Chapter 2

Kinematics – Rectilinear Motion

Displacement, Velocity & Acceleration

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•Equations describing motion along straight

line

Objects falling freely under earth‟s gravity

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 MECHANICS

DYNAMICS STATICS
(Force & Response) (At rest)

KINEMATICS
(describes motion)
Concepts to study objects in motion

 Position

 Displacement (similar to distance)

 Velocity (similar to speed)

 Acceleration
 What is “Position” in Physics?
Frame of reference
 A choice of coordinate axes with an

origin
 Coordinates for representing starting

and ending points of a motion

 One dimension only (this chapter)

 (example) a straight line extending to

the right and left of the point at the

center (origin) and called the x
direction
 Displacement

 Defined as the change in position

 x  x  x
f i
 f - final position; i - initial
 Units -meters (SI)

CAN BE POSITIVE OR
NEGATIVE ALONG A
GIVEN DIRECTION !!!
 From A to B
 xi = 30 m

 xf = 52 m

 x = 22 m

 The displacement is
positive, indicating
the motion was in the
positive x direction

 From C to F
 xi = 38 m

 xf = -53 m

 x = -91 m

 The displacement is
negative, indicating
the motion was in the
negative x direction
Some examples of displacement

Sign of ∆x
Initial x Final x ∆x

30 52 22 +

38 -53 -91 -

-50 -30 20 +

42 31 -11 -
 Displacement is a “vector”

 (Need both magnitude (size) and

direction to completely describe)

 For 1 D motion just + or – sign

(Scalar quantities have just magnitude)

IMPORTANT NOTE
Motion along one dimension may be either
along x or y or z axis direction and can be
used to represent horizontal side to side
(motion along x axis) or front and back
(motion along z axis) or vertical up and down
motion (motion along y axis)
Displacement not always ≠ distance

 Throw a ball straight up and then catch it

at the same point you released it
Distance = 2 times height reached by ball

 The displacement is zero!!!!!!

x x
i f so x is zero
 Two dimensions Example

East

Walk 3 blocks east and then 4 blocks north

 Total distance = ?

 Displacement = ?
 Speed
 The average speed of an object is defined
as the total distance traveled divided by
the total time elapsed

total distance
Average speed 
total time
d
v 
t
 SI units – meters/second m/s
 Speed - scalar? Vector?
 Speed always positive?
You drove to Trenton campus 8 miles.
You drove for 17 minutes and stopped
for 3 mins. at a gas station on your
way. What was your :

Displacement?
Distance covered?
Average speed?
 +8 miles relative to origin at WWC
 8 miles
 0.4 miles/min or 10.7 m/s

Think!

 What is the displacement for the round

trip if you returned back to college?
 Velocity

Average velocity = displacement

time elapsed
x xf  xi
vaverage  
t tf  ti
SI units – m/s (other units feet/s, cm/s)
Velocity can be positive or negative
Velocity is a vector! For 1D, just +ve or
negative
Direction of velocity same as displacement
You drove to Trenton campus 8 miles.
You drove for 17 minutes and stopped
for 3 mins. at a gas station on your way.
What was your average velocity?
Average velocity =+ 10.7 m/s

What is the average velocity for the

round trip?
 Speed vs. Velocity

 average velocity = average speed?

Note: In text, bars over physical
quantities represent average values.

e. g. average velocity, average speed,

average acceleration
 Quick Quiz 2.1

Total distance =
Displacement =
Average velocity in x direction =
Average Speed =
200 yards, 0, 0, 200÷25 = 8 yards/sec
Chapter 2 Lecture 2

understand changing velocity & acceleration;

motion with constant acceleration

special case of constant acceleration: free fall

Understanding Velocity & Acceleration
from Graphs
 Position(x) vs. time (t) & velocity(v) vs.
time (t) graph
 Object moving with a constant velocity
(uniform motion) – what is the shape of x –t
graph?
 Average velocity = slope of line joining
initial & final positions
 Slope of a line is rise divided by run

change in vertical axis

slope 
change in horizontal axis
comparing constant & changing velocity
equal displacements in average velocity (slope of
equal intervals of time; curve) changes from time
average velocity is to time; change in velocity
constant all the time; means acceleration!
uniform motion
 Instantaneous velocity
 For non uniform velocity, use instantaneous
velocity (called simply v) instead of vavg

 The limit of the average velocity as the time

interval becomes infinitesimally short, or as
the time interval approaches zero

lim x
v  t  0
t
 instantaneous velocity indicates what is
happening at every point of time when
velocity keeps changing
Instantaneous Velocity on a Graph
 The slope of the line tangent to the
position-vs.-time graph is defined to be
the instantaneous velocity at that time

 The instantaneous speed is defined as the

magnitude of the instantaneous velocity
 Acceleration

change in velocity
Acceleration 
time elapsed
v vf  vi
a 
t tf  ti
 This is average acceleration
 Units are m/s² (SI), cm/s² (cgs),
and ft/s² (US Customary)
 Vector? Yes, in 1D + or -
What are vi and vf ?

Instantaneous values of velocities (initial and

final)

Class Example 1

A car takes 2 seconds to accelerate from an

initial velocity of +10 m/s to a final velocity
+20 m/s. What is the average acceleration?
ā =+5 m/s2
acceleration is positive and in the same
direction as initial velocity
Class Example 2

A plane travelling at +30 m/s on the

runway stops in 5 seconds. What is the
acceleration?
 ā = -6 m/s2
(a is negative and it has a sign
opposite to that of initial velocity)

TRUE OR FALSE
“So, to slow down an object you always
need to have negative acceleration. To
speed up an object, you always need to
have positive acceleration.”

FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE

Example: Motion Diagram of A Car

Please insert active

figure 2.12
 Average Acceleration

 When the sign of the initial velocity and the

acceleration are the same (either positive or
negative), then the speed is increasing

 When the sign of the initial velocity and the

acceleration are in the opposite directions,
the speed is decreasing
Negative Acceleration
 A negative acceleration does not
necessarily mean the object is
slowing down
 If the acceleration and velocity are
both negative, the object is
speeding up
Finding Average Acceleration From v-t graph
Relationship Between Acceleration and
Velocity

 Uniform velocity (shown by red arrows

maintaining the same size)
 Acceleration equals zero
Relationship Between
Velocity and Acceleration

 Velocity and acceleration are in the same

direction
 Acceleration is uniform (blue arrows maintain
the same length)
 Velocity is increasing (red arrows are getting
longer)
 Positive velocity and positive acceleration
Relationship Between
Velocity and Acceleration

 Acceleration and velocity are in opposite

directions
 Acceleration is uniform (blue arrows maintain
the same length)
 Velocity is decreasing (red arrows are getting
shorter)
 Velocity is positive and acceleration is
negative
 Quick Quiz 2.2
True or False?
a) A car must always have an acceleration in the
same direction as velocity
b) It is possible for a slowing car to have +ve
acceleration
c) An object with constant nonzero acceleration can
stop but then can not remain at rest
Answers:
a. Think about class example 2
b. Think about slowing car with initial velocity of -10
m/s and final velocity -5 m/s
c. Think about +ve velocity, -ve acceleration of chalk
thrown vertically upward
 1D motion with const. acceleration
Equations with constant acceleration, a
v  vo  at
1
x  vt  vo  v  t
2
1
x  vot  at 2
2
v 2  vo2  2ax
Objects thrown up or down on earth move with
a special constant acceleration called “g” the
acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/s2
Notes on the equations
 If initial t=0 & final t=t, then ∆t = t

 vo  vf 
x  v av erage t t
 2 
 Gives displacement as a function of
velocity and time
 Use when you don‟t know and
aren‟t asked for the acceleration
Notes on the equations
v  vo  at
 Shows velocity as a function of
acceleration and time
 Use when you don‟t know and
aren‟t asked to find the
displacement
Notes on the equations
1 2
x  v o t  at
2
 Gives displacement as a function
of time, velocity and acceleration
 Use when you don‟t know and
aren‟t asked to find the final
velocity
Notes on the equations
2 2
v  v  2ax
o

 Gives velocity as a function of

acceleration and displacement
 Use when you don‟t know and
aren‟t asked for the time
Textbook Example 2.4, page 37, Daytona 500

Starts from rest: at t=0, v is zero (v0 = 0)

Constant acceleration: uniform a = 5m/s2
Velocity of car after a distance of 100 ft =?

v  v  2ax
2 2
Use equation:
0

For distance convert feet to m! (1 m = 3.281 feet)

Time elapsed=?
Use equation: v  v 0  at
Textbook example 2.4 Ans: 17.5 m/s & 3.50 s
End of Chapter MC1:
(!!! sig fig & units!!!)
Choose upward vertical direction as +ve y axis
(coming up: free fall, use „y‟ axis)
Initial velocity +15
Final velocity -8
(Assume a = -9.8 ….coming up)
Find t
Use v  at
v 0
2.35 s
Problem 9
Instantaneous velocities of tennis player at
a) 0.50 s

b) 2.0 s

c) 3.0 s

d) 4.5 s

Just find slope of graph around each t value

4, -4, 0, 2 with sig fig & units
Galileo Galilei
 1564 - 1642
 Galileo formulated
the laws that govern
the motion of objects
in free fall
 Also looked at:
 Inclined planes
 Relative motion
 Thermometers
 Pendulum
Free Fall
 All objects moving under the influence
of gravity only are said to be in free fall
 Free fall does not depend on the object‟s
original motion
 All objects falling near the earth‟s
surface fall with a constant acceleration
 The acceleration is called the
acceleration due to gravity, and
indicated by g
 Acceleration due to Gravity
 Symbolized by g
 g = 9.80 m/s² pointing towards the earth
 g 10 m/s2
 g is always directed downward
 Toward the center of the earth
 Ignoring air resistance and assuming g
doesn‟t vary with altitude over short vertical
distances, free fall is constantly accelerated
motion
 Who is in free fall?
Space shuttle!!!
Free Fall – an object
dropped
 Initial velocity is
zero
 Let up be positive
vo= 0
 Use the kinematic
equations a=g
Tip: Generally use y
instead of x since
vertical
 Acceleration is g
= -9.80 m/s2
Free Fall – an object
thrown downward
 a = g = -9.80
m/s2
 Initial velocity  0
 With upward
being positive,
initial velocity will
be negative
Free Fall -- object thrown
upward
 Initial velocity is v=0
upward, so positive
 The instantaneous
velocity at the
maximum height is
zero
 a = g = -9.80 m/s2
everywhere in the
motion
Thrown upward, cont.
 The motion may be symmetrical
 Then tup = tdown
 Then v = -vo
 The motion may not be
symmetrical
 Break the motion into various parts
 Generally up and down
Problem 45: thrown upward with speed 25
This is free fall motion with uniform a=g=9.8
Upward direction is +ve y axis & use g=-9.8
a) Maximum height reached

At this value of ∆x, final v = 0; initial v =

25
Use 2
  2ay
2
v v 0

b) Use v  v 0  at
31.9m, 2.55s, same t, same initial v & opposite
 Class Example
Obama throws a rock down with speed of 12 m/s
from the top of a tower. The rock hits the ground
after 2.0s. What is the height of the tower?

Choose down as positive & choose ∆y for displacement

Given initial velocity (v0=12)
Given time (t = 2)
Given free fall (moving under constant downward
acceleration (a=g=9.8)
Asked to find ∆y - the distance traveled by rock from
top to bottom (height of tower)
Use 1
y  v 0  t   a  t
2

2
44 m (rounded)
 In free fall motion of chalk, there is
constant acceleration called „g‟ of
magnitude 9.8 meter per second
squared throughout its trip from the
time it leaves my hands until it hits
the ground
 Non-symmetrical
Free Fall
 Need to divide the
motion into
segments
 Possibilities include
 Upward and
downward portions
 The symmetrical
portion back to the
release point and then
the non-symmetrical
portion