Chapter 2

Kinematics
Motion in one dimensional
 Learning outcomes
• define speed and acceleration, instantaneous and average v
alues
• understand basic algebra and use it to rearrange kinematic
equations
• draw and interpret graphs of position, velocity, acceleration
• translate information about uniform motions between words,
pictures, graphs and equations
• begin to develop a strategy for solving quantitative problems
 Kinematics definitions
• Kinematics – branch of physics; study of m
otion
• Position (x) – where you are located
• Distance (d ) – how far you have traveled, r
egardless of direction
• Displacement (x) – where you are in relat
ion to where you started
Concept Question: Displace
ment
An object goes from one point in space to another. Aft
er the object arrives at its destination, the magnitude o
f its displacement is:

1) either greater than or equal to

2) always greater than

3) always equal to

4) either smaller than or equal to

5) always smaller than

6) either smaller or larger than

the distance it traveled.

 Distance vs. Displacement
• You drive the path, and your odometer goes up by 8
miles (your distance).
• Your displacement is the shorter directed distance fr
om start to stop (green arrow).
• What if you drove in a circle?

start

stop
 Linear motion

Constant V V ≠ Constant
GERAK LURUS BERATURAN

Acceleration (a)

Constant a a ≠ Constant
GERAK LURUS BERUBAH B a = f(x) or a = f(t)
ERATURAN
dv dr
a v
dt dt
 Speed, Velocity, & Acceleration

• Speed (v) – how fast you go

• Velocity (v) – how fast and which way;
the rate at which position changes
• Average speed ( v ) – distance /time
• Acceleration (a) – how fast you speed
up, slow down, or change direction;
the rate at which velocity changes
 Speed vs. Velocity
• Speed is a scalar (how fast something is movin
g regardless of its direction).
Ex: v = 20 mph
• Speed is the magnitude of velocity.
• Velocity is a combination of speed and direction
. Ex: v = 20 mph at 15 south of west
• The symbol for speed is v.
• The symbol for velocity is type written in bold: v
or hand written with an arrow: v
 Speed vs. Velocity
• During your 8 mi. trip, which took 15 min., your sp
eedometer displays your instantaneous speed, w
hich varies throughout the trip.
• Your average speed is 32 mi/hr.
• Your average velocity is 32 mi/hr in a SE directio
n.
• At any point in time, your velocity vector points ta
ngent to your path.
• The faster you go, the longer your velocity vector.
Average Speed and Average Ve
locity

• Average Speed= Total Distance Travelled

Time
(Scalar)

• Average Velocity= Displacement = x

Time t
(Vector)
 Instantaneous Speed
Instantaneous Velocity

• Instantaneous Speed
» Speed at a given instant. (Time is very very smal
l)

• Instantaneous Velocity
» Velocity at a given instant. (Time is very very sm
all)

• Instantaneous speed is the magnitude of in

stantaneous velocity.
Instantaneous Velocity:

v= lim x
t 0 t

v= dx
dt
 Instantaneous Speed
• Instantaneous speed is the magni
tude of instantaneous velocity.
Example 1: Graph of Position vs Time

Position
(m/s)
o
Time (s)
•Slope of Line= Average Velocity
•In this case does the slope also e
qual the instantaneous velocity?
Example 2: Graph of Position vs
Time
Position
(m)

Time (s)

Instantaneous Velocity at a given time=

Slope of Tangent at that time
 Example 3: Position vs Time Grap
h
Position, (m)
20.0

10.0 A

o
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
-10.0 Time, (s)

• At what time(s) was the object at the origin?

• What is the average velocity from 0 to 1sec, 1 t
o 1.5 sec and 0 to 2sec?
 Acceleration
Acceleration – how fast you speed up, slow
down, or change direction; it’s the rate at
which velocity changes. Two examples:
t (s) v (mph) t (s) v (m/s)
0 55 0 34
1 57 1 31
2 59 2 28
3 61 3 25

a = +2 mph / s a = -3 m/s
s
= -3 m/s 2
Instantaneous acceleration

a= lim v
t 0 t

a= dv  v dv
dt dx
Velocity & Acceleration Sign Chart
VELOCITY

A
C
+ -
C
E Moving forward; Moving backward;
L +
E Speeding up Slowing down
R
A
T
I
- Moving forward; Moving backward;
O Slowing down Speeding up
N
 Example
A motorbike moves from point A to B following
the position eq. of x(t)= 3t2+2t-1. The units of x
and t is in SI units. Determine:
1.Average speed at the time range of 1 to 4 s
2.Instantaneous velocity at t = 2 s
3.Instantaneous acceleration at t = 3 s
4.Average acceleration at the time range of 1 t
o4s
 Acceleration due to Gravity
Near the surface of the This acceleration
Earth, all objects accele vector is the sam
rate at the same rate (ig e on the way up,
noring air resistance). at the top, and on
the way down!

a = -g = -9.8 m/s2
9.8 m/s2

Interpretation: Velocity decreases by 9.8 m/s each second,

meaning velocity is becoming less positive or more negative
. Less positive means slowing down while going up. More n
egative means speeding up while going down.
Kinematics Formula Summary
For 1-D motion with constant acceleration:

• vf = v0 + a t

• v = (v0 + vf )/2
avg

• x = v0 t + a t 2½
1
2

• vf2 – v02 = 2 a x

(derivations to follow)
 Kinematics Derivations
a = v/t (by definition)
a = (vf – v0)/t
 vf = v0 + at

v = (v0 + vf )/2 will be proven when we do graphing.

avg

x = v t = ½ (v0 + vf) t = ½ (v0 + v0 + a t) t

 x = v0 t + a t 2
1
2
(cont.)
 Kinematics Derivations (cont.)
vf = v0 + at  t = (vf – v0)/a
x = v0 t + 1
at 2 
2
1
x = v0 [(vf – v0)/a] + 2 a[(vf – v0)/a] 2

 vf2 – v02 = 2ax

Note that the top equation is solved for t and that expre
ssion for t is substituted twice (in red) into the
x equation. You should work out the algebra to prove t
he final result on the last line.
 KINEMATIC EQUATIONS
• These five quantities are related by a group o
f equations that we call the BIG FOUR:
Variable
missing
• BIG FOUR #1: x = ½(vi + vf)t a
• BIG FOUR #2: vf = vi + at x
• BIG FOUR #3: xf = xi + vit + ½at2 vf
• BIG FOUR #4: vf2 = vi2 + 2ax t
 Sample Problems
1. You’re riding a unicorn at 25 m/s and come to
a uniform stop at a red light 20 m away. Wha
t’s your acceleration?

2. A brick is dropped from 100 m up. Find its im

pact velocity and air time.

3. An arrow is shot straight up from a pit 12 m b

elow ground at 38 m/s.
a. Find its max height above ground.
b. At what times is it at ground level?
 Multi-step Problems
1. How fast should you throw a kumquat
straight down from 40 m up so that its i
mpact speed would be the same as a
mango’s dropped from 60 m?
Answer: 19.8 m/s

2. A dune buggy accelerates uniformly at

1.5 m/s2 from rest to 22 m/s. Then the
brakes are applied and it stops 2.5 s la
ter. Find the total distance traveled.
Answer: 188.83 m
x Graphing !
B 1 – D Motion
A
t

A … Starts at home (origin) and goes forward slowly

B … Not moving (position remains constant as time
progresses)
C … Turns around and goes in the other direction
quickly, passing up home
 x
Graphing w/ Ac
celeration
B C

A D

A … Start from rest south of home; increase speed gradually

B … Pass home; gradually slow to a stop (still moving north)
C … Turn around; gradually speed back up again heading south
D … Continue heading south; gradually slow to a stop near the
starting point
x Tangent Li
nes
t

On a position vs. time graph:

SLOPE VELOCITY SLOPE SPEED
Positive Positive Steep Fast
Negative Negative Gentle Slow
Zero Zero Flat Zero
x Increasing &
Decreasing
t

Increasing
Decreasing

On a position vs. time graph:

Increasing means moving forward (positive direction).
Decreasing means moving backwards (negative directi
on).
x
Concavity
t

On a position vs. time graph:

Concave up means positive acceleration.
Concave down means negative acceleration.
x Special
Q Points
P R
t
S

Inflection Pt. P, R Change of concavity

Peak or Valley Q Turning point
Time Axis Interc Times when you are at “hom
P, S
ept e”
x Curve Summ
B
C ary
t
A D

Concave Up Concave Down

v>0 v>0
Increasing a > 0 (A) a < 0 (B)

Decreasing v<0 v<0

a > 0 (D) a < 0 (C)
x All 3 Graphs
t

t
 Graphing Animation Link

This website will allow you to set the initial velocit

y and acceleration of a car. As the car moves, all
three graphs are generated.

Car Animation
x Graphing Tips
t

• Line up the graphs vertically.

• Draw vertical dashed lines at special points except intercepts.
• Map the slopes of the position graph onto the velocity graph.
• A red peak or valley means a blue time intercept.
 Graphing Tips
The same rules apply in making an acceleration graph from a ve
locity graph. Just graph the slopes! Note: a positive constant sl
ope in blue means a positive constant green segment. The stee
per the blue slope, the farther the green segment is from the tim
e axis.
v

t
 Real life
Note how the v graph is pointy and the a graph skips. In real
life, the blue points would be smooth curves and the green seg
ments would be connected. In our class, however, we’ll mainly
deal with constant acceleration.

t
 Area under a velocity graph
v “forward area”

“backward area”

Area above the time axis = forward (positive) displacement.

Area below the time axis = backward (negative) displacement.
Net area (above - below) = net displacement.
Total area (above + below) = total distance traveled.
v “forward area”
Area
t

“backward area”

The areas above and below are about equal, so even thoug
h a significant distance may have been covered, the displac
ement is about zero, meaning the stopping point was near th
e starting point. The position graph shows this too.

t
v (m/s)
12 Area units
t (s)

• Imagine approximating the area

under the curve with very thin rec
12 m/s tangles.
• Each has area of height  width.
0.5 s
• The height is in m/s; width is in s
econds.
• Therefore, area is in meters!
• The rectangles under the time axis have negative
heights, corresponding to negative displacement.
x Graphs of a ball thr
own straight up
The ball is thrown from
t the ground, and it lands
on a ledge.
v
The position graph is pa
rabolic.
The ball peaks at the par
t
abola’s vertex.
The v graph has a slop
a
e of -9.8 m/s2.
Map out the slopes!
t
There is more “positive
area” than negative on t
he v graph.
 Graph Practice
Try making all three graphs for the following scenario:
1. Schmedrick starts out north of home. At time zero he’s
driving a cement mixer south very fast at a constant speed.
2. He accidentally runs over an innocent moose crossing th
e road, so he slows to a stop to check on the poor moose.
3. He pauses for a while until he determines the moose is s
quashed flat and deader than a doornail.
4. Fleeing the scene of the crime, Schmedrick takes off agai
n in the same direction, speeding up quickly.
5. When his conscience gets the better of him, he slows, tur
ns around, and returns to the crash site.
 Kinematics Practice

A catcher catches a 90 mph fast ball. His glo

ve compresses 4.5 cm. How long does it tak
e to come to a complete stop? Be mindful of
your units!

2.24 ms
Answer
 Uniform Acceleration
x = 1
x = 3 x = 5 x = 7

t:0 1 2 3 4
x:0 1 4 9 16
( arbitrary units )

When object starts from rest and undergoes constant

acceleration:
• Position is proportional to the square of time.
• Position changes result in the sequence of odd nu
mbers.
• Falling bodies exhibit this type of motion (since g i
s constant).
 Spreadsheet Problem
• We’re analyzing position as a function of time, initial
velocity, and constant acceleration.
• x, x, and the ratio depend on t, v0, and a.
• x is how much position changes each second.
• The ratio (1, 3, 5, 7) is the ratio of the x’s.

• Make a spreadsheet l delta x v0 a

ike this and determine t (s) x (m) (m) ratio (m/s) (m/s2)
what must be true abo 0 0 0 17.3
ut v0 and/or a in order 8.66 1
to get this ratio of odd 1 8.66
25.98 3
numbers. 2 34.64
43.30 5
• Explain your answer 3 77.94
mathematically. 60.62 7
4 138.56
 Relationships
Let’s use the kinematics equations to answer these:
1. A mango is dropped from a height h.
a. If dropped from a height of 2 h, would the impa
ct speed double?
– Would the air time double when dropped from
a height of 2 h ?
• A mango is thrown down at a speed v.
– If thrown down at 2 v from the same height, w
ould the impact speed double?
– Would the air time double in this case?
3. A rubber chicken is launched straight
Relationships (cont.)

up at speed v from ground level. Fin

d each of the following if the launch s
peed is tripled (in terms of any consta
nts and v).

a. max height 9 v2 / 2g
b. hang time 6v/g
c. impact speed 3 v
Answers