Sir Isaac Newton first presented his three 

laws of motion in the "Principia Mathematica

Philosophiae Naturalis" in 1686. His second law defines a force to be equal to the
change in momentum with a change in time. Momentum is defined to be the mass m of
an object times its velocity V.

Let us assume that we have an airplane at a point "0" defined by its location X0 and
time t0. The airplane has a mass m0and travels at velocity V0. The airplane is
subjected to an external force F and moves to a point "1", which is described by a new
location X1 and time t1. The mass and velocity of the airplane change during the flight
to values m1 and V1. Newton's second law can help us determine the new values
of V1 and m1, if we know how big the force F is. Let us just take the difference between
the conditions at point "1" and the conditions at point "0".

F = (m1 * V1 - m0 * V0) / (t1 - t0)

Newton's second law talks about changes in momentum (m * V) so, at this point, we
can't separate out how much the mass changed and how much the velocity changed.
We only know how much product (m * V) changed.
Let us assume that the mass stays a constant value equal to m. This assumption is
pretty good for an airplane, the only change in mass would be for the fuel burned
between point "1" and point "0". The weight of the fuel is probably small relative to the
weight of the rest of the airplane, especially if we only look at small changes in time.. If
we were discussing the flight of a baseball, then certainly the mass remains a constant.
But if we were discussing the flight of a bottle rocket, then the mass does not remain a
constant and we can only look at changes in momentum. For a constant mass m,
Newton's second law looks like:

F = m * (V1 - V0) / (t1 - t0)

The change in velocity divided by the change in time is the definition of the
acceleration a. The second law then reduces to the more familiar product of a mass and
an acceleration:

F=m*a

Remember that this relation is only good for objects that have a constant mass. This
equation tells us that an object subjected to an external force will accelerate and that
the amount of the acceleration is proportional to the size of the force. The amount of
acceleration is also inversely proportional to the mass of the object; for equal forces, a
heavier object will experience less acceleration than a lighter object. Considering the
momentum equation, a force causes a change in velocity; and likewise, a change in
velocity generates a force. The equation works both ways.

The velocity, force, acceleration, and momentum have both a magnitude and

a direction associated with them. Scientists and mathematicians call this a vector
quantity. The equations shown here are actually vector equations and can be applied in
each of the component directions. We have only looked at one direction, and, in
general, an object moves in all three directions (up-down, left-right, forward-back).

The motion of an aircraft resulting from aerodynamic forces, aircraft weight,

and thrust can be computed by using the second law of motion.
 Example Given in the picture below, a horse is pulling the horsebox having 8 kg mass in it with a
force of 40N; if the applied force has an angle of 37º to the horizontal; calculate the acceleration
of the horsebox.

Direction of the acceleration is in the direction of Fx which is the net force in direction of motion

The driver of a 500 kg car, heading directly for a RR crossing 300 m away, applies the brakes in a panic stop.
The car is initially moving at 40 m/sec and the brakes are capable of producing a force of 1200 N. (a) How
fast will the car be moving when it reaches the crossing? (b) Will the driver escape collision with a freight
train that at the instant the brakes are applied is blocking the road, and still requires 11 seconds to clear the
crossing?
 Solution: We have a 1-d motion problem with constant acceleration.
To find the acceleration we apply Newton's 2nd law to the car. The y
N
force diagram is drawn, and CS chosen. We also include the initial a
conditions in the figure since the 2nd part of the problem will utilize
the equations of motion of the car. v

 Fx = - F = m a x  -1200 = (500) a x F
mg

Hence, the car's acceleration (x-direction) is: a x = - 2.4 m/sec2 . Note

that while we are not asked, we can calculate the normal force N
(4900 N), and assuming that the 1200 N force is due to kinetic friction
between the tires and the road, we could also find the coefficient of
kinetic friction (0.245).

Inserting initial conditions & acceleration into the general equations of motion for constant acceleration, we
arrive at the specific equations for the car:

x(t) = (1/2)(-2.4) t2 + (40) t ; v x (t) = - 2.4 t + 40 .

To determine the time to reach the crossing, we solve x(t=t') = 300 m.

x(t') = 300 = - 1.2 t'2 + 40 t' .

This is a quadratic equation & yields two solutions for t': t'1 = 11.4 sec; t'2 = 21.9 sec. (Can you explain the
meaning of the second time?)

v(t=11.4s) = -(2.4)(11.4) + (40) = 12.6 m/sec.

Clearly the driver escapes injury since his car arrives at the crossing 0.4 seconds after the train has cleared the
crossing.
 Rectilinear Motion
Rectilinear motion is another name for straight-line motion. This type of motion describes
the movement of a particle or a body.

A body is said to experience rectilinear motion if any two particles of the body travel the
same distance along two parallel straight lines. The figures below illustrate rectilinear
motion for a particle and body.

Rectilinear motion for a particle:

Rectilinear motion for a body:

In the above figures, x(t) represents the position of the particles along the direction of
motion, as a function of time t.

Given the position of the particles, x(t), we can calculate the displacement, velocity, and
acceleration. These are important quantities to consider when evaluating the kinematics of a
problem.

A common assumption, which applies to numerous problems involving rectilinear motion, is

that acceleration is constant. With acceleration as constant we can derive equations for the
position, displacement, and velocity of a particle, or body experiencing rectilinear motion.

The easiest way to derive these equations is by using Calculus.

The acceleration is given by

where a is the acceleration, which we define as constant.

Integrate the above equation with respect to time, to obtain velocity. This gives us

where v(t) is the velocity and C1 is a constant.

Integrate the above equation with respect to time, to obtain position. This gives us

where x(t) is the position and C2 is a constant.

The constants C1 and C2 are determined by the initial conditions at time t= 0. The initial

conditions are:

At time t = 0 the position is x1.

At time t = 0 the velocity is v1.

Substituting these two initial conditions into the above two equations we get

Therefore C1 = v1 and C2 = x1.

This gives us
For convenience, set x(t) = x2 and v(t) = v2. As a result

Displacement is defined as Δd = x2—x1. Therefore, equation (1) becomes

If we wish to find an equation that doesn’t involve time t we can combine equations (2) and
(3) to eliminate time as a variable. This gives us

Equations (1), (2), (3), and (4) fully describe the motion of particles, or bodies experiencing
rectilinear (straight-line) motion, where acceleration ais constant.

For the cases where acceleration is not constant, new expressions have to be derived for
the position, displacement, and velocity of a particle. If the acceleration is known as a
function of time, we can use Calculus to find the position, displacement, and velocity, in the
same manner as before.

Alternatively, if we are given the position x(t) as a function of time, we determine the

velocity by differentiating x(t) once, and we determine the acceleration by
differentiating x(t) twice.
For example, let's say the position x(t) of a particle is given by

Thus, the velocity v(t) is given by

The acceleration a(t) is given by

 Curvilinear Motion
General Curvilinear Motion

Curvilinear motion is defined as motion that occurs when a particle travels along a curved
path. The curved path can be in two dimensions (in a plane), or in three dimensions. This
type of motion is more complex thanrectilinear (straight-line) motion.

Three-dimensional curvilinear motion describes the most general case of motion for a
particle.

To find the velocity and acceleration of a particle experiencing curvilinear motion one only
needs to know the position of the particle as a function of time.

Let’s say we are given the position of a particle P in three-dimensional Cartesian (x,y,z)
coordinates, with respect to time, where

The velocity of the particle P is given by

The acceleration of the particle P is given by

As you can see, if we know the position of a particle as a function of time, it is a fairly
simple exercise to find the velocity and acceleration. You simply take the first derivative to
find the velocity and the second derivative to find the acceleration.

The magnitude of the velocity of particle P is given by

The magnitude of the acceleration of particle P is given by

Note that the direction of velocity of the particle P is always tangent to the curve (i.e. the
path traveled, denoted by the blue curve in the figure above). But the direction of
acceleration is generally not tangent to the curve.

However, the acceleration component tangent to the curve is equal to the time derivative of
the magnitude of velocity of the particle P (along the curve). In other words, if vt is the
magnitude of the particle velocity (tangent to the curve), the acceleration component of the
particle tangent to the curve (at) is simply

In addition, the acceleration component normal to the curve (an) is given by

where R is the radius of curvature of the curve at a given point on the curve (xp,yp,zp).

The figure below illustrates the acceleration components at and an at a given point on the
curve (xp,yp,zp).
For the specific case where the path of the blue curve is given by y = f(x)(two-dimensional
motion), the radius of curvature R is given by

where |x| means the “absolute value” of x. For example, |-2.5| = 2.5, and |3.1| = 3.1.

However, it is usually not necessary to know the radius of curvature Ralong a curve. But
nonetheless, it is informative to understand it on the basis of its relationship to the normal
acceleration (an).

Curvilinear Motion In Polar Coordinates

It is sometimes convenient to express the planar (two-dimensional) motion of a particle in

terms of polar coordinates (R,θ), so that we can explicitly determine the velocity and
acceleration of the particle in the radial (R-direction) and circumferential (θ-direction). For
this type of motion, a particle is only allowed to move along the radial R-direction for a
given angle θ.
For a particle P defined in polar coordinates (as shown below), we can derive a general
equation for its radial velocity (vr), radial acceleration (ar), circumferential velocity (vc), and
circumferential acceleration (ac).

Note that the circumferential direction is perpendicular to the radial direction.

The position of the particle P is given with respect to time, where

To find the velocity, take the first derivative of x(t) and y(t) with respect to time:
To find the acceleration, take the second derivative of x(t) and y(t) with respect to time:

Without loss of generality we can evaluate the velocities and accelerations at angle θ = 0,
knowing that (at this angle) radial velocity and radial acceleration is in the x-direction, and
circumferential velocity and circumferential acceleration is in the y-direction.

Setting θ = 0 we have:
Equations (1), (2), (3), and (4) fully describe the curvilinear motion of a particle P in polar
coordinates.

The term dθ/dt is called angular velocity. It has units of rad/s. One rad (radian) = 57.296
degrees.

The term d2θ/dt2 is called angular acceleration. It has units of rad/s2.

Since vr and vc are perpendicular to each other, the magnitude of the velocity of particle P is

given by

Since ar and ac are perpendicular to each other, the magnitude of the acceleration of

particle P is given by

Example Problem For Curvilinear Motion

A slotted link is rotating about fixed pivot O with a counterclockwise angular velocity of 3

rad/s, and a clockwise angular acceleration of 2 rad/s2. The movement of the link is causing
a rod to slide along the curved channel, as shown. The radius of the channel as a function
of θ is given by, R = 0.7θ (with R in meters and θ in radians). Determine the velocity and
acceleration components of the rod at θ = 45°

Solution

The angle θ = 45° is equal to π/4 radians. In the equations, counterclockwise angular
velocity is positive, and clockwise angular acceleration is negative (since it acts to “slow
down” the rotational speed of the link).

The radial velocity of the rod is given by equation (1):

(The radial velocity is in the direction of increasing R).

The circumferential velocity of the rod is given by equation (3):

(The circumferential velocity is in the direction of increasing θ).

The radial acceleration of the rod is given by equation (2):

(The radial acceleration is in the direction of decreasing R).

The circumferential acceleration of the rod is given by equation (4):

(The circumferential acceleration is in the direction of increas

 University of the Assumption
City of San Fernando Pampanga
School of Technological Studies

Dynamics of Rigid Bodies

Research Work On: Kinetics of Particle

Submitted by: Lourdes Marianne N. Meneses

BSIE 3A

Professor: Engr. Federico Reyes