1.4 Motion in Two and Three Dimensions

Expanding our theoretical universe to two and even three dimensions allows us to explore a number of variations of the motion previously discussed. For example, objects often do not travel along straight lines, but rather in planes. We can use our knowledge of motion to solve the following problem in two dimensions:

A woman drives due west at a velocity of 25 m/s for 28.0 minutes. She then drives north at 20 m/s for 15.5 minutes. What is her displacement?

First we will calculate the distance she traveled west:

Now we’ll repeat the process to calculate the distance she travels north:

Vector addition can be used to calculate her final displacement: