The linear and angular accelerations are the time derivatives of the linear and angular velocity vectors at any instant:
,
and:

The linear velocity, as seen from a reference frame
, of a vector
, relative to frame
of which the origin coincides with
, is given by:

Differentiating the above expression gives the acceleration of the vector
:

The equation for the linear velocity may also be written as:

Applying this result to the acceleration leads to:

In the case the origins of
and
do not coincide, a term for the linear acceleration of
, with respect to
, is added:

For rotational joints,
is constant, and the above expression simplifies to:

The angular velocity of a frame
, rotating relative to a frame
, which in itself is rotating relative to the reference frame
, with respect to
, is given by:

Differentiating leads to:

Replacing the last term with one of the expressions derived earlier:

The inertia tensor can be thought of as a generalization of the scalar moment of inertia:

The force
, acting at the center of mass of a rigid body with total mass
, causing an acceleration
, equals:

In a similar way, the moment
, causing an angular acceleration
, is given by:
,
where
is the inertia tensor, expressed in a frame
of which the origin coincides with the center of mass of the rigid body.