Selected Topics

of Mathematics
C
C/1 Introduction
Appendix C contains an abbreviated summary and reminder of se-
lected topics in basic mathematics which find frequent use in mechanics.
The relationships are cited without proof. The student of mechanics will
have frequent occasion to use many of these relations, and he or she will be
handicapped if they are not well in hand. Other topics not listed will also
be needed from time to time.
As the reader reviews and applies mathematics, he or she should
bear in mind that mechanics is an applied science descriptive of real
bodies and actual motions. Therefore, the geometric and physical inter-
pretation of the applicable mathematics should be kept clearly in mind
during the development of theory and the formulation and solution of
problems.

C/2 Plane Geometry

1. When two intersect- 4. Circle
ing lines are, respec- θ1
Circumference  2r r
tively, perpendicular s
Area  r2 θ
to two other lines,
θ2
Arc length s  r
the angles formed by
the two pairs are equal. θ1 = θ2 Sector area  12r2

2. Similar triangles 5. Every triangle inscribed

h θ1 θ2
within a semicircle is
x hy x
 y a right triangle. θ 1 + θ 2 = π /2
b h
b

3. Any triangle 6. Angles of a triangle θ2

h
Area  12 bh 1  2  3  180⬚
4  1  2 θ1 θ3 θ4
b

479
480 Appendix C Selected Topics of Mathematics

C/3 Solid Geometry

1. Sphere 3. Right-circular cone
Volume  43r3 1
Volume  3r2h
r L h
Surface area  4r2 Lateral area  rL
L  冪r2  h2

2. Spherical wedge r
4. Any pyramid or cone
2 θ 1
Volume  3r3 Volume  3Bh h
where B  area of base
B

C/4 Algebra
1. Quadratic equation 4. Cubic equation
ax2  bx  c  0 x3  Ax  B
b ⫾ 冪b2  4ac 2 Let p  A/3, q  B/2.
x , b
4ac for real roots
2a
Case I: q2  p3 negative (three roots real and
2. Logarithms distinct)
bx  y, x  log b y cos u  q/(p 冪p), 0 ⬍ u ⬍ 180⬚
Natural logarithms x1  2冪p cos (u/3)
b  e  2.718 282 x2  2冪p cos (u/3  120⬚)
ex  y, x  log e y  ln y
x3  2冪p cos (u/3  240⬚)
log (ab)  log a  log b
log (a/b)  log a  log b Case II: q2  p3 positive (one root real, two
log (1/n)  log n roots imaginary)
log an  n log a x1  (q  冪q2  p3)1/3  (q  冪q2  p3)1/3
log 1  0
log10x  0.4343 ln x Case III: q2  p3  0 (three roots real, two
roots equal)
3. Determinants
2nd order x1  2q1/3, x2  x3  q1/3

冏 a1 b1
a2 b2 冏
 a1b2  a2b1 For general cubic equation
x3  ax2  bx  c  0
3rd order

冏a 1 b 1 c1
冏
a2 b2 c2  a1b2c3  a2b3c1  a3b1c2
a 3 b 3 c3 a3b2c1  a2b1c3  a1b3c2
Substitute x  x0  a/3 and get x03  Ax0  B.
Then proceed as above to find values of x0 from
which x  x0  a/3.
 Article C/6 Trigonometry 481

C/5 Analytic Geometry

1. Straight line 3. Parabola
y y y y
a
a
m b
1 b
a x
b
x x
y = a + mx a
x
x y =1
– + – x2 y2
a b y = b— x = a—
a2 b2

2. Circle 4. Ellipse
y y y

r r b
x
x a

b x2 y2
—+— =1
x2 + y2 = r2 x a2 b2
a
2 2 2
(x – a) + (y – b) = r
5. Hyperbola
y y

a b
x x
a a

x2 y2
— –— =1
xy = a2 a2 b2

C/6 Trigonometry
1. Definitions
I II III IV
sin   a/c csc   c/a c
a
cos   b/c sec   c/b sin     
tan   a/b cot   b/a θ
b
cos     

2. Signs in the four quadrants tan     

(+)
II
(+) csc     
I
θ θ θ θ
(+) (–) (–) (+) sec     

III IV cot     
(–) (–)
482 Appendix C Selected Topics of Mathematics

3. Miscellaneous relations 4. Law of sines

2 cos2
sin   1 a sin A
1  tan2   sec2   B
b sin B
1  cot2   csc2  c a

sin  冪12(1  cos )
2
 A C D
cos  冪2(1  cos )
1
2 b
sin 2  2 sin  cos 
5. Law of cosines
cos 2  cos2   sin2 
sin (a ⫾ b)  sin a cos b ⫾ cos a sin b c2  a2  b2  2ab cos C
cos (a ⫾ b)  cos a cos b ⫿ sin a sin b c2  a2  b2  2ab cos D

C/7 Vector Operations

1. Notation. Vector quantities are printed in boldface type, and
scalar quantities appear in lightface italic type. Thus, the vector
quantity V has a scalar magnitude V. In longhand work vector P
Q
quantities
l
should always be consistently indicated by a symbol such
as V or V to distinguish them from scalar quantities.
R
Q
2. Addition
Triangle addition P  Q  R P
Parallelogram addition P  Q  R R
Commutative law P  Q  Q  P
Q
Associative law P  (Q  R)  (P  Q)  R

P
P
3. Subtraction

P  Q  P  (Q) P–Q –Q

4. Unit vectors i, j, k

V  Vxi  Vy j  Vzk z

where 兩V 兩  V  冪Vx2  Vy2  Vz2 k

kVz V

5. Direction cosines l, m, n are the cosines of the angles between V y

and the x-, y-, z-axes. Thus,
jVy j

l  Vx /V m  Vy /V n  Vz /V
so that V  V(li  mj  nk) iVx i
and l2  m2  n2 1 x
 Article C/7 Vector Operations 483

6. Dot or scalar product

Q
P 䡠 Q  PQ cos  θ

This product may be viewed as the magnitude of P multiplied by P

the component Q cos  of Q in the direction of P, or as the magni-
tude of Q multiplied by the component P cos  of P in the direction Q Q
of Q. Q cos θ P cos θ
θ θ
Commutative law P䡠Q  Q䡠P P P
From the definition of the dot product

i䡠i  j䡠j  k䡠k  1

i䡠j  j䡠i  i䡠k  k䡠i  j䡠k  k䡠j  0
P 䡠 Q  (Px i  Py j  Pz k) 䡠 (Qx i  Qy j  Qz k)
 PxQx  PyQy  PzQz
P 䡠 P  Px2  Py2  Pz2

It follows from the definition of the dot product that two vec-
tors P and Q are perpendicular when their dot product vanishes,
P 䡠 Q  0.
The angle  between two vectors P1 and P2 may be found from
their dot product expression P1 䡠 P2  P1P2 cos , which gives

P1 䡠 P2 P1xP2x  P1yP2y  P1zP2z

cos     l1l2  m1m2  n1n2
P1P2 P1P2
where l, m, n stand for the respective direction cosines of the vec-
tors. It is also observed that two vectors are perpendicular to each
other when their direction cosines obey the relation l1l2  m1m2 
n1n2  0.
θ
Distributive law P 䡠 (Q  R)  P 䡠 Q  P 䡠 R P
Q
7. Cross or vector product. The cross product P  Q of the two
vectors P and Q is defined as a vector with a magnitude PQ

兩P  Q兩  PQ sin 
Q
and a direction specified by the right-hand rule as shown. Reversing
the vector order and using the right-hand rule give Q  P  θ
P
P  Q.
Distributive law P  (Q  R)  P  Q  P  R

From the definition of the cross product, using a right-handed

coordinate system, we get Q  P = –P  Q

ijk jki kij

j  i  k k  j  i i  k  j
iijjkk0
484 Appendix C Selected Topics of Mathematics

With the aid of these identities and the distributive law, the vector
product may be written
P  Q  (Px i  Py j  Pz k)  (Qx i  Qy j  Qz k)
 (PyQz  PzQy)i  (PzQx  PxQz)j  (PxQy  PyQx)k
The cross product may also be expressed by the determinant

i
P  Q  Px
Qx
冏 j k
Py Pz
Qy Qz
冏
8. Additional relations
Triple scalar product (P  Q) 䡠 R  R 䡠 (P  Q). The dot and cross
may be interchanged as long as the order of the vectors is main-
tained. Parentheses are unnecessary since P  (Q 䡠 R) is meaning-
less because a vector P cannot be crossed into a scalar Q 䡠 R. Thus,
the expression may be written

P  Q䡠R  P䡠Q  R

The triple scalar product has the determinant expansion

Px
P  Q 䡠 R  Qx
Rx
冏 Py Pz
Qy Qz
Ry Rz
冏
Triple vector product (P  Q)  R  R  (P  Q)  R 
(Q  P). Here we note that the parentheses must be used since an
expression P  Q  R would be ambiguous because it would not
identify the vector to be crossed. It may be shown that the triple
vector product is equivalent to

(P  Q)  R  R 䡠 PQ  R 䡠 QP
or P  (Q  R)  P 䡠 RQ  P 䡠 QR

The first term in the first expression, for example, is the dot prod-
uct R 䡠 P, a scalar, multiplied by the vector Q.

9. Derivatives of vectors obey the same rules as they do for scalars.

dP
 Ṗ  Ṗ x i  Ṗ y j  Ṗ z k
dt

d(Pu)
 Pu̇  Ṗu
dt
d(P 䡠 Q)
 P 䡠 Q̇  Ṗ 䡠 Q
dt

d(P  Q)
 P  Q̇  Ṗ  Q
dt
 Article C/9 Derivatives 485

10. Integration of vectors. If V is a function of x, y, and z and an el-

ement of volume is d  dx dy dz, the integral of V over the volume
may be written as the vector sum of the three integrals of its com-
ponents. Thus,

冕 V d  i 冕 V d  j 冕 V d  k 冕 V d
x y z

C/8 Series
(Expression in brackets following series indicates range of
convergence.)
n(n  1) 2 n(n  1)(n  2) 3
(1 ⫾ x)n  1 ⫾ nx  x ⫾ x  䡠 䡠 䡠 [x2 ⬍ 1]
2! 3!
x3 x5 x7
sin x  x    䡠 䡠 䡠 [x2 ⬍ 앝]
3! 5! 7!
x2 x4 x6
cos x  1    䡠 䡠 䡠 [x2 ⬍ 앝]
2! 4! 6!
ex  ex x3 x5 x7
sinh x   x    䡠 䡠 䡠 [x2 ⬍ 앝]
2 3! 5! 7!
ex  ex x2 x4 x6
cosh x   1    䡠 䡠 䡠 [x2 ⬍ 앝]
2 2! 4! 6!
a0 앝
nx 앝
nx
ƒ(x)   兺 an cos  兺 bn sin
2 n1 l n1 l

冕 冕
l l
1 nx 1 nx
where an  ƒ(x) cos dx, bn  ƒ(x) sin dx
l l l l l l

[Fourier expansion for l ⬍ x ⬍ l]

C/9 Derivatives

dxn
 nxn1,
d(uv)
u
dv
v
du,
u
d v 冢冣 v
du
dx
u
dv
dx

dx dx dx dx dx v2

lim sin x  sin dx  tan dx  dx

xl0

lim cos x  cos dx  1

xl0

d sin x d cos x d tan x

 cos x,  sin x,  sec2 x
dx dx dx
d sinh x d cosh x d tanh x
 cosh x,  sinh x,  sech2 x
dx dx dx
486 Appendix C Selected Topics of Mathematics

C/10 Integrals

冕x n
dx 
xn1
n1

冕 dxx  ln x
冕 冪a  bx dx  3b2 冪(a  bx) 3

冕 x冪a  bx dx  15b2 2
(3bx  2a)冪(a  bx)3

冕 x 冪a  bx dx  105b2
2
3
(8a2  12abx  15b2x2)冪(a  bx)3

冕 冪adx bx  2冪ab bx
冕 冪a x
冪b  x
dx  冪a  x 冪b  x  (a  b) sin 冪
ax
a b
1

冕 axdxbx  b1 [a  bx  a ln (a  bx)]
2

冕 (a xdxbx) n 
(a  bx)1n a  bx
b2 2n
 冢
a
1n 冣
冕 a dxbx 2

1
冪ab
x冪ab
tan1 a or
1
冪ab
tanh1
x冪ab
a

冕 a xdxbx 2

1
2b
ln (a  bx2)

冕 冪x ⫾ a dx 
2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2
2 [x冪x ⫾ a ⫾ a ln (x  冪x ⫾ a )]

冕 冪a  x dx  冢x 冪a  x  a sin ax冣
2 2 1
2
2 2 2 1

冕 x冪a  x dx   冪(a  x )
2 2 1
3
2 2 3

冕 x 冪a  x dx  4x冪(a  x )  a8 冢x冪a  x  a sin ax冣

2 2 2 2 2 3
2
2 2 2 1

冕 x 冪a  x dx   (x  a )冪(a  x )
3 2 2 1
5
2 2 2
3
2 2 3
 Article C/10 Integrals 487

冕 冪a  dxbx cx 2

1
冪c
冢
ln 冪a  bx  cx2  x冪c 
b
2冪c
冣 or
1
冪c
sin1冢 b  2cx
冪b2  4ac
冣
冕 冪x dx⫾ a
2 2
 ln (x  冪x2 ⫾ a2)

冕 冪a dx x
2 2
x
 sin1 a

冕 冪xx dx a
2 2
 冪x2  a2

冕 冪ax dx⫾ x
2 2
 ⫾冪a2 ⫾ x2

冕 x冪x ⫾ a dx 
2 2 1
3
冪(x2 ⫾ a2)3

冕 x 冪x ⫾ a dx  4x冪(x ⫾ a ) ⫿ a8 x冪x ⫾ a  a8 ln (x  冪x ⫾ a )
2 2 2 2 2 3
2
2 2
4
2 2

冕 sin x dx  cos x
冕 cos x dx  sin x
冕 sec x dx  21 ln 11  sin
sin x
x

冕 sin x dx  2x  sin42x
2

冕 cos x dx  2x  sin42x
2

冕 sin x cos x dx  sin2 x 2

冕 sinh x dx  cosh x
冕 cosh x dx  sinh x
冕 tanh x dx  ln cosh x
冕 ln x dx  x ln x  x
488 Appendix C Selected Topics of Mathematics

冕e ax
dx 
eax
a

冕 xe ax
dx 
eax
a2
(ax  1)

冕e ax sin px dx 
eax (a sin px  p cos px)
a2  p2

冕e ax
cos px dx 
eax (a cos px  p sin px)
a2  p2

冕e ax sin2 x dx 
eax
4  a2 冢 2
a sin2 x  sin 2x  a 冣
冕e ax cos2 x dx 
eax
4  a2 冢 2
a cos2 x  sin 2x  a 冣
冕e ax sin x cos x dx 
eax a
4  a2 2 冢
sin 2x  cos 2x 冣
冕 sin x dx  cos3 x (2  sin x)
3 2

冕 cos x dx  sin3 x (2  cos x)

3 2

冕 cos x dx  sin x 
5 2
3
sin3 x  15 sin5 x

冕 x sin x dx  sin x  x cos x

冕 x cos x dx  cos x  x sin x
冕 x sin x dx  2x sin x  (x  2) cos x
2 2

冕 x cos x dx  2x cos x  (x  2) sin x

2 2