IGCSE Maths Notes: Relative Velocities and Relative Positions
Definition: If A is at position
moving
with velocity
and
B is at position
moving
with velocity
then
The relative position of B relative to A is given
by
and
the relative velocity of B relative to A is given by![]()
The relative position of A relative to B is given
by
and
the relative velocity of A relative to B is given by![]()
The position of
of
A at any time t is given by![]()
The position of
of
B at any time t is given by![]()
Typically we are are asked about relative velocities, relative positions and points of intersection or CRASHES!
Example A boat A started from position
with
speed
.
a)Find the position of A at time t
![]()
If boat B start from position
with
velocity
find
if boat A and B CRASH and if they do, find the position of the crash
site and the distance from the origin to this position.
The position vector of B at time t is given by![]()
If they collide, at some point they are in the same
place at the same time. This means that for some value of
We solve:
![]()
We equate the coefficients of
and
on
both sides:
![]()
![]()
We get the same value of t from both equations hence they meet at the same place at the same time.
We can obtain the position vector of the point of
collision be substituting the value t=2 into either
or![]()
![]()
![]()
The distance from the origin to
is
given by
so
distance from origin to crash site is![]()