Chapter 3

Motion in Two or Three Dimensions

 Uniform Circular Motion

Uniform circular motion occurs when

a particle travels at constant (uniform) speed
around a circle or a circular arc.

Acceleration occurs when the velocity changes

its direction. This occurs when the path is curved.
 Uniform Circular Motion


v  v x iˆ  v y ˆj   v sin  iˆ  v cos   j
 yˆ  x ˆ
  v i  v  j
 r  r
Uniform Circular Motion

 dv  v dy  ˆ  v dx  ˆ
a   i   j
dt  r dt   r dt 

 v ˆ v  ˆ
   v y  i   vx  j
 r  r 

 v ˆ v ˆ
   v cos   i    v sin   j
 r  r 
 Uniform Circular Motion
  v2  ˆ  v2 ˆ
a    cos   i    sin   j
 r   r 
  a x iˆ  a y ˆj
  a cos  iˆ   a sin   ˆj

a is called the
centripetal acceleration.
2
v
Magnitude: a  Direction: along the radius,
r toward the center (“centri”)
 Uniform Circular Motion
The time to travel once round the circle, T, is
called the period of revolution or just period of
the motion.
The speed is constant. The circumference is 2pR.
The equation of motion is:
2p r  vT
2p r
and T 
v
 A physics book slides off a horizontal tabletop with a speed
of 1.10 m/s. It strikes the floor in 0.480 s. Ignore air
resistance. Find

(a) the height of the tabletop above the floor;

(b) the horizontal distance from the edge of the table to the
point where the book strikes the floor;

(c) the horizontal and vertical components of the book’s

velocity, and the magnitude and direction of its velocity, just
before the book reaches the floor.
Leaping the River I. During a storm, a car traveling on a level
horizontal road comes upon a bridge that has washed out. The driver
must get to the other side, so he decides to try leaping the river with
his car. The side of the road the car is on is 21.3 m above the river,
while the opposite side is only 1.8 m above the river. The river itself
is a raging torrent 48.0 m wide.

(a) How fast should the car be traveling at the time it leaves the road
in order just to clear the river and land safely on the opposite
side?
Crickets Chirpy and Milada jump from the top of a vertical
cliff. Chirpy drops downward and reaches the ground in
2.70 s, while Milada jumps horizontally with an initial speed
of 95.0 cm/s. How far from the base of the cliff will Milada
hit the ground? Ignore air resistance.