Arkansas Tech University

MATH 2914: Calculus I

Dr. Marcel B. Finan
41 Motion in One Dimension
By motion we mean a change in the position of a body with respect to time,
as measured by a particular observer in a particular frame of reference.
An important problem in kinematics (i.e. the branch of mechanics that
studies the motion of a body or a system of bodies without consideration
given to its mass or the forces acting on it), is the problem of motion of a
body moving linearly with uniform acceleration.
The constant acceleration is denoted a, or in the case of bodies moving under
the inuence of gravity, g. Suppose that an object initially at height y
0
is
thrown straight upward with velocity v
0
. Let y(t) denote the objects height,
v(t) the objects velocity, and a(t) the objects acceleration at time t. If air
resistance is neglected, then by Newtons second law we have ma(t) = mg.
Using the fact that a(t) = v

(t) = y

(t) and eliminating the mass, we obtain

the equation
d
2
y
dt
2
=
dv
dt
= g,
To nd the velocity v we integrate for a rst time and obtain
v = gt + C
1
,
Since the initial velocity is v
0
we nd C
1
= v(0) = v
0
so that
v(t) = gt + v
0
.
Integrating for the second time we nd the position function
y(t) =
1
2
gt
2
+ v
0
t + C
2
.
Since y
0
is the initial distance to the ground we must have C
2
= y
0
and so
y(t) =
1
2
gt
2
+ v
0
t + y
0
Newtons Law of Motion
Why did we say that
d
2
s
dt
2
= g? How does acceleration come about? Through
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the action of forces. Newtons rst law of motion says that there is no change
in the velocity of an object in the absence of a force. His second law states
that the presence of a force acts to produce a change in velocity, that is, an
acceleration. It states that the net force is equal to the product of mass and
acceleration. That is
Net force = m
d
2
s
dt
2
.
On the other hand, Newtons law of gravity states that the net force between
two objects is attractive and given by
Net force =
GMm
r
2
where M and m are the masses of the objects, r the distance between them,
and G is the gravitational constant. If one of the object is the earth and r is
the distance from the other object to the center of earth then
GM
r
2
constant.
Now, by Newtons laws discussed above we can write

GMm
r
2
= m
d
2
s
dt
2
.
Note that the negative sign is due to the fact that the gravitational force is
acting downward. Hence,
d
2
s
dt
2
=
GM
r
2
.
If we dene g =
GM
r
2
then
d
2
s
dt
2
= g
Hence, the acceleration due to gravity is independent of the mass of the body.
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