Chapter 3 Describing Movement in Two Dimensions, 2-D Linear Kinematics
Glossary
3.1 Kinematics in Two Dimensions
- vector
- a quantity that has both magnitude and direction; an arrow used to represent quantities with both magnitude and direction
resultant- the vector sum of two or more vector quantities.
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3.2 Adding and Subtracting Vectors: Graphical
- component (of a 2-d vector)
- a piece of a vector that points in either the vertical or the horizontal direction; every 2-d vector can be expressed as a sum of two vertical and horizontal vector components
- commutative
- refers to the interchangeability of order in a function; vector addition is commutative because the order in which vectors are added together does not affect the final sum
- direction (of a vector)
- the orientation of a vector in space
- head (of a vector)
- the end point of a vector; the location of the tip of the vector’s arrowhead; also referred to as the “tip”
- head-to-tail method
- a method of adding vectors in which the tail of each vector is placed at the head of the previous vector
- magnitude (of a vector)
- the length or size of a vector; magnitude is a scalar quantity
- resultant
- the sum of two or more vectors
- resultant vector
- the vector sum of two or more vectors
- scalar
- a quantity with magnitude but no direction
- tail
- the start point of a vector; opposite to the head or tip of the arrow
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3.3 Adding and Subtracting Vectors: Algebra
- analytical method
- the method of determining the magnitude and direction of a resultant vector using the Pythagorean theorem and trigonometric identities
3.4 Projectile Motion
- air resistance
- a frictional force that slows the motion of objects as they travel through the air; when solving basic physics problems, air resistance is assumed to be zero
- kinematics
- the study of motion without regard to mass or force
- motion
- displacement of an object as a function of time
- projectile
- an object that travels through the air and experiences only acceleration due to gravity
- projectile motion
- the motion of an object that is subject only to the acceleration of gravity
- range
- the maximum horizontal distance that a projectile travels
- trajectory
- the path of a projectile through the air