DYNAMICS OF PARTICLES

Dynamics is a branch of mechanics that deals with the motion of bodies under the action of forces.
In statics, we considered the effect of forces on bodies at rest. The study of dynamics has two
distinct parts, vis

i. Kinematics: this is the study of motion without considering the forces causing the motion. That
is, it deals with the space-time relationship in the motion of a body and not the force causing
the motion or generated as a result of the motion.
ii. Kinetics: It deals with the effect of forces on bodies resulting in their motion. In essence,
kinetics is concerned with the determination of the kind of motion that a given body will have
under the action of a system of forces or what forces must be applied to give a desired kind of
motion.
Basic Concepts in Dynamics
The basic concepts relevant to the study of dynamics are highlighted below:
i. Space: this refers to the geometric region occupied by a body. The location of a body in space
is determined with reference to some geometric reference system by means of linear or angular
measurement.
ii. Time: this is a measure of the succession of events and is considered an absolute quantity in
Newtonian mechanics.
iii. Mass: refers to the qualitative measure of the inertia or resistance to change in the motion of a
body. It is also considered as the quantity of matter in a body and the property that results in
gravitational attraction.
iv. Force: it is the action of one body on another one. Already dealt with extensively in statics.
v. Particle: particle refers to a body of negligible dimensions. That is, the dimension of a body is
not relevant to the description of its motion or the action of forces on it.
vi. Rigid body: it refers to a body in which changes in its shape is negligible compared with the
overall dimension of such body or with the changes in the position of the body as a whole.

Newton’s Laws of Motion

Newton’s three laws of motion are very relevant to the study of dynamics and are stated as follows
as:
First law: a particle remains at rest or continues to move with uniform velocity (in a straight line
with constant speed) provided no unbalanced force is acting on it.

Second law: acceleration of a particle is proportional to the resultant force acting on it and is in
the direction of the resultant force. Newton’s second law is the foundation for most analysis in
dynamics. Mathematically, for a body of mass m under the influence of unbalanced force F, the
law can be stated as, 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎, where a is the acceleration.

Third law: the forces of action and reaction between interacting bodies are equal in magnitude,
opposite in direction and collinear.
 KINEMATICS OF PARTICLES

The motion of a particle can be described in several ways and we start the motion of a particle in
a plane undergoing rectilinear motion.

Rectilinear Motion

Rectilinear motion has to do with the motion of a particle along a straight line. For a particle P
moving in a straight line as shown in Figure 1.1 below, the position P, at any instant of time t can
be specified by distance ‘x’ measured from a convenient reference point ‘O’ on the straight line.
At a time t +∆𝑡, the particle has move to position P’ and the location changes to x + ∆𝑥. This
change in position coordinate during time interval ∆𝑡 is known as the displacement (∆𝑥) to the
particle. The displacement will be negative if the particle moved in the negative x direction. The
distance x, with the appropriate sign, completely defines the position of the particle; it is called the
position coordinate of the particle considered. When the position coordinate x of a particle is
known for every value of time t, we say that the motion of the particle is known. The “timetable”
of the motion can be given in the form of an equation in x and t, such as 𝑥 = 6𝑡 2 − 𝑡 3 , or in the
form of a graph of x versus t as shown in Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.2

Velocity and Acceleration

The average velocity of a particle during time interval ∆𝑡 is the displacement ∆𝑥 divided by the
time interval ∆𝑡. Therefore, 𝑣𝑎𝑣 = ∆𝑥⁄∆𝑡. As the time interval approached zero, the average
velocity becomes the instantaneous velocity of the particle which is represented by

𝑣 = lim ∆𝑥⁄∆𝑡
∆𝑡→0
 𝑣 = 𝑑𝑥⁄𝑑𝑡 = 𝑥̇ (1)

The velocity v is represented by an algebraic number which can be positive or negative. A positive
value of v indicates that x increases, i.e., that the particle moves in the positive direction; a negative
value of v indicates that x decreases, i.e., that the particle moves in the negative direction. The
magnitude of v is known as the speed of the particle

The average acceleration of a particle during time interval ∆𝑡 is the change in its velocity divided
by the time interval. That is, 𝑎𝑎𝑣 = ∆𝑣⁄∆𝑡. As the time interval approaches zero, the average
acceleration becomes the instantaneous acceleration of the particle which is represented by

𝑎 = lim ∆𝑣⁄∆𝑡
∆𝑡→0

𝑎 = 𝑑𝑣⁄𝑑𝑡 = 𝑣̇ or 𝑎 = 𝑑 2 𝑥 ⁄𝑑𝑡 2 = 𝑥̈ (2)

Acceleration may be positive or negative depending on whether the velocity is increasing or

decreasing. Note that the acceleration of a particle will be positive if the particle has a negative
velocity which is becoming less negative. A particle is said to be decelerating if the particle is
slowing down.

The elimination of dt term in equation (1) and the first of equation (2) leads to a differential
equation relating the displacement, velocity and acceleration as

𝑣𝑑𝑣 = 𝑎𝑑𝑥 or 𝑥̇ 𝑑 𝑥̇ = 𝑥̈ 𝑑𝑥 (3)

The three equations above are the differential equation for the rectilinear motion of particles and
they are used in solving problems involving changes in motion of particles by integration.
However, equation (3) above is not independent of equations (1) and (2).

Examples

i. For particle moving in a straight line whose path is defined by the function 𝑥 = 6𝑡 2 − 𝑡 3 ,
where t is expressed in seconds and x in meters. Determine its velocity and acceleration
ii. The motion of a particle is defined by the relation𝑥 = 𝑡 4 − 10𝑡 2 + 8𝑡 + 12, where x and t
are expressed in m and seconds, respectively. Determine the position, the velocity, and the
acceleration of the particle when t = 1 s.
iii. The brakes of a car are applied, causing it to slow down at a rate of 10 m/s2. Knowing that
the car stops in 100 m, determine (a) how fast the car was traveling immediately before the
brakes were applied, (b) the time required for the car to stop.

Analytical Integration of Differential Equations of Rectilinear Motion

 a. Constant acceleration (a = ac): when the acceleration of a particle is constant, each of the
three equations above can be integrated directly to obtain formulas relating ac, v, s and t. Let
xo, vo and 0 represent the position coordinate, velocity and time at the beginning of an
interval respectively, at the end of the interval x, v and t designate the position coordinate,
velocity and time respectively.
i. Velocity as a function of time: Integrate 𝑎𝑐 = 𝑑𝑣⁄𝑑𝑡 assuming that initial velocity 𝑣 = 𝑣𝑜
when t = 0
𝑣 𝑡
∫𝑣 𝑑𝑣 = 𝑎𝑐 ∫0 𝑑𝑡 or 𝑣 = 𝑣0 + 𝑎𝑐 𝑡 (4)
𝑜

ii. Velocity as a function of position: Integrate 𝑣𝑑𝑣 = 𝑎𝑐 𝑑𝑥, assuming that initially 𝑣 = 𝑣𝑜
when 𝑥 = 𝑥𝑜
𝑣 𝑥
∫𝑣 𝑣𝑑𝑣 = 𝑎𝑐 ∫𝑥 𝑑𝑥 or 𝑣 2 = 𝑣𝑜2 + 2𝑎𝑐 (𝑥 − 𝑥𝑜 ) (5)
𝑜 𝑜

iii. Position as a function of time: Integrate 𝑣 = 𝑑𝑥⁄𝑑𝑡 = 𝑣0 + 𝑎𝑐 𝑡 assuming that 𝑥 = 𝑥𝑜

when 𝑡 = 0
𝑥 𝑡 1
∫𝑥 𝑑𝑥 = ∫0 (𝑣0 + 𝑎𝑐 𝑡)𝑑𝑡 or 𝑥 = 𝑥𝑜 + 𝑣𝑜 𝑡 + 2 𝑎𝑐 𝑡 2 (6)
𝑜

Example:
i. A stone is thrown vertically upward from a point on a bridge located 40 m above the water. Knowing
that it strikes the water 4 s after release, determine (a) the speed with which the stone was thrown
upward, (b) the speed with which the stone strikes the water.

b. Acceleration as a function of time, a = f(t)

When a = f(t) is substituted into equation 2 and integrated we have
𝑣 𝑡 𝑡
∫𝑣 𝑑𝑣 = ∫0 𝑓(𝑡)𝑑𝑡 or 𝑣 = 𝑣𝑜 + ∫0 𝑓(𝑡)𝑑𝑡 (7)
𝑜
From this integrated expression for v as a function of time in (7), the position coordinate, x can
be obtained from equation 1 as
𝑥 𝑡 𝑡
∫𝑥 𝑑𝑥 = ∫0 𝑣𝑑𝑡 or 𝑥 = 𝑥𝑜 + ∫0 𝑣𝑑𝑡 (8)
𝑜

c. Acceleration as a function of velocity, a = f(v)

When a = f(v) is substituted into equation 2 and integrated we have
𝑑𝑣 𝑡 𝑣 𝑑𝑣
𝑓(𝑣) = or 𝑡 = ∫0 𝑑𝑡 = ∫𝑣 (9)
𝑑𝑡 𝑜 𝑓(𝑣)

The expression in (9) gives time, t as a function of velocity, v.

We can also substitute for a = f(v) in equation 3 and integrate to have

𝑣 𝑣 𝑥 𝑣 𝑣𝑑𝑣
∫𝑣 𝑑𝑣 = ∫𝑥 𝑑𝑥 or 𝑥 = 𝑥𝑜 + ∫𝑣 (10)
𝑜 𝑓(𝑣) 𝑜 𝑜 𝑓(𝑣)
 d. Acceleration as a function of displacement, a = f(x)
When a = f(x) is substituted into equation 3 and integrated
𝑣 𝑥 𝑥
∫𝑣 𝑣𝑑𝑣 = ∫𝑥 𝑓(𝑥)𝑑𝑥 or 𝑣 2 = 𝑣𝑜2 + 2 ∫𝑥 𝑓(𝑥)𝑑𝑥 (11)
𝑜 𝑜 𝑜

We can also solve for v to give v = g(x) as a function of and then substitute 𝑣 = 𝑑𝑥⁄𝑑𝑡 to give
𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑡 𝑥 𝑑𝑥
∫𝑥 = ∫0 𝑑𝑡 or 𝑡 = ∫𝑥 (12)
𝑜 𝑔(𝑥) 𝑜 𝑔(𝑥)

Example
The acceleration of a particle is defined by the relation a = kt 2 . (a) Knowing that v =- 28 m/s
when t = 0 and that v = 18 m/s when t = 2 s, determine the constant k. (b) Write the equations of
motion, knowing also that x = 0 when t = 2 s

Practice Problems

i. The motion of a particle is defined by the relation 𝑥 = 2𝑡 3 − 9𝑡 2 + 12𝑡 + 10, where x is

expressed in meters and t in seconds. Determine the time, the position and acceleration of
the particle when v = 0.
ii. The vertical motion of mass A is defined by the relation x = 10 sin 2t + 15 cos 2t + 100,
where x and t are expressed in millimeters and seconds, respectively. Determine (a) the
position, velocity, and acceleration of A when t =1s (b) the maximum velocity and
acceleration of A.

iii. A loaded railroad car is rolling at a constant velocity when it couples with a spring and
dashpot bumper system. After the coupling, the motion of the car is defined by the relation
x = 60e−4.8t sin 16t, where x and t are expressed in millimeters and seconds, respectively.
Determine the position, the velocity, and the acceleration of the railroad car when (a) t = 0
s, (b) t = 0.3 s.
iv. If 𝑥 = (2𝑡 3 ) 𝑚, where t is in seconds, determine v when t = 2s
v. The motion of a particle is defined by the relation 𝑥 = 𝑡 3 − 6𝑡 2 − 36𝑡 − 40, . Determine
(a) when the velocity is zero, (b) the velocity, the acceleration and the total distance travelled
when x = 0.
vi. Starting from rest, a particle moving in a straight line has an acceleration of 𝑎 =
(2𝑡 − 6) 𝑚⁄𝑠 2 , where t is in seconds. What is the particles velocity when t = 6s and what is
its position when t = 11 s?
vii. Initially, the car travels along a straight road with a speed of 35 m/s. If the brakes are applied
and the speed of the car is reduced to 10 m/s in 15 s, determine the constant deceleration of
the car.
viii. Traveling with an initial speed of 70 km/h, a car accelerates at 6000 km/h2 along a straight
road. How long will it take to reach a speed of 120 km/h? Also, through what distance does
the car travel during this time?
ix. A motorist is traveling at 54 km/h when she observes that a traffic light 240 m ahead of her
turns red. The traffic light is timed to stay red for 24 s. If the motorist wishes to pass the light
without stopping just as it turns green again, determine (a) the required uniform deceleration
of the car, (b) the speed of the car as it passes the light.

x. A small package is released from rest at A and moves along the skate wheel conveyor ABCD.
The package has a uniform acceleration of 4.8 m/s 2 as it moves down sections AB and CD,
and its velocity is constant between B and C. If the velocity of the package at D is 7.2 m/s,
determine (a) the distance d between C and D, (b) the time required for the package to reach
D.

xi. An elevator is moving upward at a constant speed of 4 m/s. A man standing 10 m above
the top of the elevator throws a ball upward with a speed of 3 m/s. Determine (a) when
the ball will hit the elevator, (b) where the ball will hit the elevator with respect to the
location of the man.
xii. The aerodynamic resistance to motion of a car is nearly proportional to the square of its
velocity. Additional frictional resistance is constant so that the acceleration of the car
when coasting may be written as 𝑎 = −𝐶1 − 𝐶2 𝑣 2 where 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 are constants which
depend on the mechanical configuration of the car. If the car has an initial velocity 𝑣𝑜
when the engine is disengaged, derive an expression for the distance D required for the
car to coast to a stop.

xiii. A piece of electronic equipment that is surrounded by packing material is dropped so that
it hits the ground with a speed of 4 m/s. After contact the equipment experiences an
acceleration of 𝑎 = −𝑘𝑥, where k is a constant and x is the compression of the packing
material. If the packing material experiences a maximum compression of 20 mm,
determine the maximum acceleration of the equipment.

xiv. To a close approximation, the pressure behind a rifle bullet varies inversely with the
position x of the bullet along the barrel. Thus the acceleration of the bullet may be written
as 𝑎 = 𝑘⁄𝑥 where k is a constant. If the bullet starts from rest at x = 7.5 mm and if the
muzzle velocity of the bullet is 600 m/s at the end of the 750 mm barrel, compute the
acceleration of the bullet as it passé the midpoint of the barrel at x = 375 mm.
 xv. A freight train travels at 𝑣 = 60(1 − 𝑒 −𝑡 ) m/s, where t is the elapsed time in seconds.
Determine the distance traveled in three seconds, and the acceleration at this time.
xvi. The acceleration of point A is defined by the relation 𝑎 = −1.8 sin 𝑘𝑡, where a and t are
expressed in m/s2 and seconds, respectively, and k = 3 rad/s. Knowing that x= 0 and v=
0.6 m/s when t = 0, determine the velocity and position of point A when t = 0.5 s.

xvii. A ball A is thrown vertically upward from the top of a 30-m-high building with an initial
velocity of 5 m/s. At the same instant another ball B is thrown upward from the ground
with an initial velocity of 20 m/s. Determine the height from the ground and the time at
which they pass.
xviii. The acceleration of a particle is defined by the relation a = - 0.8v where a is expressed in
m/s2 and v in m/s. Knowing that at t = 0 the velocity is 1 m/s, determine (a) the distance
the particle will travel before coming to rest, (b) the time required for the particle’s
velocity to be reduced by 50 percent of its initial value.
Motion of Several Particles

When we have several particles which move independently along the same line, independent
equations of motion can be written for each of the particles. Whenever possible, time should be
recorded from the same initial instant for all particles and displacement should be measured from
the same reference point in the same direction. In other words, the same clock and tape measuring
tape should be employed in taking the time and distance respectively

Relative Motion of Two Particles

For two particles A and B as shown in the figure below moving along a straight line. Let the
position coordinates of A and B measured from the same origin be xA and xB respectively. The
difference xB – xA gives the relative position coordinate of B with respect to A and is denoted by
xB/A.

Therefore

𝑥𝐵/𝐴 = 𝑥𝐵 − 𝑥𝐴 or 𝑥𝐵 = 𝑥𝐴 + 𝑥𝐵/𝐴 13

Irrespective of the positions of A and B with respect to the origin, a positive sign for 𝑥𝐵/𝐴 indicate
that B is to the right of A and a negative sign implies that B is to the left of A.

The rate of change of 𝑥𝐵/𝐴 is referred to as the relative velocity of B with respect to A and is
denoted by 𝑣𝐵/𝐴 . Differentiating equation 13 with respect to time

𝑣𝐵/𝐴 = 𝑣𝐵 − 𝑣𝐴 or 𝑣𝐵 = 𝑣𝐴 + 𝑣𝐵/𝐴 14

A positive sign for 𝑣𝐵/𝐴 means that B is observed from A to move in the positive direction and a
negative sign implies that it is observed to move in the negative direction.

The rate of change of 𝑣𝐵/𝐴 is known as the relative acceleration of B with respect to A and is
denoted by 𝑎𝐵/𝐴 . Differentiating equation (14) with respect to time.

𝑎𝐵/𝐴 = 𝑎𝐵 − 𝑎𝐴 or 𝑎𝐵 = 𝑎𝐴 + 𝑎𝐵/𝐴 15

Example

A ball is thrown vertically upward from the 12 m level in an elevator shaft with an initial velocity
of 18 m/s. At the same instant an open platform elevator passes the 5 m level, moving at a constant
velocity of 2 m/s. Determine () when and where the ball will hit the elevator, (b) the relative
velocity of the ball with respect to the elevator when the ball hits the elevator

Constrained Motion of Connected Particles

The motions of particles are sometimes interrelated due to the constraints imposed on them by
interconnecting members. In such cases, it is imperative to account for these constraints so as to
determine the respective motion of the particles. In the figure below

Block A moves down the incline plane and causes a corresponding upward movement of Block
B n the incline plane. Mathematically, the locations of Block A and Block B can be specified
using position coordinates sA and sB. If the total length of the cord is 𝑙 𝑇 , then, the two position
coordinates are related by the equation

𝑙 𝑇 = 𝑠𝐴 + 𝑙𝐶𝐷 + 𝑠𝐵

Taking the derivative of this equation

𝑑𝑠𝐴 𝑑𝑠𝐵
+ =0 or 𝑣𝐵 = −𝑣𝐴
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

With the negative sign indicating that when block A has a downward velocity (in the direction of
positive 𝑠𝐴 ), block B has a corresponding upward velocity (that is, in the negative 𝑠𝐵 ) direction.

Also, the time differentiation of the velocities gives the accelerations

𝑎𝐵 = −𝑎𝐴

A more complicated problem having two degrees of freedom is shown in the figure below. Here,
the position of the lower cylinder and pulley C depends on the separate specifications of the two
coordinates 𝑠𝐴 and 𝑠𝐵 . The lengths of the cables attached to the cylinders A and B can be written
respectively as

𝑙𝐴 = 𝑆𝐴 + 2𝑆𝐷

𝑙𝐵 = 𝑆𝐵 + 𝑆𝐶 + (𝑆𝑐 − 𝑆𝐷 )

Taking time derivatives

0 = 𝑣𝐴 + 2𝑣𝐷

0 = 𝑣𝐵 + 2𝑣𝐶 − 𝑣𝐷

And

0 = 𝑎𝐴 + 2𝑎𝐷

0 = 𝑎𝐵 + 2𝑎𝐶 − 𝑎𝐷

Examples

1. Determine the speed of block A if end F of the rope is pulled down with a speed of VF =
3 m/s.
 2. Determine the speed of cylinder B if cylinder A moves downward with a speed of vA = 4
m/s.

Practice Problems

1. A stone is thrown vertically upward from a point on a bridge located 40 m above water
knowing that it strikes the water 4 s after release, determine (a) the speed with which the
stone was thrown upward, (b) the speed with which the stone strikes the water.
2. A motorist is travelling t 54 km/hr when she observes that a traffic light 240 m ahead of her
turns red. The traffic light is timed to stay red for 24 s. if the motorist wishes to pass the light
without stopping just as it turns green again, determine (a) the required uniform deceleration
of the car, (b) the speed of the car as it passes the light
3. A sprinter in a 100 m race accelerates uniformly for the first 35 m and then runs with
constant velocity. If the sprinter’s time for the first 35 m is 5.4 s, determine () his acceleration
(b) his final velocity, (c) his time for the race.

4. As relay runner A enters the 20 m long exchange zone with a speed of 12.9 m/s, he begins
to slow down. He hands the baton to runner B 1.82 s later as they leave the exchange zone
with the sane velocity. Determine (a) the uniform acceleration of each runner, (b) when
runner B should begin to run.

5. A police officer in a patrol car parked in a 72.4 km/hr speed zone observes a passing
automobile travelling at a slow constant speed. Believing that the driver of the automobile
may be intoxicated, the officer accelerates uniformly 96.6 km/hr in 8 seconds and
maintaining a constant velocity of 96.6 km/hr, overtakes the motorist 42 s after the
automobile passed him. Knowing that 18 s elapsed before the officer began pursuing the
motorist, determine (a) the distance the officer travelled before overtaking the motorist, (b)
the motorist speed.
6. Automobiles A and B are travelling in adjacent highway lanes and at t = 0 have the positions
and speeds shown. Knowing that automobile A has a constant acceleration of 0.55 m/s2 and
that B has a constant deceleration of 0.37 m/s2, Determine (a) when and where A will
overtake B, (b) the speed of each automobile at that time.
7. Determine the speed of Block A in the figure below, if Block B has an upward speed of 16
m/s.

8. Determine the speed of A in the figure below if B has an upward speed of 9 m/s

9. If end A of the rope moves downward with a speed of 5 m/s, determine the speed of
cylinder B.
10. At a certain instant, cylinder A has a downward velocity of 0.8 m/s and an upward
acceleration of 2 m/s2. Determine the corresponding velocity and acceleration of cylinder
B.

11. Determine the vertical rise h of the load W during 10 seconds if the hoisting drum draws
in cable at the constant rate of 180 mm/s