POGIL: Motion in Two Dimensions 1 How do things move the way they do?

This is a great day in our physics education, because we now have all the tools we need to answer this question. Determining the Motion in Two Dimensions To describe motion in two dimensions, we simply need to remember this rule: Any motion in two dimensions can be broken down into two one dimensional motions through vector components. Two dimensional motion is complex, but one dimensional motion is manageable; we've been managing it for a while now. All we need to do is take all the vector quantities and divide them into x- and ycomponents. We can then treat the components as part of two separate one-dimensional problems. Suppose we have the following situation in which an object has the following initial velocity vector and acceleration vector. The object's acceleration is constant in both magnitude and direction. The set of axes on the right are simply there to remind us of the +x and +y directions. vo = 25 m/s 60 a = 10 m/s2 +y +x

We want to find how the object moves with time and the path it takes. The following questions will guide us through this process. 1. Find the x- and y-components of the acceleration and initial velocity.

2. Note the x- and y-components of acceleration. Based on these components, what kind of motion (constant velocity, constant acceleration, or simple harmonic motion) occurs in the x-direction? What kind of motion occurs in the y-direction?

3. Using the x-components of all known quantities, plot the x-component of position vs. time and xcomponent of velocity vs. time on the axes below. Place an appropriate scale on each vertical axis.

x (m)
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

time (s)

vx (m/s)
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

time (s)

4. Using the y-components of all known quantities, plot the y-component of position vs. time and ycomponent of velocity vs. time on the axes below. Place an appropriate scale on each vertical axis.

y (m)
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

time (s)

vy (m/s)
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

time (s)

5. Use your position vs. time graphs in questions 3 and 4 to plot the path that the object takes in two dimensions. Do this on a piece of graph paper using an appropriate scale and write the scale on the graph. Mark with dots the object's positions from 0 to 5 s at 0.5 s intervals. 6. What is the shape of the path that you drew in question 5?

7. In the chart below, use the velocity vs. time graphs in questions 3 and 4 to calculate the magnitude and direction of the object's velocity from 0 to 5 s at 0.5 s intervals. time (s) 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 8. Use your results in question 7 to draw the arrow representations of the velocity from 0 to 5 s at 0.5 s intervals. Draw each arrow representation on the dots you marked on the graph in question 5. magnitude of velocity (m/s) direction

9. Is the velocity constant? Why or why not?

Congratulations. You have answered the question How do things move? for this particular situation. Interestingly enough, the path you have traced is similar to that of a projectile in the absence of air resistance. Interesting indeed!