Name ____________________________________________ Period __________

1 and 2-D Motion Study Guide

Kinematics Study of Motion
Distance
Total distance traveled from start to finish.
Displacement Straight line distance between the start point and ending point of the problem.
Speed
A scalar quantity (no direction specified) that shows the rate that distance d is covered.
Instantaneous The speed at an instant in time. Right now. Your speedometer reading when you glance it at.
Average
The total distance divided by the total time for the entire trip.
Constant
If the same speed is maintained over the entire trip
Velocity
A vector quantity consisting of magnitude and direction. Displacement x divided by time.
Acceleration Change in velocity (change in displacement and/or direction)
Kinematic Equations You can only use the constant velocity equation when there is no acceleration. If
acceleration is present (Question contains terms such as: starts from rest, final velocity of, accelerates, comes to
rest, etc.), then you must use the three Kinematic equations in the highlighted boarder boxes below.
xoi
Speed
Constant Velocity
Average Velocity
Acceleration
nit
x xo
v vo
d
x
v

vs
v
ial
t
t
t
t or
x vt
Another Way of Looking at Average Velocity
v v
v o
One of the four Kinematic Equations. But it is mostly used in
2
conjunction with the above equations to derive the next three
equations. Occasionally it is useful in problems.
v vo at

Velocity
Rearranged the acceleration equation from above. Useful for
determining v, when a and t are given. However, if any three
variables are available and the fourth is needed rearrange this as
necessary.

1
x xo vo t at 2
2

Position
Key equation to determine distance when a is involved. Used
extensively in falling body problems. Its derivative is the velocity
equation above.

v 2 vo 2a x xo

When no time is given

When v, a, and/or x are known, but no information is given about
t, then this can be used to solve for the unknown variable.

position, x final position, vo initial velocity, v final velocity, a acceleration, t time

Projectile Motion
Motion in two dimensions happens simultaneously.
In the x direction the velocity is constant, with no acceleration occurring in this dimension.
In the y direction the acceleration of gravity slows upward motion and enhances downward motion.
Both happen simultaneously, however they can be analyzed separately using vector components.
Angles: All angles are measured from East. Above the horizon is positive, below negative.

Practice Problems
1. The Spirit rover could move across the Martian landscape at a maximum of 2.68 m/min. How many minutes
would it take for it to travel 10.4 m, the length of a typical classroom?
2.

A runner in a 100 meter race passes the 40.0 meter mark with a speed of 5.00 m/s.
a.
If she maintains that speed, how far from the starting line will she be 3.00 seconds later?

b.

If 5.00 m/s was her top speed, what is the shortest possible time for her entire 100m run?

3. The graph to the right describes the motion of a golf ball.

Note that it graphs distance from a position, not distance
traveled. The ball is placed on the green at 5 meters from the
cup at t=0 seconds.
a.
How far from the cup was the ball at t = 1
second?
b.

What was the speed of the ball at t = 1 second?

c.

How far from the cup was the ball at t = 5

seconds?

d.

What was the speed of the ball as it moved

towards the cup?

e.

What happened at t = 7 seconds?

4. What is the acceleration of a racing car if its speed is increased uniformly from 44.0 m/s to 66.0 m/s over an
11.0 s period?

5. A supersonic jet flying at 200. m/s is accelerated uniformly at the rate of 23.1 m/s2 for 20.0 seconds. What is
its final speed?
6. Which of the following quantities is a vector which changes signs (directions) when an object that was
thrown upward stops rising and begins to fall?
A. velocity
B. speed
C. acceleration
D. time
7. A ton of feathers and a ton of bricks are dropped from the same height on the moon. What happens?
A. The feathers strike the ground first.
B. The bricks strike the ground first.
C. The feathers and bricks strike the ground simultaneously.
D. Nothing hits the ground, because there is no gravity on the moon.

8. When an object that was thrown upward reaches its highest point, which statement is true?
A. The acceleration switches from positive to negative.
B. The acceleration is zero.
C. The total displacement is zero.
D. The velocity is zero.
9. A ball is dropped (near the earth). How fast is it moving at the end of its first second of free-fall?
A. 0 m/s
B. 4.90 m/s
C. 9.80 m/s
D. 19.6 m/s
Questions 10 and 11 refer to the following pairs of vertical motion displacement and velocity graphs:
d

v
t

A.

B.

d
t

C.

10. Which pair of graphs show the free-fall displacement and velocity of an object which is thrown upward and
later caught at its original height?
11. Which pair of graphs show the free-fall displacement and velocity of an object which is dropped from rest?
12. Match each description of motion
with a graph below.
____
____
____
____
____
____

Acceleration
Constant Speed (high speed)
Constant Speed (low speed)
Negative Acceleration
No Motion (stopped)
Moving Backwards (constant

velocity in reverse)

13. The graph below describes the

motion of a fly that starts out going
right.

a. Identify section(s) where the fly moves with constant velocity.

b. Identify section(s) where the fly moves right slowing down.
c. Identify section(s) where the fly moves left speeding up.
d. When is the fly at rest?
e. What is the acceleration of the fly between 5 and 7 seconds?
14. Little Joey plays with his remote control car, and generates the motion graph below. The car starts by
moving eastwards.

a. Identify section(s) where the car moves with constant velocity.

b. Identify section(s) where the car moves left.
c. Identify section(s) where the car speeds up.
d. When is the car at rest?
e. What is the velocity of the car between 0 and 5 seconds?
15. An airplane accelerates down a runway at 3.20 m/s2 for 32.8 s until is finally lifts off the ground. Determine
the distance traveled before takeoff.

16. A car starts from rest and accelerates uniformly over a time of 5.21 seconds for a distance of 110 m.
Determine the acceleration of the car.

17. Solve for the vertical and horizontal components of each of the following:
a.
b.

18. Make a sketch of the trajectory of a cannon ball shot from a cannon fired horizontally from a cliff. Indicate
where the cannon ball is at equal time intervals after it leaves the cannon using Xs.

19. In your sketch, describe the spacing between the points in the horizontal direction
20. In the sketch, describe the spacing between the points in the vertical direction.

21. A car drives off a 150 m vertical cliff and lands 250 m away from the base of the cliff. The police ask you,
as their physics consultant, to calculate the following: How long was the car in the air before it hit the ground?
and How fast was the car going when it went over the cliff?
X Problem
Y Problem
d=
d=
v=
vi=
t=
vf=
a=
t=

Picture

Trig

22. If a graph shows distance over time, what does the

slope of the line indicate?
Calculate the slope of the line of this graph:

23. Analyze a graph that shows speed and time.

a) Where is the car stopped? _____
b) Where is the car accelerating? _________
c. Where is the car decelerating (slowing down)? ______
d. Where is the car moving at a constant velocity? _______

Vocabulary Practice
_____ 1. This is represented by the slope on a position- time graph
(including direction).
_____ 2. Another word for the size of a quantity.
_____ 3. A quantity that is a number without any direction.
_____ 4. The rate of change in the speed of an object.
_____ 5. The total amount traveled by an object.
_____ 6. The difference between an objects starting point and its

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.

Origin
Distance
Vector
Scalar
Magnitude
Displacement
Velocity
Speed
Acceleration

ending point.
_____ 7. The point in a coordinate system at which both variables equal
zero.
_____ 8. A quantity with both magnitude and direction.
_____ 9. The value of velocity with no direction.