constant velocities; each particle had initial velocity
equal to the wheel’s velocity at the releasing point, i.e. tangential to the wheel and equal by modulus to
ΩR. Hence the ensemble of particle expands as a circle, the radius of which can be calculated from the
Pythagorean theorem. p
R02 = R2 + Ω2 R2 t2 =⇒ R0 = R 1 + Ω2 t2
In the lab frame, the centre of the circle performs a free fall d = 21 gt2 − R. A droplet reaching the point
A corresponds to the expanding circle touching the ground. Therefore, setting R0 = d gives us
p 1
R 1 + Ω2 t2 = gt2 − R
2
1 2 2
g t − gRt2 + R2 = R2 + R2 Ω2 t2
4
1 2 2
g t − gR = R2 Ω2
4
s 
2 R2 + gR


RΩ2

2 4 Ω R
t = =⇒ t = 2 1+
g2 g g

We can also tell from the given diagram that

 
ΩRt
α = arctan =⇒ α = arctan (Ωt)
R

30
Kalda Kinematics 31

pr 32. Let us make the assumption that the width of each propeller is much larger than a single pixel
and the speed of the propellers aren’t too fast. The reason we need to make this assumption is that this
will prevent a propeller from being missed completely.

We can imagine a physical vertical line transverse the propellers as they spin. Every time a propeller
passes this line, it will be caught on camera. We also make the assumption that the propellers are
straight and equally spaced; this is what we should expect in a real life scenario.

a) To determine the direction of rotation of the blades, we note that the blades are more frequently
spaced on the top side than the bottom side. This implies the blades have a higher speed relative to the
moving line than the blades at the bottom. Although they have the same speed in the lab frame, they
are moving in two separate directions. In order for the relative speed to be higher at the top, the blades
need to be moving towards the scanning line, and thus, counterclockwise .

120◦

b) Refer to the diagram above. The figure shows one column with a maximum of 2 blades on top at a
time. If there were 2 blades, only one blade should appear at a time. The blades themselves are marked
in black on the figure. It is seen that the angle between the blades is near 120◦ . Using our assumption
that they are equally spaced, this implies a 3-blade propeller.

Alternatively, we can label the seven blades at the top A, B, C, D, E, F , and G from left to right.
From inspection, we know that the leftmost blade at the bottom must also be A. This comes from our
assumption that A must be scanned before B, and so on. Furthermore, there couldn’t be any blades in
between or else it would have shown up in the scan. This follows that the second blade at the bottom must
be B, the third must be C, and the fourth must be D. Due to similar reason, the rightmost propeller at

31
Kalda Kinematics 32

the top must also be D. However, we have already stated that this propeller was G. Therefore, G = D.
Continuing counterclockwise, we have F = C, then E = B and D = A = G. With this systematic
labeling, we have completed one loop and can confidently state that there are only three unique blades.
In the diagram below, each unique blade has been coloured with a separate color.
0.9`

120◦

c) We track the rotation of any arbitrary blade, the easiest being the red blade from its top left position
to its top right position. This corresponds with a 600◦ rotation (one may be tempted to say a 240◦
rotation but note that the red blade can be seen when the scanning line is at the middle meaning at that
point it has already passed the 240◦ mark.

Using a ruler, we can measure the horizontal distance between the starting and final location to be
0.9` where ` is the width of the photo. If it takes 0.125 s to scan the entire photo, then it takes
0.9 · 0.125 = 0.1125 s for the blade to travel 1 32 revolutions. This corresponds with an angular frequency
of:
5/3
f= = 14.8 Hz ≈ 15 Hz
0.1125

32
Kalda Kinematics 33

pr 33. i) Assume that we have stuck paper strips with sinusoidal waves on both the combs such that
the crests correspond with the teeth.

For the black comb, teeth exist when

  2π
sin k~1 · ~r = 1, k1 =
∆l1
For the gray comb, teeth exist when
  2π ω
sin k~2 · ~r − ωt = 1, k2 = , =v
∆l2 k2
(r = 0 where the teeth coincide at t = 0, k1 > k2 ).

We will see dark regions when

   
sin k~1 · ~r sin k~2 · ~r − ωt = 1
π
=⇒ k~1 · ~r = 2nπ + ,
2
~ π
k2 · ~r − ωt = 2mπ +
  2
~ ~
=⇒ k1 − k2 · ~r = 2kπ − ωt

and
π
k~2 · ~r − ωt = 2mπ +
2
~ ~
(k1 − k2 ) · ~r = 2kπ − ωt

following a constant phase (i.e. a constant k).

For the first part,

−ω
−ω k2 −v
vstripes = = = = −7v = −7 cm/s
k~1 − k~2 k1 l2
−1 −1
k2 l1

Solution 2 to i) Let ∆l1 be the gap between the teeth of the black comb and let ∆l2 = be the gap
between the teeth of the gray comb.

From the gap between 2 transparent spaces in the given image we can observe that

7∆l2 = 8∆l1

If we observe the teeth of both the combs just before where they coincide, the gap between their centres
will be
8 ∆l1
∆l2 − ∆l1 = ∆l1 − l1 =
7 7
When this gap is covered, the transparent, and hence dark, stripes move by an entire black comb’s gap
(i.e. ∆l1 ) backwards
∆l1
∴ vstripes = − ∆l1 = −7v = −7 cm/s
7v

33
Kalda Kinematics 34

ii) For the second part,

k~1 − k~2 ≈
p
(k2 α)2 + (k1 − k2 )2

−ω
∴ vstripes =
k~1 − k~2
−ω
k2
≈s  2
k1
α2 + −1
k2
−v
=r = −5.73 cm/s
2
1
α +
49

pr 34. Consider the moment when the angle of the dog-fox line relative to the horizontal is θ.

r
ry
v
θ
rx

By splitting the velocity of the dog into is x and y components, we can see that
drx vrx
= −v cos θ = −
dt r
dry vry
= v − v sin θ = v −
dt r
By the Pythagorean Theorem, we have that

rx2 + ry2 = r2

Differentiating with respect to time, we see that

drx dry dr
2rx + 2ry = 2r
dt dt dt
 vr 
x
 vry  dr
rx − + ry v − =r
r r dt
rx2 + ry2 dr
vry − v · =r
r dt
dr vry
= −v
dt r

34
Kalda Kinematics 35

Note that
dr dry  vr
y
  vry 
+ = −v + v− =0
dt dt r r
Integrating with respect to time, we see that r + ry = C, where C is a constant.

Taking the initial conditions of the system we can see that C = L.

dr
Since is always nonnegative, we can consider the limit as t → ∞, at which point r = ry . Therefore,
dt

L
rmin =
2

Solution 2: Notice that at any moment,

dr dx
− = v(1 − cos α) =
dt dt
This is because the relative velocity of the fox with respect to the fox at any moment along the horizontal
or along the curve the dog follows is the same.

Hence, we have

−v dr = v dx
dr = −dx
Z rmin Z 0
√ dr = − dx
L2 +02 rmin
rmin − L = −rmin
L
rmin =
2

35
Kalda Kinematics 36

6 Solutions to Revision Problems

This section will contain problems 35-66 of the handout. Revision problems take concepts and ideas from earlier
problems and place them in a new context. As a result, many of the problems in this section will seem familiar.
This however, does not mean that all the problems in this section are easy. Some of the hardest questions
originate in this section, which takes up nearly half of all the problems in the handout.

pr 35.

v sin ϕ

v cos ϕ
v
ϕ

Since we have u > v > v sin ϕ ∀ 90◦ > ϕ ≥ 0◦ , this means that the fast-flowing river carries the boy a
lateral distance of a = (u − v sin ϕ)T (where T is the time it takes to reach the other shore) from point
B.
L
Since the time taken to cross the river is simply T = , this means that
v cos ϕ

(u − v sin ϕ)L (2 − sin ϕ)L

a= =
v cos ϕ cos ϕ
where the last expression is achieved by substituting the given values.

Now, for minimising a, we have

 
da d 2 − sin ϕ L(2 sin ϕ − 1)
=L =
dϕ dϕ cos ϕ cos2 ϕ

which clearly vanishes at sin ϕ = 1

2 or ϕ = 30◦ .

Substituting this in the expression for a, we have

L(2 − 12 ) √
amin = √ = L 3
3/2

36
Kalda Kinematics 37

Solution 2: Let the velocity of the boy with respect to the ground be w ~ = ~u + ~v . Since ~u, the velocity
of the water is fixed and the magnitude of ~v is fixed, we can only change the orientation.

w v

θ
u

The superposition of all possible orientations fill up a circle as shown. We want the velocity relative to
the ground to make as large an angle as possible. To achieve this, w, u, and v must be the three sides
of a right angled triangle such that:
√
w2 = u2 − v 2 =⇒ w = 3 m/s

The time to cross is given by:

L
t=
w sin θ
and the horizontal distance traveled during this time is:
L √
a = w cos θt = = L 3
tan θ

pr 36. Let the length of the rope be L, let AO = x, and let A0 O0 = y as shown in the diagram below.

A A0

y
O0

x v

α
O

B B0

37
Kalda Kinematics 38

Also let vO be the velocity of ring O.

By the Pythagorean Theorem, we have that

(x − y)2 + b2 = (L − y)2

Taking the derivative, we get that

d d d
(x − y)2 + b2 = (L − y)2
dt  dt  dt
dx dy dy
2(x − y) − = −2(L − y) ·
dt dt dt
 
x−y
(vO − v) = −v
L−y
(vO − v) cos α = −v
 
1
vO = v 1 −
cos α

Note that this velocity is directed upwards along the rail, hence its negative value.

Note that
x−y
cot α =
b
dα d
− csc2 α = b · (x − y)
dt dt
dα v sin2 α
=
dt b cos α
Since we have
x−y
cot α =
b
dα d
− csc2 α = b · (x − y)
dt dt
dα v sin2 α
=
dt b cos α
We get the acceleration of point O as

dvO dα v2
aO = = v sec α tan α = tan3 α
dt dt b

pr 37. The ball can escape the well if at the time at which the ball is at maximum height, it collides
with the wall.
2R cos α
The time between any 2 collisions with the wall is .
v0

38
Kalda Kinematics 39

r
2H
The total time of flight of 1 parabola is 2 . This means that the required condition is then
g
s
2H 2qR cos α
2p = , or
g v0
s
2H
pv0 = qR cos α, p, q ∈ N
g

pr 38. The ball will have an acceleration a along the wedge to keep the length of the string constant.

Therefore, by drawing the acceleration vectors, we can obtain the following diagram:
a

180 − α
a
α

We then find from law of cosines that

p
anet = 2a2 − 2a2 cos α
p
= a 2(1 − cos α)
r α
= a 4 sin2
2
α
= 2a sin
2

pr 39. At that moment, the acceleration of the dog is equal to

dv~2 dθ
~a = = v2 r̂
dt dt
By Idea 37, we have the angular velocity of the relative position vector as
dθ v1 sin 90◦ v1
= =
dt ` `
Hence, from the two relations, the acceleration of the dog is

v1 v2
a=
`

39
Kalda Kinematics 40

pr 40. Consider the moment when the cone is right on the edge and take the reference frame of the
cone. In this reference frame the corner of the table is moving to the left with velocity v and has upward
acceleration of g.

The corner of the table is essentially a projectile that is launched horizontally with velocity v and has to
not touch the cone. The minimum value for v will then result in the trajectory where the corner touches
the top of the cone.

r
The corner has to take time to reach the corner. In this time it has to travel
v
1  r 2
h= g
2 v
r
g
v= r
2h

pr 41. The rope will intuitively be something like a spiral.

Since the rope can go up to infinity, let’s consider the last point instead. We set the point where all the
shockwaves coincide at the origin and we use polar coordinates since we are going to be dealing with
distances.

The rope lies along the curve r(θ), where r(0) is the last point to be ignited. It takes time r(0)/c for
the shockwave from the last ignition point to reach the origin. If we go back an angle dθ along the rope,
then it takes time
r(dθ) ds
−
c v

40
Kalda Kinematics 41

for that shockwave to reach the origin, where ds is the infinitesimal arc length. Note that
p
ds = r2 dθ2 + dr2 .

We can set up our differential equation from this knowledge. For each r(θ), we want

r(θ + dθ) − r(θ) ds

=
c v
Divide both sides by dθ to get p
r0 /c = r2 + r02 /v
Square both sides to get
r02 r2 r02
= +
c2 v2 v2
Combining like terms and simplifying gives us
r
dr c2
=r
dθ v − c2
2

This is a separable differential equation which gives us solution

v
c2
u
u
θ
t
r = Ce v2 − c2

pr 42.

B3

B2

B1

v0
A0 A1 A2 A3

C1

C2

C3
d/6
d/2
d

Since each of the rhombi deform at the same rate, we can apply homothetic transformations H(A0 , d/6)

41
Kalda Kinematics 42

and H(A0 , d/2) along line A0 A3 to see that

v0 v0
vA1 = , v A2 =
6 2

v0 cos(45◦ ) −−−→
Applying Idea 35 on lines A1 B2 and A2 B2 , we see that vB2 has a component of along B2 A2
2
v0 cos(45◦ ) −−−→
and a component of along A1 B2 .
6
Using the Pythagorean theorem, we see that

u v √2 2 √ !2
v !
u
0 v0 2
vb = t +
4 12
√
v0 5
=
6

Since the horizontal velocities of all the points are constant, the acceleration of B2 must be directed
downwards.
v0 cos(45◦ )
Moving into the frame of reference of A2 , we can apply Idea 35 to see that vB2 = and is
−−−→ 3
directed along B2 A1 .

Thus, the centripetal acceleration of B2 is

2
vB v2
aC = 2
= 0
2l 36l
−−−→
directed along B2 A2 .

The tangential component must balance out the centripetal component and result in a net downwards
acceleration, so
v2
aT = aC = 0
36l
and √
v02 2
q
2
aB2 = aT + aC =2
36l

pr 43. Consider the following setup:

v~2

v~1

β
α
A B
l

42
Kalda Kinematics 43

Now, we move into the reference frame of the boat that departed from harbour A.

v~2

vrel
d
β
φ
A α B

v~1

Since v~rel = v~2 − v~1 , we can separate them into components to find that

|v1 sin α − v2 sin β|

tan φ =
|v1 cos α + v2 cos β|

From this, we can find that

|v1 sin α − v2 sin β|
sin φ = p 2
v1 + v22 + 2v1 v2 cos(α + β)
We then have

d = l sin φ
l · |v1 sin α − v2 sin β|
= p 2
v1 + v22 + 2v1 v2 cos(α + β)

pr 44. Because the ropes are constantly being unwinded at a rate of ωR , the disk has to move in
the direction of the strings to keep the strings in tension the whole time. Using this information we can
create a diagram
ωR
α/2

ωR
v

α ωR ωR
Now using trig we can see that cos = or v = .
2 v cos α2

43
Kalda Kinematics 44

pr 45. We tilt the plane by an angle α. This then gives us the following diagram

b
B
g sin α

g cos α

the ball is a distance b away from wall B and a distance a away from wall A. Let ta and tb be the jumping
periods.
t2a
r
1 2a
a = g cos α =⇒ ta = 2
2 4 g cos α
and s
1 t2b 2b
b = g sin α =⇒ tb = 2 .
2 4 g sin α
On average, the ball bounces against A for each time it bounces against wall B in a ratio of
r
ta a tan α
=
tb b

pr 46. First, note that L = 2πrk

By idea 21 (tension is perpendicular to direction of motion), the velocity v of the block remains constant
throughout the motion.

Let l be the length of the portion of the string not in contact with the cylinder.
v
The angular velocity about the point of tangency with the cylinder is ω = .
l
dθ dl
Note that r = .
dt dt
dl rv dl dl
rω = =⇒ = =⇒ rv = l
dt l dt dt
2
1 d(l )
rv = =⇒ l2 = 2rvt since l0 = 0
2 dt
l2 2π 2 rk 2
t= =
2rv v
Note that the string also completes an additional semicircle without changing length before starting to
wrap back around again.

44
Kalda Kinematics 45

2π 2 rk 2 π(2πrk)
Therefore, our final time is t = 2 · + , or
v v

2π 2 kr(2k + 1)
t=
v

pr 47. If the velocity of the box is represented by the vector v3 , then the projection of v3 onto v1 must
be equivalent to v1 and the projection of v3 onto v2 must be equivalent to v2 .

Essentially this means that v3 must be composed of the sum of v1 and a vector perpendicular to v1 and
likewise for v2 . This gives us the following diagram:
B

v1

α
A
v2 D

We want to find the magnitude of AC. Since this quadrilateral is formed by two right triangles, it is a
cyclic quadrilateral.

45
Kalda Kinematics 46

Since ∠BDA and ∠BCA are inscribed angles of the same arc, they are congruent. Using the law of
sines, we get that
BD AB AB
= , = AC
sin α sin ∠BDA sin ∠BCA

Since
BD
∠BDA = ∠BCA, = AC
sin α
p
Using the law of cosines, BD = v12 + v22 − 2v1 v2 cos α, so
p
v12 + v22 − 2v1 v2 cos α
AC =
sin α

Solution 2: Similar to above, but let us denote ∠CAD = θ such that we have v2 = v cos θ and
v1 = v cos(α − θ). We can rewrite v1 , using the cosine addition formula as:

v1 = v (cos α cos θ − sin θ sin α) = v2 cos α − v sin θ sin α

We can solve for sin θ to be: p

CD v 2 − v22
sin θ = =
AD v
Substituting this in, we get:
p !
v 2 − v22
v1 = v2 cos α − v
v
(v2 cos α − v1 )2 = (v 2 − v22 ) sin2 α
v22 cos2 α + v12 − 2v1 v2 cos α = v 2 sin2 α − v22 sin2 α

Rearranging and solving for v gives:

p
v12 + v22 − 2v1 v2 cos α
v=
sin α

pr 48. i) Let ĵ be directed North and let î be directed East.

Then, the initial velocity is v ĵ and the final velocity is v î.

We then have that

∆~v = v î + v ĵ
√
|∆~v | = 2v
= a∆t

46
Kalda Kinematics 47

Since a = µg,
√
2v
∆t =
µg
ii) Since the optimal trajectory requires acceleration (in both magnitude and direction) to be constant,
we see that the trajectory shape is simply that of a ball under free-fall (i.e. a parabola )

pr 49.

v0

(x, z)
O

The equation for the trajectory of the ball (see problem 19) is

v02 g 2
z= − x
2g 2v02

By the equation of the circle,

x2 + (z − R)2 = R2
x2 + z 2 − 2xR = 0
 2 2  2 
2 v0 g 2 v0 g 2
x + − x − 2R − x =0
2g 2v02 2g 2v02
 2   2   2 
g 4 v0 − 2gR 2 v0 + 4gR
x + x + v02 = 0
4v04 2v02 4g 2
We set the discriminant of the above equation to zero for the optimal trajectory to get
2
v02 − 2gR v02 + 4gR g2
  
−4 v02 · =0
2v02 4g 2 4v04

Solving this for v0 gives r

gR
v0 =
2
By conservation of energy we have
1 1
mv 2 = mv02 + 2mgR
2 2
r
9gR
q
2
v = v0 + 4gR =
2
a

a
This problem was found in the 2012 IPhO

47
Kalda Kinematics 48

pr 50. We note that a time interval of 3 flashes occur for one full rotation of the disk.

This corresponds to a time interval of 3t = 0.3 s

We also know that the distance between the top and the bottom of the lamp’s trajectory is 2a = 9.0 cm.

This corresponds (on the figure) to 6 squares of space.

The horizonal distance between two red flashes at the bottom of the trajectory is approximately 4 squares,
which corresponds to a horizontal distance of 6.0 cm
6 cm
Thus, the speed of the center of the disk is v = = 20 cm/s
0.3 s

2a
pr 51. i) Note that the total time is , so the cars can each only travel along 2 segments.
v
Since vdist is never positive, the two cars are always approaching each other (aside from a brief instant
a
at t = ).
v
From this, we note that both cars must end up at city O.

If the two cars started from cities A and B, then their initial vdist would have been 0.
√
If the two cars started from cities B and C, then their initial vdist would have been v0 2.

This leaves only the option that the two cars started from A and C and both ended at O .

ii) Since the area under a velocity graph is just distance, the area under this velocity graph is the
a
difference between the distance between the two cars at time t = 0 and time t = .
v
Thus, our answer is
√ √
2a − 2a = (2 − 2)a
iii) A − B :

For the first segment, the cars have the same velocity, so vdist = 0.

For the second segment, the cars face each other, so vdist = −2v.

vdist

a 2a
v v
t

−2v

48
Kalda Kinematics 49

B−C :

For the entire course of the motion, the velocity vectors of the two cars are perpendicular to each other
and both cars approach each other, so √
vdist = − 2v

vdist

a 2a
v v
t

√
− 2v

iv) B − C :
√
As they turn, the cars
√ face each other and then turn to perpendicular again, so v dist goes from − 2v to
−2v and back to − 2v.

a 2a
vdist v v
t

√
− 2v

−2v

49
Kalda Kinematics 50

pr 52. If we shift into a reference frame rotating counterclockwise with angular velocity ω/2 about
point A, we can note that the intersection point I moves along a straight line in this reference frame.
ω/2 ω/2

O1 2R sin θ O2

θ
A

We have that
AI = 2R sin θ
d(AI) dθ
= 2R cos θ ·
dt dt
= ωR cos θ
In the non-rotating reference frame, we have that
ω
~
~vground = ~vrotating + × ~r
2
ω
= ωR cos θ ĵ − · 2R sin θ î
2
= ωR

Solution 2: Let the first ring be centered in (0, 0), so that its equation is x2 + y 2 = r2 , and let the
position of point O be (xo , yo ).

We know that the second ring is centered at (xo + r cos(ωt), yo + r sin(ωt)), so its equation is
(x − (xo + r cos ωt))2 + (y − (yo + r sin ωt))2 = r2
The two solutions to this system of equations are (xo , yo ) and (r cos(ωt), r sin(ωt)), since x2o + yo2 = 1.

But then those are the coordinates of the second intersection point, and that means that the point moves
in a circle of radius r with angular velocity ω and therefore its speed is constant and equal to ωr .

Solution 3: The point of intersection follows the arbitrary curve ρ = 2rcosθ with angular speed ω/2
(we use ρ here to distinguish between the radius of the circle).

The speed of the point is

ds ds dθ
= ·
dt dθs dt
 2
ω 2
dρ
= ρ +
2 dθ
ω p
= (2r) cos2 θ + sin2 θ = ωr
2

50
Kalda Kinematics 51

pr 53. Note that a point on a spoke will appear motionless (i.e. sharp) if it’s velocity is directed along
(or parallel to) the spoke.

Let the horizontal velocity of the bike be ~v , with |~v | = ωR.

(0, 0)
r θ
θ
ωr ~v

Since the tangential velocity is perpendicular to the radial distance vector, we need ωr = |~v | cos θ =
ωR cos θ, or r = R cos θ

Labelling the center of the wheel as (0, 0) we can determine that the set of points can be represented as
the parametric equation
x = −R cos θ sin θ, y = −R cos2 θ
Note that
R2 R2
x2 + (y + R/2)2 = R2 cos2 θ sin2 θ + R2 cos4 θ − R2 cos2 θ + =
4 4
 2
R
Since we have x2
+ (y + R/2)2
= , the set of points on the spokes that appear sharp is described
2
R R
by a circle of radius centered at below the center of the wheel
2 2

pr 54. a) We notice that there is no image of the orange pulse, hence it must have taken place
immediately before the shutter release. So the blue pulse is first, then red, then green, and finaly yellowl.
As 4 pulses are recorded exposure time must be between 300 ms and 500 ms.

b) In the frame of disk’s centre, the displacement vector d~ between neighbouring flashes has always the
same modulus
d = 2R sin(ωτ /2),
and neighbouring displacement vectors are always rotated by the same angle ωτ . In the lab frame,
additional constant displacement vector ~v τ is to be added due to the translational motion of the frame:

d~0 = d~ + ~v τ.

51
Kalda Kinematics 52

Because of that, if we bring all the displacement vectors to such positions that their starting points
~ rg,
coincide, the endpoints will lie on a circle of radius d. So, we redraw the displacement vectors br, ~
and gy
~ draw the circumcircle of the triangle formed by the endpoints of the vectors

O
A

From the figure we measure rotation angle

ωτ = 2.2 rad ⇒ ω = 22 rad/s.

The constant displacement

a = vτ = 6.55 cm ⇒ v = 65.5 cm/s
and the circle’s radius
d = 2R sin(ωτ /2) = 8.27 cm ⇒ R = 4.6 cm .

pr 55. Let the distance between the minor gridlines provided be d.

We note that d is also (approximately) the diameter of the water jet.

We can use the points (0, 0), (20d, −5.5d), and (30d, −12.5d) to find the equation of the water trajectory,
which we determine to be
0.014 2
y=− x
d
g
The trajectory of the water is also given by the parametric equation x = vt, y = − t2 , which gives
2
g 2
y = − 2x
2v
Thus, we have r
0.014 g gd
= 2 =⇒ v =
d 2v 0.028
Since the pipe outflow rate must be the same as the bucket inflow rate,
r
2 gd
πd
πd2 v 0.028 V
= =
4 4 t

52
Kalda Kinematics 53

This equation gives

 r 2/5
4V 0.028
d= = 1.03 mm
πt g

pr 56. Consider the following diagram:

Since the velocity of both the boat and river are constant, the litter must lie on the same line as the
boat it fell from, so we can deduce that the bottom two pieces of litter are from the boat marked with a
triangle.

Thus, the boat marked with a triangle must have come from point A and the boat marked with a square
must have come from the other side of the river (or else the other boat would not have been able to drop
its litter above itself) Then, we can draw the following lines:

P river flow direction

Since the river flow velocity is only directed horizontally, the boats meet at a point on the line parallel
to the banks and passing through point P . Since we already have the path of the boat marked with a
triangle, we can connect that intersection point with the square and extend it to the opposite bank to
get the departure point of the boat marked with a square:

53
Kalda Kinematics 54

P river flow direction

And so Point B is the departure point of the second boat.

pr 57. Let d denote the common distance of separation between adjacent cars (it’s the same for all
lanes)
vA
The flow rate (in cars/s) of the cars entering lane A is equal to
d
vB
The flow rate (in cars/s) of the cars entering lane B is equal to
d
Note that vA = 3 km/h and vB = 5 km/h

By idea 39, the flow rate (in cars/s) of the cars entering lane C must be
vA vB
+
d d
This means that the velocity of the cars in lane C is simply

vA + vB = 8 km/h

Thus, our final answer is

1 km 2 km
+ = 0.583 h = 35 min
3 km/h 8 km/h

pr 58. a) Consider a rectangular prism of length l, width w, and height h.

Assume that the volume of rain that the man receives per second is proportional to Avr by some
proportionality factor k, where A is the cross sectional area of where the rain strikes and where vr is the
velocity of the rain.

Let V be the critical volume of rain needed for the man to ”get wet”.

When the man is not moving, we find that

V = Akvr t1 = lwkvr t1

54
Kalda Kinematics 55

When the  man is moving at speed vm , in his frame of reference, the rain falls on him at an angle
vm p
θ = arctan to the vertical at a speed of vr2 + vm
2 , as shown in the following diagram:
vr

l cos θ
θ h sin θ
l

Thus, we see that p p

V = Ak vr2 + vm
2 t = w(l cos θ + h sin θ)k v 2 + v 2 t
2 r m 2
vr vm
Since we have cos θ = p , sin θ = p , the expression is equivalent to
vr2 + vm
2 vr2 + vm
2

V = w(lvr + hvm )kt2

We now have
hvm t2
lwkvr t1 = w(lvr + hvm )kt2 =⇒ vr =
l(t1 − t2 )
18
Plugging in vm = m/s, t1 = 120 s, t2 = 30 s, we get that
3.6
5h
vr = m/s
3l
This gives, for
lvr t1
vm = 6 km/h, t = = 60 s
lvr + hvm
b) Consider a sphere of radius R.

Assume that the volume of rain that the man receives per second is proportional to Avr by some
proportionality factor k, where A is the cross sectional area of where the rain strikes and where vr is the
velocity of the rain.

Let V be the critical volume of rain needed for the man to ”get wet”.

When the man is not moving, we find that

V = Akvr t1 = πR2 kvr t1

When the  man is moving at speed vm , in his frame of reference, the rain falls on him at an angle
vm p
θ = arctan to the vertical at a speed of vr2 + vm
2 , as shown in the following diagram:
vr

55
Kalda Kinematics 56

2R

R θ
θ

Thus, we see that p p

V = Ak 2 t = πR2 k v 2 + v 2 t
vr2 + vm 2 r m 2

We now have p p
πR2 kvr t1 = πR2 k vr2 + vm
2 t =⇒ v t =
2 r 1 vr2 + vm
2 t
2
18
Solving the system of equations with vm = m/s, t1 = 120 s, t2 = 30 s, we get
3.6
√
vm t2 15
vr = p 2 2
= ≈ 1.29 m/s
t1 − t2 3

This gives, for vm = 6 km/h, √

t = 30 6 ≈ 73.5 s

pr 59. The length of the trails is defined by the time interval during which the droplet’s image remains
within the gap between the curtains.

This, in turn, is inversely proportional to that component of the image’s relative velocity which is
perpendicular to the curtain’s edge.

In first case, the velocity of the curtains ~v and the velocity of the droplet’s image ~u are parallel, in
the second case antiparallel, and in the third case perpendicular. In the antiparallel case there are two
possibilities as we don’t know which is faster, the curtain or the image.
d vd
Thus, the time of appearance of a sufficient trail is and trace length l =
|u ± v| |u ± v|
Let u ≥ v; then
vd vd
l1 = , l2 =
u+v u−v
u+v l2 5
By dividing the second equation by the first one, we get = = , of which
u−v l1 3
3u + 3v = 5u − 5v ⇒ u = 4v

56
Kalda Kinematics 57

If the camera is in portrait position, then a sufficient image is present in the slit during d/u, so the trail
length is
vd
l3 =
u
l3 v 5 5
=1+ = =⇒ l3 = l1 = 150 pixels
l1 u 4 4
vd
If u < v, only the second equation changes, l2 = , so 3u + 3v = 5v − 5u and u = v/4, so
v−u

l3 = 5l1 = 600 pixels

pr 60.

Measuring the diameters of the wave fronts, we get approximately:

d1 = 0.09L
d2 = 0.39L
d3 = 0.90L
d4 = 1.61L
d5 = 2.52L
d6 = 3.53L
d7 = 4.54L

Let the time between successive snapshots be ∆t.

g
According to the question, the wavecrest initally moves out with acceleration a = .
π

57
Kalda Kinematics 58

This gives
gt2
r
2πx
x= =⇒ t =
2π g
Plugging in the first couple values of d, we find that
s
0.1πL
∆t ≈
g
√
Also according to the question, the wavecrest approaches a terminal velocity v∞ = hg.

We can approximate this equation as

1.01L 1.01L p
=r = hg
∆t 0.1πL
g

Simplifying, this gives h ≈ 3.2L .

pr 61. Consider the following diagram:

L
R
θ

πR
t=0 t= v

At time t, the boat has has swept out an angle

vt tv
θ= ·π =
πR R
 
vt
Thus, at time t, the boat is at a distance L − R sin away from the shore.
R
 
vt1
Therefore, at time t2 , the wavefront that was emitted at time t1 is at a distance L−R sin −u(t2 −t1 )
R
away from the shore.
 
vt1
We wish to find the minimum possible t2 such that the equation L − R sin − u(t2 − t1 ) = 0 has a
R
real solution for t1 .

58
Kalda Kinematics 59

To do this, we isolate t2 to find that

 
vt1
L − R sin
R
t2 = + t1
u
 
vt1
v cos
R
Taking the derivative with respect to t1 and setting it to zero, we get that 1 − = 0, or
u
R u
t1 = arccos
v v
Since u < v, this is a valid solution, so we plug t1 back into our expression for t2 to find that
  u 
L − R sin arccos R u
t2 = v + arccos
u v v
We have that √
  u  v 2 − u2
sin arccos =
v v
Therefore,
r
R u L 1 1
t2 = arccos + +R 2
− 2
v v u u v

pr 62. The waves move symmetrically about boat’s trajectory in river’s reference frame. In river’s
reference frame trajectory of boat is on angle bisector of the wave angle.

P O

O
R Q

R Q

Direction of boat’s speed relative to ground is from A to B. Let u be water speed. Then v, u and boat’s
speed relative to ground form a right triangle.
u u
sin(∠RQO) = =⇒ 0.26 = =⇒ u = 1.82m/s
v v
We also note that
OP = ωt
and
OQ = vt

59
Kalda Kinematics 60

Therefore,
ω OP
= = 0.64 =⇒ ω = 4.48 m/s
v OQ
and
ω2
h= = 2.05 m
g

pr 63. a) Let us examine an arbritary point B on the road defined by the light gray color. The point
of intersection of B with the gas trail represents C.

ut

A B
v0 t

The smoke will have traveled a distance |BC| = ut, where u is the speed of the wind. In the time t, the
tractor will have travelled a distance v0 t. By measuring we find that
|AB| = 7.1 cm, |BC| = 3.1 cm.
We then find that
ut |BC| 3.1 cm
u = v0 = v0 = 30 km/h · ≈ 13 km/h
v0 t |AB| 7.1 cm
b) Label the initial point of the tractor on the left to be A, the origin to be O, and the initial point of
the tractor on the right to be B.

ut

O B
A v0 t

v0 t

60
Kalda Kinematics 61

We note that |AO| = v0 t, thus if we extrapolate the line on the other road, we find that |OC| = v0 t.
Therefore, we find point C. The smoke trail of C can be found to be parallel to the smoke trail at B. If
we extrapolate both smoke trails at A and C, we then find point D.

Therefore, we find that the meeting of the smoke trails of both tractors to be |OD| = ut.

Therefore,
ut |OD| 4.9 cm
u = v0 = v0 = 30 km/h · ≈ 21 km/h
v0 t |OC| 7.0 cm

pr 64. In the freefalling frame, both balls move with a constant velocity. Let us define point Q as
where both A and B are an equal distance from each other.

To find where Q is, we can connect line |AB| and find the perpendicular bisector (which can be done
using a compass and a straight-edge). We also draw a vertical line down P . Q is found where this line
and |AB|⊥ connects.

In the lab frame, Q is freefalling and thus after a time t it has fallen a distance |P Q| = gt2 /2. We know
measure and see that
|P Q| = 8.6 cm, |AQ| = 26 cm
we now find that
1
|P Q| = gt2 =⇒ t = 1.3 s
2
and using d = vt (because of a constant acceleration), we find that

|AQ| = 1.3v =⇒ v ≈ 20 m/s

pr 65. We consider the boat in the frame of reference of the air. Since we have the wind measurements,
we can find the displacement of the boat in the frame of reference of the air. We’ll be taking south and
east as positive.

During the first segment we have the wind blowing east, so in the frame of reference of the air, the boat
is displaced east by
x1 = 60v1 t1
.

The 60 is there for a unit conversion of the time to seconds.

We do the same for the second leg, however we must account for the fact that the wind blows southeast,
so there is both a southern displacement and an eastern displacement.
√
x2 = 60v2 cos(π/4)t2 = 30 2v2 t2
√
y2 = 60v2 sin(π/4)t2 = 30 2v2 t2
Similarly for the last leg, we have that
√
x3 = 60v3 cos(3π/4)t3 = −30 2v3 t3
√
y3 = 60v3 cos(3π4)t3 = 30 2v3 t3

61
Kalda Kinematics 62

The total southern displacement is

√ √
y = 30 2v2 t2 + 30 2v3 t3 ≈ 955 m

The total eastern displacement is

√ √
x = 60v1 t1 + 30 2v2 t2 − 30 2v3 t3 ≈ 3018 m

Since the displacement in the lab frame is south 4000 m, we can find the displacement caused by the
wind (in the lab frame) as 4000 − y south and −x east. From there we just divide by the total time to
find the wind speed as it’s constant, so
p √
(4000 − y)2 + (−x)2 30452 + 30182
vwind = = ≈ 12 m/s
60(t1 + t2 + t3 ) 60

pr 66. Call the balls a1 , a2 , a3 , . . . aN .

When all the balls are released their comparative velocities will not change (i.e. if the velocity of ai is
initially less than that of aj , then it will always be less than that of aj at all times).

When two identical objects collide elastically, their velocities will switch. This is essentially the same
as the two objects phasing through each other. So instead, let us assume that the balls never change
direction and continue to phase through each other and instead we are trying to calculate the number
of times a ball phases through another ball.

These ideas can be combined to conclude that each ball can at most only phase through each other ball
exactly once, so the maximum would result from each ball phasing through every other ball exactly once
for a final answer of
N (N − 1)
2

62