ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a summary of some fundamental concepts of planar kinematics. It reviews the kinematics of a single particle, and then considers the fundamental formulas for the kinematics of a single planar rigid body. The chapter discusses the kinematic definitions and fundamental formulas for kinematics of particles and rigid bodies. The most fundamental step in planar kinematics is to describe the position of a particle or a point in a plane. The simplest body arising in the study of motion is a particle, or a point mass. Analysis of the behavior of a point mass can lead to the kinematic and dynamic analysis of a body, and eventually to the analysis of a system of bodies. Defining a set of coordinates to monitor the position and orientation of the body is essential in the kinematic analysis. A closed-chain system may contain one or more loops in its kinematic structure.
