Chapter 3

Vectors and
Two-Dimensional Motion
 Vector vs. Scalar Review
 All physical quantities encountered in this text will be either a
scalar or a vector

 A vector quantity has both magnitude (size) and direction

 A scalar is completely specified by only a magnitude (size)

Note: Vector Notation: 

 When handwritten, use an arrow:
 A
 When printed, A will be in bold print with an arrow:

 When dealing with just the magnitude of a vector in

print, an italic letter will be used: A

 Italics will also be used to represent scalars
 Properties of Vectors

Equality of Two Vectors: Two vectors are equal if they
have the same magnitude and the same direction.

Movement of vectors in a diagram: Any vector can be
moved parallel to itself without being affected.


Negative Vectors: Two vectors are negative if they have
the same magnitude but are 180° apart (opposite directions)

 
A   B; A   A  0

Resultant Vector: The resultant vector is the sum of a
given set of vectors 
R A  B
 Properties of Vectors--Continued
 Commutative Law of Addition: The order in which the

vectors are added doesn’t affect the result. A  B  B  A

 Vector subtraction: Special case of vector addition. Add

the negative of the subtracted vector. Continue with

standard vector addition procedure.
A  B  A   B 

 Multiplying or Dividing a Vector by a Scalar

 The result of the multiplication or division is a vector
 The magnitude of the vector is multiplied or divided by the
scalar
 If the scalar is positive, the direction of the result is the same
as of the original vector
 If the scalar is negative, the direction of the result is opposite
that of the original vector
 Adding Vectors (Resultant Vector)

R A  B

 When adding vectors, their directions must be

taken into account
 Units must be the same
 Geometric Methods (Also called Tip-to-Tail: Good
for estimating the direction & relative size of the
Resultant Vector.)
 Use scale drawings

 Algebraic Methods (Recommended here in this class.

Procedures are easy to follow. It can help find the exact direction
& magnitude of the Resultant Vector.)
 More convenient
 Adding Vectors Geometrically
(Triangle or Polygon Method)
 Choose a scale
 Draw the first vector with the appropriate length and in the
direction specified, with respect to a coordinate system
 Draw the next vector using the same scale with the appropriate
length and in the direction specified, withrespect to a coordinate
system whose origin is the end of vector A and parallel to the
coordinate system used for A
 Continue drawing the vectors “tip-
to-tail”
 The resultant
 is drawn from the
origin of Ato the end of the last
 vector 
R  Measure the length of R and its
angle
 Use the scale factor to convert
length to actual magnitude
 Graphically Adding Vectors, cont.
 When you have many
vectors, just keep
repeating the process
using Tip-to-Tail until all
are included.
 The resultant is still drawn
from the origin of the first
vector to the end of the
last vector
 Components of a Vector
 A component is a part.
 It is useful to use rectangular components
 These are the projections of the vector
along the x- and y-axes

 The x-component of a vector is the projection along the x-axis

Ax  A cos 
 The y-component of a vector is the projection along the y-axis
Ay  A sin 
 Then,  Notice that we are using the Tip-to-Tail here.
A  Ax  Ay
 More About Components of a Vector
 The previous equations are valid only if θ is measured with
respect to the x-axis
 The components can be positive (right or upward) or negative
(left or downward in the coordinate system) and will have the
same units as the original vector

 The components are the

 legs of the right triangle
whose hypotenuse is A
 Ay 
A  Ax2  Ay2 and   tan 1  
 Ax 
 May still have to find θ with respect to the positive x-axis
 The value will be correct only if the angle lies in the first or
fourth quadrant
 In the second or third quadrant, add 180°
 Other Coordinate Systems

 It may be convenient to
use a coordinate system
other than horizontal and
vertical
 Choose axes that are
perpendicular to each
other
 Adjust the components
accordingly

Note: Use it rarely in this class. Examples will be available later on.
 Adding Vectors Algebraically
Finding Resultant Vector using Algebraic
Methods
 Choose a coordinate system and sketch the vectors
 Find the x- and y-components of all the vectors
 Add all the x-components
 This gives Rx: R x  v x
 Add all the y-components
 This gives Ry: R y  v y
 Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the magnitude of
the resultant: R  R2  R2 x y

 Use the inverse tangent function to find the direction of

R: 1
Ry
 tan
Rx

Note: See “Instructor’s Notes” for examples.

 Motion in Two Dimensions
 Using + or – signs is not always sufficient to fully describe motion
in more than one dimension
 Vectors can be used to more fully describe motion
 Still interested in displacement, velocity, and acceleration.

Note: Unit summary (SI)

 Displacement

 m
 Average velocity and instantaneous velocity
 m/s
 Average acceleration and instantaneous acceleration
 m/s2

Note: See “Instructor’s Notes” for examples.

 3-Ways an Object Might Accelerate

 The magnitude of the velocity (the speed) can change

 The direction of the velocity can change
 Even though the magnitude is constant
 Both the magnitude and the direction can change
 Projectile Motion
 An object may move in both the x and y directions
simultaneously
 It moves in two dimensions
 The form of two dimensional motion we will deal with is
an important special case called projectile motion

Assumptions of Projectile Motion:

 We may ignore air friction
 We may ignore the rotation of the earth
 With these assumptions, an object in projectile motion will follow a
parabolic path
 Rules of Projectile Motion
 The x- and y-directions of motion are completely
independent of each other
 The x-direction is uniform motion

ax = 0 (so the velocity in x-direction is a constant.)

 The y-direction is free fall


ay = -g =-9.8m/s2

 The initial velocity can be broken down into its

x- and y-components (the symbol “o” here means initial when t=0)
 v Ox  v O cos  O vOy  vO sin  O

Note: See “Instructor’s Notes” for examples.

 Projectile Motion

ote: The direction of velocity at any point is the tangent line.

The x-component of velocity at any point is identical, notated as V 0x.
The y-component of velocity at any point keeps changing due to the gravity.
Velocity Components in
Projectile Motion
Position & Time in Projectile
Motion
 Projectile Motion at
Various Initial Angles
 Complementary
values of the
initial angle result
in the same range
 The heights will be
different
 The maximum
range occurs at a
projection angle
of 45o
 Some Details About the Rules
 x-direction
 ax = 0 (because there is no external forces in x-direction.)
 vx vox vo cos θo con stan t
 x = v ox t

This is the only operative equation in the x-direction since
there is uniform velocity in that direction
 y-direction
 vo y vo sin θo
 Free fall problem

ay = -g = -9.8 m/s2
 Take the positive direction as upward
 Uniformly accelerated motion, so the motion equations all
hold
 Velocity of the Projectile
 The velocity of the projectile at any point of its motion is
the vector sum of its x and y components at that point
2 2 1
vy
v  v vx y and   tan
vx
 Remember to be careful about the angle’s quadrant

 The vertical component of the velocity vy and the

displacement in the y-direction are identical to those of
a freely falling body
 Projectile motion can be described as a superposition of
two independent motions in the x- and y-directions
 Problem-Solving Strategy
 Select a coordinate system and sketch the path of the
projectile
 Include initial and final positions, velocities, and
accelerations
 Resolve the initial velocity into x- and y-components
 Treat the horizontal and vertical motions independently
 Follow the techniques for solving problems with constant
velocity to analyze the horizontal motion (x-dimension) of the
projectile
 Follow the techniques for solving problems with constant
acceleration to analyze the vertical motion (y-dimension) of
the projectile. Constant acceleration means changing
velocity.
 Some Variations of Projectile Motion

 An object may be fired

horizontally at vx =40.0m/s
 The initial velocity is all in
the x-direction

vo = vx = 40.0m/s and v0y = 0

 All the general rules of

projectile motion apply
 Non-Symmetrical Projectile Motion
 Follow the general
rules for projectile
motion
 Break the y-direction
into parts
 up and down
 symmetrical back to
initial height and then
the rest of the height