Table II. Methods for calculating velocity and acceleration
Some facts about path coordinates
The path of a particle is .
Summary of the direct differentiation method
In the direct differentiation method, using moving frame , we calculate by using a combination of the product rule of differentiation and the facts that
, , and ,
as follows:
but stop short of identifying these three groups of three terms as
We would calculate similarly and would get a formula with 15 non-zero terms (3 for each term in the ‘five-term’ acceleration formula).
Basic flow chart for solving dynamics problems.
The methods (boxes 1-8) depend on the goal (ellipses a-d). Statics (b) only uses the solution route . Dynamics uses other boxes as needed. At first reading this chart shows you the logic of the subject. Later the flow chart in this box should become self-evident.