MOTION OF A PARTICLE IN ONE DIMENSION

I.MOMENTUM AND ENERGY THEOREMS

The

motion

of

the

particle

is

governed,

according

to

Eqs.

, by the equation
...................................................... (1.1)
Before considering the solution of Eg. (1.1), we shall define some concept which are
useful in discussing mechanical problems and prove some simple general theorems about
one- dimensional motion. The linear momentum p, according to eq. P = mv, is defined as
....................................................... (1.2)
From Eq. (1.1), using Eq. (1.2) and the fact that m is constant, we obtain
.............................................................................................(1.3)
If we multiply Eq. (1.3) by dt and integrate from t1 to t2, we obtain an integral form of the
momentum theorem:

......................................................................... (1.4)

Equation (1.4) gives the change in momentum due to the action of the force F between
the times t1 and t2. The integral on the right is called the impulse delivered by the force F
during this time; F must be known as a function of t alone in order to evaluate the
integral. If F is given as F( x, v, t ), then the impulse can be computed for any particular
given motion x(t), v(t).
A quantity which will turn out to be of considerable importance is the kinetic
energy, defined (in classical mechanics) by the equation

................................................................................. (1.5)
If we multiply Eq. (1.1) by v, we obtain
, or

....................................(1.6)

Equation (1.6) gives the rate of change of kinetic energy, and may be called the
(differential) energy theorem. If we multiply by dt and integrate from t1 to t2, we obtain
the integrated form of the energy theorem:

..................................................................... (1.7)

In general, when F is given as F( x, v, t), the work can only be computed for a
particular specified motion x(t), v(t). Since v = dx/dt, we can rewrite the work integral in a
form which is convenient when F in known as a function of x:

...................................................................... (1.8)

2. APPLIED FORCE DEPENDING ON THE TIME

If the force F is given as a function of the time, then the equation of motion can be
solved in the following manner. Multiplying Eq.

by dt and integrating

from an initial instant t0 to any later (or earlier) instant t, we obtain Eq. (1.4), which in this
case we write in the form

................................................................. (2.1)

Since F(t) is a known function of t, the integral on the right can, at least in principle, be
evaluated and the right member is then a function of t (and t0). We solved for v:

........................................................... (2.2)

Now multiply by dt and integrate again from t0 to t:

.................................. (2.3)

To avoid confusion, we may rewrite the variable of integration as t in the first integral
and t in the second:

.................................(2.4)

This gives the required solution x(t) in terms of two integrals which can be evaluated shen
F(t) is given.
3. DAMPING FORCE DEPENDING ON THE VELOCITY
Another type of force which allows an easy solution of Eq.

is the case

when F is a function of v alone:

...........................................................(3.1)
To solve, we multiply by [

dt and integrate from to to t:

...............................................................................(3.2)

The integral on the left can be evaluated, in principle at least, when F(v) is given, and an
equation containing the unknown v results. If this equation is solved for v (we assume in
general discussions that this can always be done), we will have an equation of the form
........................................................................(3.3)
The solution for x is then

..............................................................(3.4)

In certain cases and over certain ranges of velocity, the frictional force is proportional to
some fixed power of the velocity:

.................................................................................(3.5)
If n is an odd integer, the negative sign should be chosen in the above equation.
Otherwise the sign must be chosen so that the force has the opposite sign to the velocity
v. The frictional force is always opposed to the velocity, and therefore does negative
work, i.e, absorbs energy from the moving body. A velocity-dependent force in the same
direction as the velocity would represent a source of energy; such cases do not often
occur.
As an example, we consider the problem of a boat traveling with initial velocity v o,
which shuts off its engines at to = 0 when it is at the position x0 = 0. We assume the force
of friction given by Eq. (3.5) with n = 1:
.................................................................................(3.6)
We solve Eq (3.6), following the steps outline above [Eq. (3.1) through (3.4)]:

Ln
............................................................................(3.7)
We see that as

, as it should, but that the boat never comes completely to

rest in any finite time. The solution for x is

..................................................................(3.8)
As

approaches the limiting value

.....................................................................................(3.9)

Thus we can specify a definite distance that the boat travels in stopping. Although
according to the above result, Eq. (3.7), the velocity never becomes exactly zero, when t is
sufficiently large the velocity becomes so small that the boat is practically stopped. Let us
choose some small velocity vs such that when v < vs we are willing to regard the boat as
stopped (say, for example, the average random speed given to an anchored boat by the
waves passing by it). Then we can define the time ts required for the boat to stop by
,

...........................................(3.10)

Since the logarithm is a slowly changing function, the stopping time ts will not depend to
any great extent on precisely what value of vs we choose so long as it is much smaller
than vo. It is often instructive to expand solutions in a Taylor series in t. If we expand the
right side of Eqs. (3.7) and (3.8) in power series in t, we obtain
t + ...,

.................................................................(3.11)

+ ... ................................................................ (3.12)

4. CONSERVATIVE FORCE DEPENDING ON POSITION. POTENTIAL ENERGY
One of the most important types of motion occurs when the force F is a function
of the coordinate x alone:
.................................................................... (4.1)
We have than, by the energy theorem (1.8),

......................................................(4.2)

The integral on the right is the work done by the force when the particle goes from xo to
x. We now define the potential energy V(x) as the work done by the force when the
particle goes from x to some chosen standard point xs:

V(x) =

= -

................................................(4.3)

The reason for calling this quantity potential energy will appear shortly. In terms of V(x),
we can write the integral in Eq. (4.2) as follows:

....................................................... (4.4)

With the help of Eq. (4.4). Eq. (4.1) can be written

..................................................... (4.5)
The quantity on the right depends only on the initial conditions and is therefore constant
during the motion. It is called the total energy E, and we have the law of conservation of
kinetic plus potential energy, which holds, as we can see, only when the force is a
function of position alone;
........................................................ (4.6)
Solving for v, we obtain
[

......................................................... (4.7)

The function x(t) is to be found by solving for x equation

.................................................. (4.8)

From the definition (4.3) we can express the force in terms of the potential energy:
.................................................................................... (4.9)
This equation can be taken an expressing the physical meaning of the potential energy.
The potential energy is a function whose negative derivative gives the force. The effect of
changing the coordinate of the standard point x, is to add a constant to V(x). Since it is the

derivative of V which enters into the dynamical equations as the force, the choice of
standard point xs is immaterial. A constant can always be added to the potential V(x)
without affecting the physical results. (The same constant must, of course, be added to
E).
As an example, we consider the problem of a particle subject to a linier restoring
force for example, a mass fastened to a spring:
F = -kx .................................................................................(4.10)
The potential energy, if we take xs = 0, is

..........................................................(4.11)

Equation (4.8) becomes, for this case, with to = 0

...........................................................(4.12)

Now make the substitution

....................................................................................(4.13)

.....................................................................................(4.14)

So that

And, by Eq.(4.12)

We can now solve for x in Eq. (4.13):

sin

= A sin (

................................................(4.15)

Where

......................................................................................(4.16)

Thus the coordinate x oscillates harmonically in time, with amplitude A and frequency
. The initial conditions are here determined by constants A and

, which are

related to E and xo by
E=

......................................................................................(4.17)
...................................................................................(4.18)

Notice that in this example we meet the sign difficulty in taking the square root in Eq.
(4.12) by replacing (1-sin2

-1/2

by (cos )-1, a quantity which can be made either positive

or negative as required by choosing

in the proper quadrant.

5. FALLING BODIES
One of the simplest and most commonly occurring types of one-dimensional
motion is that of falling bodies. We take up this type of motion here as an illustration of
the principles discussed in the preceding sections.
A body falling near the surface of the earth, if we neglect air resistance, is subject
to a constant force
F = -mg,

...............................................................................(5.1)

Where we have taken the positive direction as upward. The equation of motion is
...................................................................................... (5.2)

The solution may be obtained by any of the three methods discussed in Sections 2, 3, and
4 since a constant force may be considered as a function of either t, v or x. The reader will
find it instructive to solve the problem by all three methods.
In order to include the effect of air resistance, we may assume a frictional force
proportional to v, so that the total force is
F = -mg -bv ..............................................................................(5.3)
The constant b will depend on the size and shape of the falling body, as well as on the
viscosity of the air. The problem must now be treated as a case of F(v):
............................................................................(5.4)
Taking v0 = 0 at t = 0, we proceed as in Eq. (3.2):

.................................................................................(5.5)

We integrate and solve for v:

......................................................................(5.6)
We may obtain a formula useful for short times of fall by expanding the exponential
function in a power series:
,

.................................................................(5.7)

Thus for a short time (t << m/b), v = -gt, approximately, and the effect of air resistance
can be neglected. After a long time, we see from Eq. (5.6) that
, if t >>
The velocity mg/b is called the terminal velocity of the falling body in question. The body
reaches within 1/e of its terminal velocity in a time t = m/b. We could use the

experimentally determined terminal velocity to find the constant b. We now integrate

Eq.(5.6), taking xo = 0:
................................................................(5.8)
By expanding the exponential function in a power series, we obtain
................................................................(5.9)
If t << m/b, x = -

,. When t >> m/b

(

This result is easily interpreted in term of terminal velocity. Why is the positive constant
present?
It is worth noting that we may obtain the series solution (5.7) directly from the
differential equation (5.4) without solving it exactly. Let us first neglect altogether the
term involving b, so that the solution is

Substitute this result in the last term in Eq. (5.4) and integrate again:

This result agrees with the first two terms in Eq. (5.7). If we put v = v(1) into the last term
in Eq. (5.7) and integrate, we get a better approximation v(2), good to order b2, and so on.
This method of successive approximation is often useful in solving an equation containing
a small term which in a zero-order approximation may be neglected. A similar method
can be used to solve by successive approximations an algebraic equation containing one
or more small terms.

For small heavy bodies with large terminal velocities, a better approximation may
be
F = bv2 .......................................................................................(5.10)
The reader should be able to show that with the frictional force given by Eq. (5.10), the
result (taking xo = vo = 0 at to = 0) is

tanh

.................................................(5.11)
{

.............................................(5.12)

In the case of bodies falling from a great height, the variation of the gravitational
force with height should be taken into account. In this case, we neglect air resistance (in
order to be able to use the energy method), and measure x from the center of the earth.
Then if M is the mass of the earth and m the mass of the falling body.
, .......................................................................................(5.13)
And

Where we have taken xs =

becomes

.................................................................(5.14)
in order to avoid a constant term in V(x). Equational (4.7)

........................................................(5.15)

6. THE DAMPED HARMONIC OSCILLATOR

The equation of motion for a particle subject to a linear restoring force and a
frictional force proportional to its velocity is

....................................................................... (6.1)

Where the dots stand for time derivatives. Applying the method of Section 5, we make
.........................................................................(6.2)
The solution is
[(

...............................................................(6.3)

We distinguish three cases: (a) k/m > (b/2m)2, (b) k/m < (b/2m)2, and (c) k/m = (b/2m)2.
In case (a), we make substitutions

.............................................................................................(6.4)
.............................................................................................(6.5)
.............................................................................(6.6)

Where

is called the damping coefficient and

is the natural frequency of the

undamped oscillator. There are now two solutions for p:

......................................................................................(6.7)
The general solution of the differential equation is therefore
........................................................(6.8)

Setting
..........................................................(6.9)
We have
...................................................................(6.10)
This corresponds to an oscillation of frequency (

with an amplitude

decreases exponentially with time (Fig. 6.1). The constants A and

which

depend upon the

initial conditions.
The frequency of oscillation is less than without damping. The solution (6.10) can also be
written
.................................................(6.11)
In terms of the constants

and , Eq. (6.1) can be written

............................................................................(6.12)

-A
Fig. 6.1

This form of the equations often used in discussing mechanical oscillations.

The total energy (kinetic plus potential) of the oscillator is

............................................................................(6.13)

It is no longer constant; the friction - b plays the role of F. In the important case of small
damping,

<<

, we can set

and neglect

compared with

, and we have

for the energy corresponding to the solution (6.10), approximately,

...............................................................(6.14)
Thus the energy falls off exponentially at twice the rate at which the amplitude decays.
The fractional rate of decline or logarithmic derivative of E is
..........................................................................(6.15)
We now consider case (b), (

. In this case, the two solutions for p are

,
........................................................(6.16)

The general solution is

.......................................................................(6.17)
These two terms both decline exponentially with time, one at a faster rate then the other.
The constants C1 and C2 may be chosen to fit the initial conditions. The reader should
determine them for two important cases: x0

0, v0 = 0 and x0 = 0, v0

0, and draw curves

x(t) for the two cases.

In case (c), (

), we have only one solution for p:

P = - .................................................................................................. (6.18)
The corresponding solution for x is
............................................................................................(6.19)

We now show that, in this case, another solution is

..........................................................................................(6.20)
To prove this, we compute

....................................................................(6.21)

The left side of Eq. (6.12)is, for this x

This is zero if

...............................................(6.22)

Hence the general solution in case

is

............................................................................(6.23)
If we keep either
1>

Where

or
c

>

fixed and let the other vary, we see from Eq. (6.16) that
2

..........................................................................................(6.24)

is the value when =

MOTION OF A PARTICLE IN
TWO OR THREE DIMENSIONS
1. PLANE AND VECTOR ANGULAR MOMENTUM THEOREMS
The angular momentum L is taken as positive when the particle is moving in a
counter clockwise sense with respect to O. It is expressed most simply in terms of polar
coordinates with O as origin. Let the particle have mass m. Then its momentum is mv, and
the component of momentum perpendicular to the radius vector from O is mvo:

............................................................................(1.1)

If we write the force in terms of its polar components,

........................................................................................(1.2)
Then in plane polar coordinates the equation of motion,

........................................................................(1.3)

....................................................................(1.4)
We now note that

Thus, multiplying Eq. (1.4) by r, we have

(
The quantity

..................................................................(1.5)

is the torque exerted by the force F about the point O. Integrating Eq.

(1.5), we obtain the integrated from of the angular momentum theorem for motion in a
plane:

.............................................(1.6)

As a final generalization of the concept of angular momentum, we define the

vector angular momentum Lo about a point O as the vector moment of the momentum
vector about O:
Lo = r x p = m(r x v), ..................................................................(1.7)
Where the vector r is taken from the point O as origin to the position of the particle of
mass m. Again we shall omit the subscript o when no confusion can arise. The component
of the vector L in any direction is the moment of the momentum vector p about an axis in
that direction through O.

By taking the cross product of r with both members of the vector equation of
motion, we obtain
(

...............................................................................(1.8)

By the rules of vector algebra and vector calculus,

[

We substitute this result in Eq.(1.8):

dL/dt = r x F = N .....................................................................(1.9)
The time rate of change of the vector angular momentum of a particle is equal to the
vector torque acting on it. The integral form of the angular momentum theorem is

..............................................................................(1.10)
The theorems for plane angular momentum and for angular momentum about an axis
follow from the vector angular momentum theorems by taking components in the
appropriate direction.
2. PROJECTILES
An important problem in the history of the science of mechanics is that of
determining the motion of a projectile. A projectile moving under the action of gravity

near the surface of the earth moves, if air resistance is neglected, according to the
equation
, ...................................................................................(2.1)
Where the z-axis is taken in the vertical direction. In component form:
,

........................................................................................(2.2)

.......................................................................................(2.3)
.....................................................................................(2.4)

The solution of these equations are

..................................................................................(2.5)
..................................................................................(2.6)
.........................................................................(2.7)
Or, in vector form,
.......................................................................(2.8)
We assume the projectile stars from the origin (0,0,0), with its initial velocity in
the xz-plane, so that

= 0. This is no limitation on the motion of the projectile, but

merely correspond to a convenient choice of coordinate system. Equation (2.6), (2.7),

(2.8) then become
................................................................................................ (2.9)

......................................................................................................(2.10)

...................................................................................(2.11)
These equations give a complete description of the motion of the projectile. Solving the
first equation for t and substituting in the third, we have an equation for the path in the
xz-plane:
.............................................................................(2.12)
This can be rewritten in the form
(

) ..........................................................(2.13)

This is a parabola, concave downward, whose maximum altitude occurs at

.............................................................................................(2.14)
And which crosses the horizontal plane z = 0 at the origin and at the point
.....................................................................................(2.15)
If the surface of the earth is horizontal,

is the range of the projectile.

Let us now take account of air resistance by assuming a frictional force

proportional to the velocity:

.........................................................................(2.16)

In component notation, if we assume that the motion takes place in the xz-plane,

..................................................................(2.17)

It should be pointed out that the actual resistance of the air against a moving projectile is
a complicated function of velocity, so that the solutions we obtain will be only
approximate, although they indicate the general nature of the motion. If the projectile
stars from the origin at t = 0, the solutions of Eg. (2.17) are
................................................................................(2.18)
(
(

), ....................................................................(2.19)
)

.........................................................(2.20)

)(

............................................(2.21)

Solving Eq. (2.19) for t and substituting in Eq. (2.21), we obtain an equation for the
trajectory:
(

) ..................................................(2.22)

For low air resistance, or short distances, when (bx)/(mvxo)<< 1, we may expand in
powers of (bx)/(mvxo) to obtain
.....................................(2.23)
If we set z = 0 in Eq. (2.23), it has in addition to the obvious solution x = 0, a
solution for the range xm which we may find by successive approximations. We first
rewrite the equation in the following way:
.....................................................(2.24)
If we neglect the second term, we get as a first approximation,

Which agrees with Eq. (2.15). Let us substitute this solution in the second term of Eq.
(2.24), to obtain a second approximation
...................................................................(2.25)
The second term gives the first-order correction to the range due to air resistance, and
the first two terms will give a good approximation when the effect of air resistance is
small. Higher-order terms could be calculated by repeating the process of substituting
approximate solutions back in Eq. (2.24). We thus obtain successive terms for xm as a
power series in b. The extreme opposite case, when air resistance is predominant in
determining range, occurs when the vertical drop at x = (mvxo)/b begins above the
horizontal plane z = 0. The range is then, approximately,
(

) ................................................................(2.26)

We can treat (approximately) the problem of the effect of wind on the projectile
by assuming the force of air resistance to be proportional to the relative velocity of the
projectile with respect to the air:

Where

is the wind velocity. If

) .........................................................(2.27)
is constant, the term b

in Eq. (2.27) behaves as a

, and the problem is easily solved by the method above,

constant force added to

the only difference being that there may be constant forces in all three directions x, y,z.
The air resistance to a projectile decreases with altitude, so that a better form for
the equation of motion of a projectile which rises to appreciable altitudes would be

.........................................................(2.28)

Where h is the height (say about five miles) at which the air resistance falls to 1/e of its
value at the surface of the earth. In component form

We may note that the vector angular momentum of a particle under the action of a
central force is constant, since the torque is

............................................................(2.29)

Therefore, by Eq. (1.9),

...................................................................................................(2.30)
As a consequence, the angular momentum about any axis through the center of force is
constant. It is because many physical forces are central forces that the concept of angular
momentum is of importance.
In solving for the motion of a particle acted on by a central force, we first show
that the path of the particle lies an a single plane containing the center of force. To show
this, let the position ro and velocity vo be given at any initial time to, and choose the z-axis
through the initial position ro of the particle, and the z-axis perpendicular to the initial
velocity vo. Then we have initially:
Xo = |ro|,

yo = zo = 0 .........................................(2.31)

....................................(2.32)

The equation of motion in rectangular coordinates are,

.................................(2.33)

A solution of the zequation which satisfies the initial conditions on z0 and vz0 is
Z(t) = 0

We have now reduced the problem to one of motion in a plane with two
differential equations and four initial condition remaining to be satisfied. If we choose
polar coordinates r,

in the plane of the motion, the equations of motion in the r and

direction are,

..........................................................................(2.43)

............................................................................(2.44)

Multiplying Eq. (2.44) by r, as in the derivation of the (plane) angular momentum

theorem, we have

.............................................................................(2.45)
This equation expresses the conservation of angular momentum about the origin and is a
consequence also of Eq.(2.30) above. It may be integrated to give the angular momentum
integral of the equations of motion:

...................................................................(2.46)

The constant L is to be evaluated from the initial conditions. Another integral of Eq.
(2.43) and (2.44), since the force is conservative, is

Where V(r) is given by Eq. V(r) =

............................................(2.47)
and E is energy constant, to be evaluated

from the initial conditions. If we substitute for from Eq. (2.46), the energy becomes

We can solve for :

...................................................................(2.48)

..........................................................(2.49)

Therefore`

..................................................................(2.50)

The integral is to be evaluated and the resulting equation solved for r(t). We then obtain
(t) from Eq.(2.46):

.........................................................................(2.51)

It will be noted that our treatment based on Eq. (2.48) this analogous to our
treatment of the one-dimensional problem based on the energy integral. The coordinate r
here plays to the role of x, and the term in the kinetic energy, when is eliminated by
Eq. (2.46), plays the role of an addition to the potential energy. We may bring out this
analogy further by substituting from Eq.(2.46) into Eq. (2.43):

..............................................................................(2.52)

If we transpose the term L2/mr3 to the right side, we obtain

..............................................................................(2.53)