Question

interpret r(t) as the position of a moving object at time t. Find the curvature of the path and determine thetangential and normal components of acceleration .r(t) = cos 2t i + sin 2t j + k.

Answer 1

Answer:

The curvature is $\kappa=1$

The tangential component of acceleration is $a_{\boldsymbol{T}}=0$

The normal component of acceleration is $a_{\boldsymbol{N}}=1 (2)^2=4$

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the curvature of the path we are going to use this formula:

$\kappa=\frac{||d\boldsymbol{T}/dt||}{ds/dt}$

where

$\boldsymbol{T}}$ is the unit tangent vector.

$\frac{ds}{dt}=|| \boldsymbol{r}'(t)}||$ is the speed of the object

We need to find $\boldsymbol{r}'(t)$, we know that $\boldsymbol{r}(t)=cos \:2t \:\boldsymbol{i}+sin \:2t \:\boldsymbol{j}+ \:\boldsymbol{k}$ so

$\boldsymbol{r}'(t)=\frac{d}{dt}\left(cos\left(2t\right)\right)\:\boldsymbol{i}+\frac{d}{dt}\left(sin\left(2t\right)\right)\:\boldsymbol{j}+\frac{d}{dt}\left(1)\right\:\boldsymbol{k}\\\boldsymbol{r}'(t)=-2\sin \left(2t\right)\boldsymbol{i}+2\cos \left(2t\right)\boldsymbol{j}$

Next , we find the magnitude of derivative of the position vector

$|| \boldsymbol{r}'(t)}||=\sqrt{(-2\sin \left(2t\right))^2+(2\cos \left(2t\right))^2} \\|| \boldsymbol{r}'(t)}||=\sqrt{2^2\sin ^2\left(2t\right)+2^2\cos ^2\left(2t\right)}\\|| \boldsymbol{r}'(t)}||=\sqrt{4\left(\sin ^2\left(2t\right)+\cos ^2\left(2t\right)\right)}\\|| \boldsymbol{r}'(t)}||=\sqrt{4}\sqrt{\sin ^2\left(2t\right)+\cos ^2\left(2t\right)}\\\\\mathrm{Use\:the\:following\:identity}:\quad \cos ^2\left(x\right)+\sin ^2\left(x\right)=1\\\\|| \boldsymbol{r}'(t)}||=2\sqrt{1}=2$

The unit tangent vector is defined by

$\boldsymbol{T}}=\frac{\boldsymbol{r}'(t)}{||\boldsymbol{r}'(t)||}$

$\boldsymbol{T}}=\frac{-2\sin \left(2t\right)\boldsymbol{i}+2\cos \left(2t\right)\boldsymbol{j}}{2} =\sin \left(2t\right)+\cos \left(2t\right)$

We need to find the derivative of unit tangent vector

$\boldsymbol{T}'=\frac{d}{dt}(\sin \left(2t\right)\boldsymbol{i}+\cos \left(2t\right)\boldsymbol{j}) \\\boldsymbol{T}'=-2\cdot(\sin \left(2t\right)\boldsymbol{i}+\cos \left(2t\right)\boldsymbol{j})$

And the magnitude of the derivative of unit tangent vector is

$||\boldsymbol{T}'||=2\sqrt{\cos ^2\left(x\right)+\sin ^2\left(x\right)} =2$

The curvature is

$\kappa=\frac{||d\boldsymbol{T}/dt||}{ds/dt}=\frac{2}{2} =1$

The tangential component of acceleration is given by the formula

$a_{\boldsymbol{T}}=\frac{d^2s}{dt^2}$

We know that $\frac{ds}{dt}=|| \boldsymbol{r}'(t)}||$ and $||\boldsymbol{r}'(t)}||=2$

$\frac{d}{dt}\left(2\right)\: = 0$ so

$a_{\boldsymbol{T}}=0$

The normal component of acceleration is given by the formula

$a_{\boldsymbol{N}}=\kappa (\frac{ds}{dt})^2$

We know that $\kappa=1$ and $\frac{ds}{dt}=2$ so

$a_{\boldsymbol{N}}=1 (2)^2=4$