Motion CoordinatesThree ways to write velocity and acceleration, and when each is easiest.Mechanical EngineeringPick the system the path suggests, not the one you know best.SystemUse whenAccelerationCartesianPath given as x(t), y(t)Second derivatives of x, yNormal-tangentialSpeed along a known curvedv/dt along, v² ÷ ρ inwardPolar, r and θMotion about a fixed centreRadial, plus a Coriolis termRotating frameLinkages and machineryAdds ω × (ω × r) and 2ω × vNormal-tangential splits speeding up from turning. The v² ÷ ρ part nevervanishes on a curve.Motion Coordinateslearnposters.com
Motion Coordinates — printable engineering wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the Motion Coordinates poster

A 4-row table: System · Use when · Acceleration.

Pick the system the path suggests, not the one you know best.

Normal-tangential splits speeding up from turning. The v² ÷ ρ part never vanishes on a curve.

Questions about the Motion Coordinates poster

What’s on the Motion Coordinates poster?
A 4-row table: System · Use when · Acceleration. Pick the system the path suggests, not the one you know best. Cartesian — Path given as x(t), y(t) — Second derivatives of x, y; Normal-tangential — Speed along a known curve — dv/dt along, v² ÷ ρ inward; Polar, r and θ — Motion about a fixed centre — Radial, plus a Coriolis term; Rotating frame — Linkages and machinery — Adds ω × (ω × r) and 2ω × v. Normal-tangential splits speeding up from turning. The v² ÷ ρ part never vanishes on a curve.
Who is the Motion Coordinates poster for?
Motion Coordinates belongs to the Mechanical Engineering section rather than to a school year, because engineering is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning statics & dynamics can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Motion Coordinates poster?
At the start of a dynamics problem, when you choose how to describe the path. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Motion Coordinates belongs on the wall where that engineering work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Motion Coordinates?
Finding a Centroid, Dry Friction and Energy or Momentum? sit alongside Motion Coordinates in the Mechanical Engineering section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Finding a CentroidDry FrictionEnergy or Momentum?
Is the Motion Coordinates poster free to download and print?
Yes. Motion Coordinates downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Mechanical Engineering section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Motion Coordinates poster print at?
Motion Coordinates is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Motion Coordinates loses nothing.Printing guide

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