Back to homePhysics and Chemistry · 1st Bach. Science · Change subject
Start for free
BAC1 tech · Physics and Chemistry
Kinematics · Kinematics

Compound motion

A ball kicked up and forwards, a parcel falling from an aircraft in flight, a boat crossing a river while the current pushes it along: in all three cases there are two motions happening at once. Galileo was the first to realise something that seems simple but cleared up centuries of confusion: those two motions can be studied separately, as if the other did not exist, and then combined using the vector addition you already know.

Before you start, make sure you know: Free fall (4th ESO)
Before you start, make sure you know: Applications of trigonometry (4th ESO)

The principle of independence of motions

A stone dropped from the top of the mast of a moving ship lands exactly at the foot of the mast and not several metres behind it, as the ancient scholars believed: how is it possible that the ship's horizontal motion does not alter its vertical fall at all?

Two independent perpendicular motions, one horizontal and one vertical, and their diagonal resultant obtained by vector addition motion 1 motion 2 resultant (vector sum)
Practice★☆☆Not started
A boat crosses a river $40\ \text{m}$ wide at its own velocity of $2\ \text{m/s}$, directed perpendicular to the current. Look at the crossing diagram: a) State…

A boat crosses a river $40\ \text{m}$ wide at its own velocity of $2\ \text{m/s}$, directed perpendicular to the current. Look at the crossing diagram:

current v = 2 m/s 40 m crossing time = ?
  1. a) State Galileo's principle of independence of motion.
  2. b) Apply it to calculate the time the boat takes to cross the river, reasoning why the current does not alter this time.
Solve
Practice★☆☆Not started
A drone flies north at $4\ \text{m/s}$ while the wind pushes it east at $3\ \text{m/s}$. a) Calculate the magnitude of the drone's resultant velocity relative to the…

A drone flies north at $4\ \text{m/s}$ while the wind pushes it east at $3\ \text{m/s}$.

  1. a) Calculate the magnitude of the drone's resultant velocity relative to the ground.
  2. b) Taking into account the independence of motion, calculate how long it takes to travel $100\ \text{m}$ northwards.
Solve
Practice★☆☆Not started
A train crosses a bridge $19,6\ \text{m}$ high when an object becomes detached from a carriage. Take $g = 9,8\ \text{m/s}^2$. a) Calculate the time it takes for the…

A train crosses a bridge $19,6\ \text{m}$ high when an object becomes detached from a carriage. Take $g = 9,8\ \text{m/s}^2$.

  1. a) Calculate the time it takes for the object to reach the ground.
  2. b) Reason whether this time depends on the horizontal speed of the train.
Solve

Horizontal projectile motion

If you throw a coin horizontally from the edge of a table at the same time as you drop another one straight down, you will hear a single thud on the floor: why do two objects with such different horizontal velocities take exactly the same time to hit the ground?

Practice★☆☆Not started
An aid aeroplane flies horizontally at $100\ \text{m/s}$ and at an altitude of $500\ \text{m}$ when it drops a package. Take $g \approx 10\ \text{m/s}^2$. Look at the…

An aid aeroplane flies horizontally at $100\ \text{m/s}$ and at an altitude of $500\ \text{m}$ when it drops a package. Take $g \approx 10\ \text{m/s}^2$. Look at the diagram:

v = 100 m/s 500 m range = ? t = ?
  1. a) Calculate the time it takes for the package to fall.
  2. b) Calculate the horizontal distance the package travels before touching the ground.
Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
A helicopter flies horizontally at $30\ \text{m/s}$ and at an altitude of $20\ \text{m}$ when it drops a package. Take $g \approx 10\ \text{m/s}^2$. a) Calculate the…

A helicopter flies horizontally at $30\ \text{m/s}$ and at an altitude of $20\ \text{m}$ when it drops a package. Take $g \approx 10\ \text{m/s}^2$.

  1. a) Calculate the fall time of the package.
  2. b) Calculate the horizontal range of the package.
  3. c) Calculate the velocity components on hitting the ground and its magnitude.
Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
An aeroplane flies horizontally at $80\ \text{m/s}$ and at an altitude of $720\ \text{m}$ and must drop a package so that it lands on a specific point on the ground.…

An aeroplane flies horizontally at $80\ \text{m/s}$ and at an altitude of $720\ \text{m}$ and must drop a package so that it lands on a specific point on the ground. Take $g \approx 10\ \text{m/s}^2$.

  1. a) Calculate the fall time of the package.
  2. b) Calculate the horizontal distance travelled by the package during the fall.
  3. c) Reason at what horizontal distance before the target the package should be dropped.
Solve

Parabolic (oblique) projectile motion

The continuous jet of water from a tilted garden hose draws a perfect, symmetrical arc in the air, whose height and range change when you alter the angle: which combination of elementary motions gives rise to that curved path?

Practice★☆☆Not started
A ball is kicked with an initial velocity $v_0 = 50\ \text{m/s}$ at an angle of $37^\circ$ to the horizontal. Use $\sen 37^\circ \approx 0,6$ and…

A ball is kicked with an initial velocity $v_0 = 50\ \text{m/s}$ at an angle of $37^\circ$ to the horizontal. Use $\sen 37^\circ \approx 0,6$ and $\cos 37^\circ \approx 0,8$. The figure shows the resolution of the initial velocity.

v₀ = 50 m/s horizontal = ? vertical = ? 37°
  1. a) Calculate the horizontal component of the initial velocity.
  2. b) Calculate the vertical component of the initial velocity.
Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
A golf ball leaves the tee at $v_0 = 50\ \text{m/s}$ at an angle of $37^\circ$ to the horizontal. Use $\sen 37^\circ \approx 0,6$, $\cos 37^\circ \approx 0,8$ and…

A golf ball leaves the tee at $v_0 = 50\ \text{m/s}$ at an angle of $37^\circ$ to the horizontal. Use $\sen 37^\circ \approx 0,6$, $\cos 37^\circ \approx 0,8$ and $g \approx 10\ \text{m/s}^2$. The trajectory of the shot is shown in the figure.

v₀ = 50 m/s 37° maximum height = ? range = ?
  1. a) Calculate the components of the initial velocity.
  2. b) Calculate the flight time.
  3. c) Calculate the range over level ground.
  4. d) Calculate the maximum height.
Solve
Practice★★★Not started
In a historical reenactment, a cannon fires projectiles at $v_0 = 40\ \text{m/s}$. Take $g \approx 10\ \text{m/s}^2$, $\sen 37^\circ \approx 0,6$,…

In a historical reenactment, a cannon fires projectiles at $v_0 = 40\ \text{m/s}$. Take $g \approx 10\ \text{m/s}^2$, $\sen 37^\circ \approx 0,6$, $\cos 37^\circ \approx 0,8$ and recall that $\sen(2\theta) = 2 \cdot \sen\theta \cdot \cos\theta$.

  1. a) Calculate the range for a firing angle of $37^\circ$.
  2. b) Calculate the range for the complementary angle, $53^\circ$, and compare the two results.
  3. c) Calculate the maximum height and the flight time in each of the two cases.
  4. d) Explain what property pairs of complementary angles have in projectile motion, and what is gained and lost by choosing the higher angle.
Solve

Composition of rectilinear motions: boats and currents

With $F_1=4$ at $90^\circ$ (the boat, perpendicular to the bank) and $F_2=1{,}5$ at $0^\circ$ (the current, parallel to the bank), the resultant $R$ is the real velocity of the boat relative to the ground: it moves diagonally, combining the crossing with the drift.

Practice★★☆Not started
A boat with its own speed of $4\ \text{m/s}$ crosses a river $80\ \text{m}$ wide, pointing its bow perpendicular to the current, which flows at $1,5\ \text{m/s}$. Look…

A boat with its own speed of $4\ \text{m/s}$ crosses a river $80\ \text{m}$ wide, pointing its bow perpendicular to the current, which flows at $1,5\ \text{m/s}$. Look at the crossing diagram:

boat: 4 m/s current: 1,5 m/s actual path drift = ? 80 m
  1. a) Calculate the crossing time.
  2. b) Calculate the drift: the distance the current has carried it downstream on reaching the opposite bank.
  3. c) Calculate the magnitude of the total displacement between the starting point and the arrival point.
Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
A boat skipper wants to cross a river $120\ \text{m}$ wide, arriving directly opposite the starting point. Their boat reaches $5\ \text{m/s}$ in still water and the…

A boat skipper wants to cross a river $120\ \text{m}$ wide, arriving directly opposite the starting point. Their boat reaches $5\ \text{m/s}$ in still water and the current flows downstream at $3\ \text{m/s}$. The velocity diagram is shown in the figure.

boat: 5 m/s current: 3 m/s resultant = ? θ = ? directly opposite 120 m
  1. a) Calculate the upstream angle at which the bow must be directed, knowing that it satisfies $\sen\theta = \frac{3}{5}$.
  2. b) Calculate the magnitude of the boat's resultant velocity relative to the banks.
  3. c) Calculate the time it takes to cross.
Solve
Practice★★★Not started
A boat capable of travelling at $5\ \text{m/s}$ in still water must cross a river $100\ \text{m}$ wide with a current of $3\ \text{m/s}$. a) If it points its bow…

A boat capable of travelling at $5\ \text{m/s}$ in still water must cross a river $100\ \text{m}$ wide with a current of $3\ \text{m/s}$.

  1. a) If it points its bow perpendicular to the bank, calculate the crossing time, the drift and the magnitude of the total displacement.
  2. b) If it wants to arrive directly opposite, calculate the upstream angle it must take (satisfying $\sen\theta = \frac{3}{5}$), the resultant velocity and the crossing time.
  3. c) Compare both strategies and reason which minimises the crossing time and which minimises the length of the path relative to the bank, supporting your answer with the results obtained.
Solve

Summary

See all the exercises in this section