Unit 1.

Kinematics
1.1 Scalars and Vectors
All physical quantities can be categorized as either a vector quantity or a
scalar quantity. A vector has both direction and magnitude (size). A
scalar can be completely specified by its magnitude with appropriate
units; it has no direction.
Displacement, velocity, acceleration, force and momentum are vector
quantities. Distance, time, speed, area, volume, mass, temperature, energy,
power, pressure and charge are scalar quantities. If the temperature of an
object is 25C, that information completely specifies the temperature of the
object; no direction is required. Scalar quantities can be manipulated with
the rules of algebra.
An example of a vector quantity is displacement. Suppose a particle moves
from some point A to some point B along a straight path as shown in Figure
3.4. We represent this displacement by drawing an arrow from A to B, with
the tip of the arrow pointing away from the starting point.

Figure 1.1 As a particle moves from A to B along an arbitrary path represented

by the broken line, its displacement is a vector quantity shown by the arrow
drawn from A to B.

The direction of the arrowhead represents the direction of the displacement,

and the length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the displacement.
If the particle travels along some other path from A to B such as shown by
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the broken line in Figure 1.1, its displacement is still the arrow drawn from A
to B. Displacement depends only on the initial and final positions, so the
displacement vector is independent of the path taken by the particle
between these two points.
When a vector quantity is written, it is often represented with an arrow over

the letter ( A ). Another common notation for vectors with which you

should be familiar is a simple boldface character: A. The magnitude of the

vector

is written as A. The magnitude of a vector has physical units,

such as meters for displacement or meters per second for velocity. The
magnitude of a vector is always a positive number.
Vectors can be represented graphically as arrows. The vectors magnitude is
equal to the length of the arrow, and its direction corresponds to where the
arrow is pointing. Physicists commonly refer to the point of a vector as its tip
Tip

and the base as its tail.

Tail

1.1.1 Some Properties of Vectors

(I) Equality of Two Vectors

Two vectors A and B may be defined to be equal if they have the same
magnitude and if they point in the same direction. For example, all the
vectors in Figure 1.2 are equal even though they have different starting
points. This property allows us to move a vector to a position parallel to itself
in a diagram without affecting the vector.

Figure 1.2 These four vectors are equal because they have equal lengths and
point in the same direction.

(II) Adding Vectors

(a) Tip-to-Tail Method

The rules for adding vectors are conveniently described by a graphical

method. To add vector

to vector

, first draw vector

on graph

paper, with its magnitude represented by a convenient length scale, and

then draw vector

to the same scale, with its tail starting from the tip of

, as shown in Figure 1.3. The resultant vector

vector drawn from the tail of

is the

to the tip of B . This technique for adding

vectors is often called the head to tail method.

Figure 1.3 Addition of two vectors using head to tail method.

When two vectors are added, the sum is independent of the order of the
addition. This property, which can be seen from the geometric construction
3

in Figure 1.4, is known as the commutative law of addition:

+ B

= B

+ A .

Figure 1.4 This construction shows that

or, in other

words, that vector addition is commutative.

(b) Parallelogram Method

To add

and B

using the parallelogram method, place the tail of

that it meets the tail of

so

A . Take these two vectors to be the first two

adjacent sides of a parallelogram, and draw in the remaining two sides. The
vector sum,

B , extends from the tails of

and

across

the diagonal to the opposite corner of the parallelogram. This is shown in

Figure

1.5.

If

the

vectors

are

perpendicular

and

unequal

in

magnitude, the parallelogram will be a rectangle. If the vectors are

perpendicular and equal in magnitude, the parallelogram will be a
square.

Figure 1.5 Addition of two vectors using head to tail method.

(III) Negative of a Vector

The negative of the vector A

and

is defined as the vector that when added to

gives zero for the vector sum. That is,

+ A

= 0. The vectors

have the same magnitude but point in opposite directions. This is

shown in Figure 1.6.

Figure 1.6 Negative of a vector.

(IV) Subtracting Vectors

The operation of vector subtraction makes use of the definition of the
negative of a vector. We define the operation

as vector

added to vector A

The geometric construction for subtracting two vectors in this way is

illustrated in Figure 1.7.
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Figure 1.7 Subtracting two vectors.

Another way of looking at vector subtraction is to notice that the difference

vector C = A

- B between two vectors A

add to the second vector

and B

to obtain the first vector

Figure 1.8 shows, the vector C = A

is what you have to

. In this case, as

- B points from the tip of the second

vector to the tip of the first.

Figure 1.8 A second way of looking at vector subtraction

(V) Components of a Vector

The projections of a vector along coordinate axes are called the components
of this vector or its rectangular components. Any vector can be completely
described by its components.
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Consider a vector

lying in the xy plane and making an arbitrary angle

with the positive x axis as shown in Figure 1.9 a.

Figure 1.9 (a) A vector

Ax
component vectors

lying in the xy plane can be represented by its

Ay
Ay
and
. (b) The y-component vector
can be

Ax
moved to the right so that it adds to
.

The vector sum of the component vectors is

. These three vectors form a

right triangle.
This vector can be expressed as the sum of two other component vectors

Ax

, which is parallel to the x axis, and

Ay

, which is parallel to the y axis.

From Figure 3.12b, we see that the three vectors form a right triangle and
that

Ax

Ay

. We shall often refer to the components of a vector

, written Ax and Ay (without the boldface notation). The component A x

represents the projection of

along the x-axis, and the component A y

represents the projection of

along the y-axis. The components of a

vectors can be considered as the effect of the vector along the x

and y directions respectively. There are two cases:
(a) If the magnitude of the vector (A) and the angle () with x-axis are
known, then Ax and Ay can be calculated as follows:
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From Figure 3.12 and the definition of sine and cosine, we see that cos =
Ax/A and that

sin = Ay /A. Hence, the components of A

are:
(1.
1)
(1.
2)

(b) If the magnitudes of the components Ax and Ay are known, then the
magnitude of the vector (A) and the angle () with x-axis can be calculated
as follows:
The magnitudes of Ax and Ay are the lengths of the two sides of a right
triangle with a hypotenuse of length A. Therefore, the magnitude and

direction of A are related to its components through the expressions:

(1.
3)
(1.
4)
Example 1.1:

1.2 Motion in One Dimension

The study of motion and of physical concepts such as force and mass is
called dynamics. The part of dynamics that describes motion without
regard to its causes is called kinematics.
In this section the focus is on kinematics in one dimension: motion along
a straight line. This kind of motion involves the concepts of displacement,
velocity, and acceleration. Here, we use these concepts to study the motion
of objects undergoing constant acceleration.
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1.2.1 Position and Displacement

To locate an object means to find its position relative to some reference
point, often the origin (or zero point) of an axis such as the x-axis in Figure
1.10. The positive direction of the axis is in the direction of increasing
numbers (coordinates), which is to the right in Figure 1.10.The opposite is
the negative direction.
For example, a particle might be located at x = 5 m, which means it is 5 m
in the positive direction from the origin. If it were at x= -5 m, it would be
just as far from the origin but in the opposite direction. A plus sign for a
coordinate need not be shown, but a minus sign must always be shown.

Figure 1.10 Position is determined on an axis that is marked in units of length

(here meters) and that extends indefinitely in opposite directions. The axis
name, here x, is always on the positive side of the origin.

The change from an initial position xi to a final position xf is called

the displacement

x of an object and is given by:

(1.
5)

(The symbol

the Greek uppercase delta, represents a change in a

quantity, and it means the final value of that quantity minus the initial
value.)
The SI unit of displacement is meter (m).

The gecko in Figure 1.11 moves from left to right along the x-axis from an
initial position,

x i = 24 cm , to a final position, x f = 85 cm. The geckos

displacement is the difference between its final and initial coordinates, or,
x xf xi = 85 cm 24 cm = 61 cm.

Figure 1.11 A gecko moving along the x-axis from xi to xf undergoes a

displacement of x = xf xi.

Now suppose the gecko runs up a tree, as shown in Figure 1.12. In this case,
we place the measuring stick parallel to the tree. The measuring stick can
serve as the y-axis of our coordinate system. The geckos initial and final
positions are indicated by y i and yf, respectively, and the geckos
displacement is denoted as y.

y = yf - yi

(1.
6)

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Figure 1.12 When the gecko is climbing a tree, the

displacement is measured on the y-axis. Again, the
geckos position is determined by the position of the
same point on its body.

Displacement does not always tell you the

distance an object has moved. For example,
what if the gecko in Figure 2.3 runs up the tree
from the 20 cm marker (its initial position) to the
80 cm marker. After that, it retreats down the tree
to the 50 cm marker (its final position). It has
traveled a total distance of 90 cm. However, its
displacement is only 30 cm (y f - yi = 50 cm - 20
cm = 30 cm). If the gecko were to return to its
starting point (20 cm mark), its displacement
would be zero because its initial position and final
position would be the same.
Displacement can be positive or negative.
Displacement also includes a description of the direction of motion. In onedimensional motion, there are only two directions in which an object can
move, and these directions can be described as positive or negative. Unless
otherwise stated, the right (or east) will be considered the positive direction
and the left (or west) will be considered the negative direction. Similarly,
upward (or north) will be considered positive, and downward (or south) will
be considered negative. Figure 1.13 gives examples of determining
displacements for a variety of situations.
Displacement is an example of a vector quantity, which is a quantity that
has both a direction and a magnitude.
(1) Its magnitude is the distance (such as the number of meters) between
the original and final positions.
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(2) Its direction, from an original position to a final position, can be

represented by a plus sign or a minus sign if the motion is along a single
axis.

Figure 1.13 Displacements for a variety of situations.

Note: What is the difference between the displacement and the

distance travelled?
The distance travelled between two points A and B equals the length
of path travelled between A and B. The magnitude of displacement is
the length of the straight line joining A and B. While displacement can be
positive or negative, distance is always positive. Figure 1.14 shows an
example of the difference between the distance travelled and the
displacement.

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Figure 1.14 Distance versus displacement

Example 1.1:
Taking the Earths orbit to be a circle of radius 1.5 10 8 km, determine the
displacement magnitude of the Earth and the distance it covers in a) half a
year, b) one year.
Solution:
a) In half year: Displacement = Diameter = 2r = 3108 km
Distance = circle perimeter = 2r = 4.7108 km
b) In one year: Displacement = 0 km (initial position = final
position)
Distance = circle perimeter = 2r = 9.4108 km

Figure
2.1

1-15

Example

Example 1.2:
A ball is thrown upward from the top of a building with an initial speed of 20.0 m/s, as in
Figure. The point of release is 45.0 m above the ground. What are the horizontal and vertical
displacements of the ball?

13

Figure 1-16 Displacement in two-dimensional motion.

Solution:
xi = 0 m to xf = 73 m, then x = 73 0 = 73 m.

yi = 45 m to yf = 0 m, then y = 0 45 = -45 m. (The negative sign

indicated that the ball moves downward in the y-direction).

1.2.2 Average Velocity and Average Speed

Figure 1.17 The average velocity of this car tells you how fast and in which
direction it is moving.

Consider the car in Figure 1.17. The car is moving along a highway in a straight line (the xaxis). Suppose that the positions of the car are xi at time ti and xf at time tf. In the time interval
t = tf ti , the displacement of the car is x = xf xi . The average velocity, vavg, is defined as
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the ratio of displacement divided by the time interval during which the displacement occurred.
In SI, the unit of velocity is meters per second (m/s).

(1.
7)
The average velocity of an object can be positive or negative, depending on the sign of the
displacement. (The time interval is always positive.) As an example, consider a car trip to a
friends house 370 km to the west (the negative direction) along a straight highway. If you left
your house at 10 A.M. and arrived at your friends house at 3 P.M., your average velocity would
be as follows:

This value is an average. You probably did not travel exactly 74 km/h at every moment. You
may have stopped to buy gas or have lunch. At other times, you may have traveled more slowly
as a result of heavy traffic. To make up for such delays, when you were traveling slower than 74
km/h, there must also have been other times when you traveled faster than 74 km/h.
Velocity is not the same as speed.
In everyday language, the terms speed and velocity are used interchangeably. In physics,
however, there is an important distinction between these two terms. As we have seen, velocity
describes motion with both a direction and a numerical value (a magnitude) indicating how fast
something moves. However, speed has no direction, only magnitude. An objects average speed
is equal to the distance traveled divided by the time interval for the motion.

1.2.3 Acceleration

(1.
8)

When a shuttle bus approaches a stop, the driver begins to apply the brakes
to slow down 5.0 s before actually reaching the stop. If the magnitude of the
velocity changes from 10 m/s to 0 m/s over a time interval of 5.0 s, then the
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change in velocity v = vf - vi = 0 m/s - 10 m/s =

-10 m/s. This

change took 5 s time interval to take place, then t = tf - ti = 5 s. Then,

the change in velocity in one second time interval is v / t = (-10 m/s) / (5
s) = - 2 (m/s) s

= -2 m/s 2. This is the rate of change of velocity or the

acceleration (a) of the bus. Then

a = -2 m/s 2 means that the

velocity decreases by a 2 m/s every second.

Sometimes, however, the shuttle stops much more quickly. For example, if
the driver slams on the brakes to avoid hitting a dog, the bus slows from 10
m/s to 0 m/s in just 2 s. Clearly, these two stops are very different, even
though the shuttles velocity changes by the same amount in both cases.
What is different in these two examples is the time interval during which the
change in velocity occurs. As you can imagine, this difference has a great
effect on the motion of the bus, as well as on the comfort and safety of the
passengers. A sudden change in velocity feels very different from a slow,
gradual change. The quantity that describes the rate of change of
velocity in a given time interval is called acceleration. The
magnitude of the average acceleration is calculated by dividing the
total change in an objects velocity by the time interval in which
the change occurs.
Consider a car moving along a straight highway as in Figure 1.18. At time t i
it has a velocity of v i, and at time tf its velocity is vf , with v = vf - vi and t
= tf - ti, the average acceleration aavg is
(1.
9)

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Figure 1.18 A car moving to the right accelerates from a velocity of vi to a

velocity of vf in the time interval t = tf - ti.

The units of acceleration in SI are meters per second per second, which is
written as meters per second squared, as shown below. When measured in
these units, acceleration describes how much the velocity changes in each
second.

For example, suppose the car shown in Figure 1.18 accelerates from an
initial velocity of
v i = 12 m/s to a final velocity of vf = 20 m/s in a time
interval of 2 s. The change in velocity
v = 20 12 = 8 m/s. This change
takes place during time interval t = 2 s. Then to find the change in velocity
in 1 s (the acceleration) we divide v by t, then:
aavg = 8 (m/s) / 2 (s) = 4 (m/s) / s or 4 m/s 2. This means that on average, the
magnitude of the cars velocity increases by 4 m/s every second.
Acceleration is a vector quantity has both magnitude and. Its algebraic sign
represents its direction on an axis just as for displacement and velocity; that
is, acceleration with a positive value is in the positive direction of an axis,
and acceleration with a negative value is in the negative direction.
Example 1.3:
A shuttle bus slows down with an average acceleration of 1.8 m/s 2. How
long does it take the bus to slow from 9.0 m/s to a complete stop?

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Solution

For the case of motion in a straight line, the direction of the velocity of an
object and the direction of its acceleration are related as follows: When the
objects velocity and acceleration are in the same direction, the
speed of the object increases with time. When the objects velocity
and acceleration are in opposite directions, the speed of the object
decreases with time.
To clarify this point, suppose the velocity of a car changes from -10 m/s to
-20 m/s in a time interval of 2 s. The minus signs indicate that the velocities
of the car are in the negative x-direction; they do not mean that the car is
slowing down! The average acceleration of the car in this time interval is:

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The minus sign indicates that the acceleration vector is also in the negative
x-direction. Because the velocity and acceleration vectors are in the same
direction, the speed of the car must increase as the car moves to the left.
Positive and negative accelerations specify directions relative to chosen
axes, not speeding up or slowing down. The terms speeding up or
slowing down refer to an increase and a decrease in speed, respectively.

Velocity can be interpreted graphically.

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The velocity of an object can be determined if the objects position is known at specific times
along its path. One way to determine this is to make a graph of the motion. Figure 2.10
represents such a graph.

FIGURE 2.10 Position-Time Graph The motion of an object moving with

constant velocity will provide a straight-line graph of position versus time.
The slope of this graph indicates the velocity.
Notice that time is plotted on the horizontal axis and position is plotted on the vertical axis. The
object moves 4.0 m in the time interval between t = 0 s and t = 4.0 s. Likewise, the object
moves an additional 4.0 m in the time interval between t = 4.0 s and t = 8.0 s. From these data,
we see that the average velocity for each of these time intervals is +1.0 m/s (because v avg =
x/t = 4.0 m/4.0 s). Because the average velocity does not change, the object is moving with a
constant velocity of +1.0 m/s, and its motion is represented by a straight line on the positiontime graph.
For any position-time graph, we can also determine the average velocity by drawing a straight
line between any two points on the graph. The slope of this line indicates the average velocity
between the positions and times represented by these points.

A compact way to describe position is with a graph of position x plotted as a function of time t,
a graph of x(t). (The notation x(t) represents a function x of t, not the product x times t.) As a
simple example, Fig. 2-5 shows the position function x(t) for a stationary armadillo (which we
treat as a particle) over a 7 s time interval. The animals position stays at x = -2 m.

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Figure 2-5 The graph of x(t) for an armadillo that is stationary at x = -2 m. The value of x
is -2 m for all times t.

Figure 2-6 is more interesting, because it involves motion. The armadillo is apparently first
noticed at t = 0 when it is at the position x = -5 m. It moves toward x = 0, passes through that
point at t = 3 s, and then moves on to increasingly larger positive values of x. Figure 2-6 also
depicts the straight-line motion of the armadillo (at three times) and is something like what you
would see.

21

Figure 2-6 The graph of x(t) for a moving armadillo. The path associated with the graph is
also shown, at three times.

The graph in Fig. 2-6 is more abstract, but it reveals how fast the armadillo moves. Actually,
several quantities are associated with the phrase how fast. One of them is the average velocity
vavg, which is the ratio of the displacement x that occurs during a particular time interval t to
that interval:
(2.
3)
The notation means that the position is xi at time ti and then xf at time tf.A
common unit for vavg is the meter per second (m/s).
On a graph of x versus t, vavg is the slope of the straight line that connects
two particular points on the x(t) curve: one is the point that corresponds to
xf and tf, and the other is the point that corresponds to x i and ti.
Like displacement, vavg has both magnitude and direction (it is another
vector quantity). Its magnitude is the magnitude of the lines slope. A
positive vavg (and slope) tells us that the line slants upward to the right; a
negative vavg (and slope) tells us that the line slants downward to the right.
The average velocity vavg always has the same sign as the displacement x
because t in Eq. 2-3 is always positive.
Figure 2-7 shows how to find vavg in Fig. 2-6 for the time interval t = 1 s to t
= 4 s. We draw the straight line that connects the point on the position
curve at the beginning of the interval and the point on the curve at the end
of the interval. Then we find the slope x/t of the straight line. For the
given time interval, the average velocity is:

22

Figure 2-7 Calculation of the average velocity between t = 1 s and t = 4 s as the slope of
the line that connects the points on the x(t) curve representing those times.

Figure 2.10 represents straight-line graphs of position versus time for three different objects.

23

FIGURE 2.10 Position-Time Graphs These position-versus-time graphs show

that Object 1 moves with a constant positive velocity. Object 2 is at rest.
Object 3 moves with a constant negative velocity.
FIGURE 1.7

Object 1 has a constant positive velocity because its position increases uniformly with time.
Thus, the slope of this line is positive. Object 2 has zero velocity because its position does not
change (the object is at rest). Hence, the slope of this line is zero. Object 3 has a constant
negative velocity because its position decreases with time. As a result, the slope of this line is
negative.

Instantaneous velocity may not be the same as average velocity.

Now consider an object whose position-versus-time graph is not a straight line, but a curve, as
in Figure 2.11. The object moves through larger and larger displacements as each second passes.
Thus, its velocity increases with time.

24

FIGURE 2.11 The instantaneous velocity at a given time can be determined

by measuring the slope of the line that is tangent to that point on the
position-versus-time graph.
For example, between t = 0 s and t = 2.0 s, the object moves 8.0 m, and its average velocity in
this time interval is 4.0 m/s (because v avg = 8.0 m /2.0 s). However, between t = 0 s and t = 4.0 s,
it moves 32 m, so its average velocity in this time interval is 8.0 m/s (because vavg = 32 m/4.0
s). We obtain different average velocities, depending on the time interval we choose. But how
can we find the velocity at an instant of time?
To determine the velocity at some instant, such as t = 3.0 s, we study a small time interval near
that instant. As the intervals become smaller and smaller, the average velocity over that interval
approaches the exact velocity at t = 3.0 s. This is called the instantaneous velocity. One way to
25

determine the instantaneous velocity is to construct a straight line that is tangent to the positionversus-time graph at that instant. The slope of this tangent line is equal to the value of the
instantaneous velocity at that point. For example, the instantaneous velocity of the object in
Figure 2.11 at t = 3.0 s is 12 m/s.

Figure 2.9 gives plots of the position, velocity, and acceleration of an

elevator moving up a shaft. Compare the a(t) curve with the v(t) curve, each
point on the a(t) curve shows the slope of the v(t) curve at the
corresponding time. When v is constant (at either 0 or 4 m/s), the slope is
zero and so also is the acceleration. When the cab first begins to move, the
v(t) curve has a positive slope, which means that a(t) is positive. When the
cab slows to a stop, the slope of the v(t) curve are negative; that is, a(t) is
negative.
Next compare the slopes of the v(t) curve during the two acceleration
periods. The slope associated with the cabs slowing down (commonly called
deceleration) is steeper because the cab stops in half the time it took to
26

get up to speed. The steeper slope means that the magnitude of the
deceleration is larger than that of the acceleration, as indicated in Fig. 2-8c.

27

Figure 2.9 (a) The x(t) curve for an elevator cab that moves upward along an x axis. (b)
The v(t) curve for the cab. Note that it is the slope of the x(t) curve. (c) The a(t) curve for
the cab. It is the slope of the v(t) curve.
28

2.4 Motion Diagrams

A motion diagram is a representation of a moving object at successive equal
time intervals,

Figure 2.12 Motion diagrams of a car moving along a straight roadway in a single
direction.

29

2.4 Constant Acceleration: A Special Case

30

Many applications of mechanics involve objects moving with constant

acceleration. This type of motion is important because it applies to
numerous objects in nature, such as an object in free fall near Earths
surface (assuming air resistance can be neglected).
A graph of acceleration versus time for motion with constant acceleration is
shown in Figure 2.10a.

(a)

(b)
Figure 2.10 A particle moving along the xaxis
with constant acceleration a.
(a) the acceleration vs. time graph,
(b) the velocity vs. time graph, and
(c) the position vs. time graph.

(c)
When an object moves with constant acceleration, the
instantaneous acceleration at any point in a time interval is equal
to the value of the average acceleration over the entire time
interval. Consequently, the velocity increases or decreases at the same
rate throughout the motion, and a plot of v versus t gives a straight line with
either positive, zero, or negative slope.
Because the average acceleration equals the instantaneous acceleration
when a is constant,

Because acceleration is the slope of the v-t graph, then

31

Let ti = 0 and tf be any arbitrary time t. Also, let vi = v0 (the initial velocity at
t = 0) and vf = v (the velocity at any arbitrary time t). With this notation, we
can express the acceleration as

Equation 2.6 states that the acceleration a steadily changes the initial
velocity v0 by an amount at.
The graphical interpretation of v is shown in Figure 2.15b. The velocity
varies linearly with time according to Equation 2.6, as it should for constant
acceleration.
Because the velocity is increasing or decreasing uniformly with time, we can
express the average velocity in any time interval as the arithmetic average
of the initial velocity v0 and the final velocity v:

We can now use this result along with the defining equation for average
velocity, Equation 2.2, to obtain an expression for the displacement of an
object as a function of time. Again, we choose t i = 0 and tf = t, and for
convenience, we write x = xf - xi = x - x0. This results in

Then

32

We can obtain another useful expression for displacement by substituting

the equation for v (Eq. 2.6) into Equation 2.8:

This equation can also be written in terms of the position x, since x = x x0 .

Figure 2.15c shows a plot of x versus t for Equation 2.9, which is related to
the graph of velocity vs. time: The area under the curve in Figure 2.15b is
equal to v0t + (1/2) at2, which is equal to the displacement x. In fact, the
area under the graph of v versus t for any object is equal to the
displacement x of the object.
Finally, we can obtain an expression that doesnt contain time by solving
Equation 2.6 for t and substituting into Equation 2.8, resulting in

The three most useful equationsEquations 2.6, 2.9, and 2.10are listed in
Table 2.4.

33

34

EXAMPLE 2.4
(a) A race car starting from rest accelerates at a constant rate of 5.00 m/s 2.
What is the velocity of the car after it has traveled 30.5 m? (b) How much
time has elapsed? (c) Calculate the average velocity two different ways.

35

EXAMPLE 2.4
A car traveling at a constant speed of 24.0 m/s passes a trooper hidden
behind a billboard, as in Figure 2.17. One second after the speeding car
passes the billboard, the trooper sets off in chase with a constant
acceleration of 3.00 m/s2. (a) How long does it take the trooper to overtake
the speeding car? (b) How fast is the trooper going at that time?

36

First: The car:

Since the car is moving at constant velocity of 24 m/s, then its acceleration
acar = 0. During 1 second interval, the car has moved a displacement of 24
m as follows:
xcar = vcar t = 24 (m/s) x (1 s) = 24 m.
Then at t = 0, the car is at x0car = 24 m and moving at v0car = 24 m/s.
Then, after time t, the car made a displacement xcar given by:

Then, the position of the car after time t is:

Second: The trooper:

At t = 0, the trooper is at x0trooper = 0 m and starts from rest (v0trooper = 0).
Then, the position of the trooper after time t is
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The trooper catches up with the car when their positions are the same. Set
xtrooper = xcar , and solve the quadratic equation:

ex

A typical jetliner lands at a speed of 71.5 m/s and decelerates at the rate of
4.47 m/s2. If the plane travels at a constant speed of 71.5 m/s for 1.00 s
after landing before applying the brakes, what is the total displacement of
the aircraft between touchdown on the runway and coming to rest?
During motion at constant velocity, the a = 0, v 0 = 71.5 m/s, and t = 1.00 s,
the displacement while the plane is coasting:

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Use the time-independent kinematic equation to find the displacement while

the plane is braking.

Take a = -4.47 m/s2, v0 = 71.5 m/s and v = 0. The negative sign on a means
that the plane is slowing down.

Sum the two results to find the total displacement:

2.6 Freely Falling Objects

When air resistance is negligible, all objects dropped under the influence of
gravity near Earths surface fall toward Earth with the same constant
acceleration. Such motion is called free fall.
The expression freely falling object doesnt necessarily refer to an object
dropped from rest. A freely falling object is any object moving freely
under the influence of gravity alone, regardless of its initial motion.
Objects thrown upward or downward and those released from rest are all
considered freely falling.
We denote the magnitude of the free-fall acceleration by the symbol g.
The value of g decreases with increasing altitude, and varies slightly with
latitude as well. At Earths surface, the value of g is approximately 9.80
m/s2. Unless stated otherwise, we will use this value for g in doing
calculations. For quick estimates, use g = 10 m/s2.
If we neglect air resistance and assume that the free-fall acceleration
doesnt vary with altitude over short vertical distances, then the motion of a
39

freely falling object is the same as motion in one dimension under constant
acceleration. This means that the kinematics equations developed in
Section 2.5 can be applied. Its conventional to define up as the + ydirection and to use y as the position variable. In that case the acceleration
is a = -g = -9.80 m/s2. In Chapter 7, we study the variation in g with
altitude.
Example:
A ball is thrown from the top of a building with an initial velocity of 20.0 m/s
straight upward, at an initial height of 50.0 m above the ground. The ball
just misses the edge of the roof on its way down, as shown in Figure 2.20.
Determine (a) the time needed for the ball to reach its maximum height, (b)
the maximum height, (c) the time needed for the ball to return to the height
from which it was thrown and the velocity of the ball at that instant, (d) the
time needed for the ball to reach the ground, and (e) the velocity and
position of the ball at t = 5.00 s. Neglect air drag.
The diagram in Figure 2.20 establishes a coordinate system with y 0 = 0 at
the level at which the ball is released from the throwers hand, with y
positive upward.

40

(a) Find the time when the ball reaches its

maximum height.
At maximum height, the ball comes to rest and
changes its direction of motion, then v = 0 at
maximum height. Using

With a = -g = -9.8 m/s2, then:

Then, the time to reach the maximum height

is:

(b) Determine the balls maximum height.

with y0 = 0, and t = 2.04 s, and using:

(c) Find the time the ball takes to return to its initial position, and find the
velocity of the ball at that time.
When the ball returns to its initial position, its displacement y = y y 0 = 0.
Then:

41

The balls velocity at that instant is:

(d) Find the time required for the ball to reach the ground.
When the ball reaches the ground ( y = -50 m), its displacement y = y y 0
= -50. Then:

Apply the quadratic formula and take the positive root, then:

(e) Find the velocity and position of the ball at t = 5.00 s.

42

A rocket moves straight upward,

starting
from
rest
with
an
2
acceleration of +29.4 m/s . It runs
out of fuel at the end of 4.00 s and
continues to coast upward, reaching
a maximum height before falling
back to Earth.
(a) Find the rockets velocity and
position at the end of 4.00 s.
(b) Find the maximum height the
rocket reaches.
(c) Find the velocity the instant
before the rocket crashes on the
ground.

(a) Phase 1: Find the rockets velocity and position after 4.00 s.
Write the velocity and position kinematic equations:

Substituting a = 29.4 m/s2, v0 = 0, and y0 = 0:

Substitute t = 4.00 s into Equations (3) and (4) to find the rockets velocity v
and position y at the time of burnout. These will be called v b and yb,
respectively.

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(b) Phase 2: Find the maximum height the rocket attains.

Adapt Equations (1) and (2) to phase 2, substituting a = - 9.8 m/s2, v 0 = vb
= 118 m/s, and
y0 = yb = 235 m:

Substitute v = 0 (the rockets velocity at maximum height) in Equation (5)

to get the time it takes the rocket to reach its maximum height:

Substitute t = 12.0 s into Equation (6) to find the rockets maximum height:

(c) Phase 2: Find the velocity of the rocket just prior to impact.

Find the time to impact by setting y 5 0 in Equation (6) and using the
quadratic formula:

Substitute this value of t into Equation (5):

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57

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60

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If the velocity of a body is plotted against the time,

the
graph obtained is a velocitytime graph.

Figure 3.1 Uniform velocity

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Figure 3.2b Non-uniform acceleration

63

Figure 3.2a Uniform acceleration

The area under a velocitytime graph measures the distance

travelled.

In Figure 3.1, AB is the velocitytime graph for a

body moving with a uniform velocity of 20 m/s.
Since distance = average velocity time, after 5 s it
will have moved 20 m/s 5 s = 100 m. This is the
shaded area under the graph, i.e. rectangle OABC.
In Figure 3.2a, PQ is the velocitytime graph for a
body moving with uniform acceleration. At the start
of
the timing the velocity is 20 m/s but it increases
steadily
to 40 m/s after 5 s. If the distance covered equals the
area under PQ, i.e. the shaded area OPQS, then
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distance = area of rectangle OPRS

+ area of triangle PQR
= OP OS + 1
2 PR QR
(area of a triangle = 1
2base height)
= 20 m/s 5 s + 1
2 5 s 20 m/s
= 100 m + 50 m = 150 m
Notes
1 When calculating the area from the graph, the unit
of time must be the same on both axes.
2 This rule for fi nding distances travelled is true
even
if the acceleration is not uniform. In Figure 3.2b,
the distance travelled equals the shaded area OXY.
The slope or gradient of a velocitytime graph
represents the
acceleration of the body.
In Figure 3.1, the slope of AB is zero, as is the
acceleration. In Figure 3.2a, the slope of PQ is
QR/PR = 20/5 = 4: the acceleration is 4 m/s2.
In Figure 3.2b, when the slope along OX changes,
so does the acceleration.

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Distancetime graphs
A body travelling with uniform velocity covers
equal distances in equal times. Its distancetime
graph is a straight line, like OL in Figure 3.3
for a velocity of 10 m/s. The slope of the graph is
LM/OM = 40 m/4 s = 10 m/s, which is the value
of the velocity. The following statement is true in
general:
The slope or gradient of a distancetime graph
represents the
velocity of the body.
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Both C and D are accelerating but C is

accelerating more than D.

69

The change in velocity here is

70

8 m/s (not 12 m/s).

71

Acceleration doesnt always have

to be positive.
Lines above the time axis usually show forward
motion and so lines below the axis show backwards
motion.

72

Lines above the time axis usually mean forwards

motion and lines
below usually mean backwards motion.
If the line is horizontal then this means that the
object is
travelling at a constant velocity. The higher the line
on the
graph, the higher the velocity. If the object is
travelling
backwards, the lower the line, the faster it is
travelling.

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Both A and B travel at

constant velocity but A travels
faster than B.

Both C and D travel at

constant velocity but C travels
faster than D.

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Distance-Time graphs:
Speed = gradient of the distance-time graph
a) Body at rest (speed = 0)
distance/m

time/s

A horizontal
distance/m
line means that distance is unchanging, i.e. the object is at rest, i.e. the speed is zero.
b) Body moves with constant speed
d2

A= d2 - d1

d1
B= t2 - t1
t1

t2

time/s

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A straight, inclined line means that the object is moving with constant speed. The gradient of the line equals the
speed. To find the gradient:

draw a triangle such as shown above

work out A and B from the axes (don't measure them in cm)

gradient = A/B

Example:

Speed = 6 m / 3 s = 2 m/s.
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c) Body moves with changing speed

When the distance-time graph is a curve, as shown below, this means that the speed is
changing. In Fig. 1. the distance traveled in equal time intervals is increasing (d 3 > d2 > d1), so
that the speed is increasing with time. The opposite situation is shown in Fig. 1. where the
distance traveled in equal time intervals is decreasing (d 3 < d2 < d1), so that the speed is
decreasing with time.
distance/m

d3

d2
d1
t

time/s

distance/m

d3
d2

d1

time/s
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Acceleration
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. If acceleration is constant, then:

accelerati on

final velocity initial velocity

time taken

In symbols:
a

vu
t

Units: m/s2 or cm/s2

Example: A train is moving at 40 m/s. Its speed 5 seconds later is 60 m/s. What is the
acceleration of the train?

vu
t

a=

60 40
5

= 4 m/s2.

Speed-Time graphs:
1- Acceleration is the gradient of the speed-time graph.
2- Distance traveled is the area under the speed-time graph.

a) Body at rest (speed = 0)

speed
/m/s
The speed
of the
body is zero for all times.

time/s

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b) Body moves with constant speed

speed /m/s

time/s

A horizontal line means that the speed is unchanging, i.e. the object is moving with constant (uniform) speed,
i.e. its acceleration is zero.
c) Body moves with constant acceleration

A straight, inclined line means that the object is moving with constant acceleration. The gradient of the line
equals the acceleration = A/B.

speed/ m/s

v2

A= v2 - v1

v1
B= t2 - t1
t1

t2

time/s

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speed/ m/s

v2

A= v2 - v1

v1
B= t2 - t1

t1

t2

time/s

The distance traveled by the body between t 1 and t2 (time interval t2-t1) equals the shaded area
under the speed-time graph shown below.

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 v1 v 2
(t 2 t1 )
2

distance area

speed/ m/s

v2

v1
B= t2 - t1
t1

t2

time/s

d) Body moves with changing acceleration

speed/ m/s
When the speed-time graph is a curve, as shown below, this means that the acceleration is
changing. In Fig. 1. the speed is increasing in equal time intervals (v 3 > v2 > v1), so that the
acceleration is increasing with time. The opposite situation is shown in Fig. 1. where the speed
is decreasing in equal time intervals (v 3 < v2 < v1), so that the acceleration is decreasing with
time.
v3

v2
v1
t

time/s

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speed /m/s

v3
v2

v1

time/s

During a 30-minute round trip to the store, the total distance traveled is 6 km. The average
speed is 12 km/h. The displacement for the
round trip is zero, since there was no net change in position. Thus the average velocity is zero.

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Figure 2.11 Position vs. time, velocity vs. time, and speed vs. time on a trip. Note that the velocity for the
return trip is negative.

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