Help with Kinematics: Moving Towards Origin

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a kinematics problem involving an object moving in 3D space towards the origin. The position and velocity vectors are defined, and various conditions related to their components are proposed. Participants are exploring the implications of these conditions on the motion of the object.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to integrate the velocity equation to derive the position functions but expresses confusion about the correctness of their approach. Other participants discuss the relationship between the position and velocity vectors, particularly focusing on the angle between them and the implications of the object moving towards the origin.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively questioning the interpretation of the problem, particularly regarding the angle between the position and velocity vectors. Some have suggested that the dot product of these vectors is negative, indicating that they are oriented in opposite directions. There is ongoing exploration of the implications of the object moving towards the origin, with no clear consensus yet.

Contextual Notes

Some participants have simplified the problem to a one-dimensional case to clarify the concepts involved, questioning how the velocity relates to the displacement when moving towards the origin. The discussion includes various assumptions about the nature of the vectors and their relationships.

harini_5
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An object is moving in 3D space with position vector vectot r=(x)i+y(j)+z(k) and velocity vector v=a(i)+b(j)+c(k)
i,j,k are unit vectors along x,y,z axes
If the object is always moving towards origin,
then
(a) a/x =b/y = c/z
(b) (a/x)(b/y)(c/z)<0
(c)ax+by+cz<0
(d)ab/xy >0
x,y,z,a,b,c are functions of time
question may have one or more correct answer(s)
MY APPROACH
integrating velocity eqn,
r=at(i)+bt(y)+ct(z)
which implies,
x=at
y=bt
z=ct
I don't get the correct ans if I proceed this way
wats wrong?
 
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Angle between position vector and velocity vector is π.
So the dot product of r and v i.e. r.v = - ( xa + yb + zc) < 0
 


please explain me,how the angle is pi
what does the statement the object is always moving towards origin
imply?
 


harini_5 said:
please explain me,how the angle is pi
what does the statement the object is always moving towards origin
imply?

For the sake of argument, let's simplify it to a one dimensional problem.
The x-axis is positive to the right of the origin, and negative to the left of the origin.
The object starts with an initial displacement x_0 &gt; 0
If the object is to move towards the origin, is its velocity negative or positive?

The dot product is the scalar product of two vectors.

\vec i\cdot \vec j \equiv |i|*|j|*\cos{\theta} where \theta is the angle between the two vectors.

So for your velocity and displacement vectors, make an analogy from the one-dimensional case.

The velocity runs opposite the displacement vector for each of the axes. Can you see why the dot product is necessarily negative, now?
 
Last edited:

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