Velocity Using Parametric Equations

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves an object moving in two dimensions described by parametric equations for its position, specifically x(t) and y(t). The task is to find the magnitude of the total velocity at a specific time, t = 3 s, using derivatives of the position functions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the process of finding the velocity vector from the derivatives of the position functions. There is uncertainty about the correct method to calculate the magnitude of the velocity vector.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided guidance on evaluating the magnitude of the velocity vector by suggesting the use of the derivatives at the specified time. The conversation reflects an exploration of the steps involved in the calculation, with no explicit consensus reached on the correctness of the original poster's approach.

Contextual Notes

The original poster expresses concern about their understanding of parametric equations and their application in the context of a physics course, indicating a potential gap in prior knowledge related to calculus topics.

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Homework Statement



An object moves in two dimensions according to the parametric equations x(t) = At^2 + Bt and y(t) = D cos(Et). The constants A, B, D, and E are A = 2 m/s^2, B = 3 m/s, D = 4 m, and E = 1 rad/s. What is the magnitude of the total velocity of the object at t = 3 s?

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



I'm not sure if I did this problem right. I plugged back in the constants

x(t) = 2 t^2 + 3 t
y(t) = 4 cos(t)

dx/dt = 4 t + 3
dy/dt = -4 sin(t)

dy/dx = dy/dt dt/dx = [-4 sin(t)]/[4 t + 3]

I thought that this was the velocity?

I then plugged in 3 for t and then plugged this into my calculator
[-4 sin(3)]/(12+3) and got about - .038 m/s but sense it said magnitude only I ignored the negative sign and put .038 m/s

I have the feeling I did this problem wrong. This is for my physics 2 course and is suppose to be a introductory physics course after taking physics 1 (non calculus based) and this is just suppose to be like calculus I based but parametric equations is a calculus 2 topic (in most american schools) and I'm in calculus 2 at the moment and haven't covered the topic yet and only have a brief understanding of it so I'm not sure
 
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What is the magnitude of the vector \vec{v}=[v_x,v_y]?
Or, how do you evaluate the magnitude of a vector knowing its components?

And, \vec{v}=[v_x,v_y]=[\frac{dx}{dt},\frac{dy}{dt}]
 
Ah I thought so, so I plug in 3 into each of the derivatives square both of these values sum these squared values and then take the square root of the whole thing?
 
Yep
|\vec{v}_{t=3}|=\sqrt{\left[\left.\frac{dx}{dt}\right|_{t=3}\right]^2+\left[\left.\frac{dy}{dt}\right|_{t=3}\right]^2}
 

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