Kinematics Synergy Education

Preliminary
Physics
Notes
Module 1: Kinematics

Part 1 of 2:
Motion in a Straight Line

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1. Motion in a straight line

Inquiry question: How is the motion of an object moving in a straight line described and
predicted?

• Describe uniform straight-line (rectilinear) motion and uniformly accelerated motion

through:
- Qualitative descriptions
- The use of scalar and vector quantities

Scalar quantities

• Scalars are quantities having only a magnitude (size) but not a direction
• Examples include:
- Distance
- Speed
- Volume
- Mass
- Time

Speed

• Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to how fast an object is moving

• It is the rate at which an object is covering distance
- An object that covers a large amount of distance is faster than an object covering
a smaller amount of distance in the same time
• It is mathematically defined expressed as:

distance
Speed =
time

• The SI units for speed is m/s or ms -1

• An object that is stationary is said to have a zero speed
• Note: Although the SI units are m/s, many questions will involve speeds expressed in
km/hr. To convert km/hr into m/s, simply divide by 3.6

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Distance

• Distance is another important scalar quantity. It is defined as the length traversed by an

object over some period of time
• By rearranging the formula for speed, distance can be found by using the formula:

distance = speed × time

• The SI units for distance is metres (m)

Vectors

• In contrast to scalars, vector quantities have both a magnitude and a direction

• The vector counterpart to speed is known as velocity.That is, the velocity of an object
refers to both its speed AND the direction at which it is moving.
- It is denoted by the symbol 𝑣⃗
• An object with negative velocity means that is moving backwards
• The vector counterpart to distance is displacement
- It is denoted by the symbol 𝑠⃗
• Displacement refers to an object’s overall change in position
• It does not consider what route the object took to change position, only where it
started and where it ended
• Directions are usually given in terms of angles or compass directions like ‘north’

• We can therefore express velocity as:

Δdisplacement
Velocity =
time

Acceleration

• A very important vector quantity is acceleration

• It is defined as an object’s rate of change of velocity, and thus it is mathematically
expressed as:

Δvelocity
acceleration =
time

• It is usually denoted as 𝑎⃗ and has the SI units ms -2

• A net force must act on a body if it undergoes acceleration

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• Conduct a practical investigation to gather data to facilitate the analysis of

instantaneous and average velocity through:
- Quantitative, first-hand measurements
- Graphical representation and interpretation of data

• The best and most simple way to measure average speed is by analysing the motion of
a toy car rolling along a flat surface

• The aim, equipment and method for this experiment are outlined below:

Aim

- To determine the average speed of a moving object, such as a toy car.

Equipment

- Toy car
- Ramp
- Foam
- Tape
- Measuring tape or meter stick
- Stop Watch
- Computer with data logging software
- Light beam sensor assembly (source and sensor)

Method

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1. Obtain a toy car and setup the equipment as shown in the figure above.

2. Mark off the following distances on the bench with tape: 0 cm, 50 cm, 100 cm, and 150
cm. Place a foam stopper at the 50cm, 100cm and 150cm distances.

3. Set up the ramp so the bottom is at the 0-metre mark. Place the car at the top of the
ramp. Release the car.

4. When the front of the car reaches the 0-metre mark, start the timer. Then, stop the
timer when the front of the car reaches the 50-cm mark. Record the time on the table.

5. Roll the toy car three times in total to obtain an average time.

6. Repeat the above steps for the 100cm and 150cm mark.

• The average speed for each distance is then determined by dividing the distance by the
average time

Graphical analysis:

• On a displacement vs time graph:

- The gradient at a certain time is the instantaneous velocity of the object at that
time
- The gradient during a time interval is the average velocity of the object during
that time interval
• On a velocity vs time graph:
- The gradient at a certain time is the instantaneous acceleration of the object at
that time
- The gradient during a time interval is the average acceleration of the object
during that time interval
- The area under a curve between is equal to the displacement
• On an acceleration vs time graph:
- The area under the curve is equal to the velocity

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• Calculate the relative velocity of two objects moving along the same line using vector
analysis

• Before learning about relative velocities, we must first understand the concept of a
frame of reference
• Imagine you throw a ball vertically upwards on a moving train
• For any observer on the train, they will observe the ball going vertically up, and then
falling back down vertically
• However, for an observer outside the train (at a station for example), they would
observe the ball follow a parabolic path as the train passes them, with the constant
horizontal component of velocity equal to the velocity of the train

• In this above scenario, the frames of references are the train and the station, and thus
the motion of the ball is different for observers on different frames of reference

Relative velocity

• Relative velocity is simply the velocity of an object as measured from a certain frame of
reference

• For example, consider two cars, A and B, travelling at 60 and 80 km/hr respectively on
the same direction
- Intuitively, the velocity of B as measured from A is 80 – 60 = 20 km/hr

• ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
In general, the velocity of A relative to B (𝑉 𝐴𝐵 ) is given by:

⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑉𝐴𝐵 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑉𝐴 − ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑉𝐵

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• Using mathematical modelling and graphs, selected from a range of technologies, to

analyse and derive relationships between time, distance, displacement, speed,
velocity and acceleration in rectilinear motion, including:
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- 𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 2 𝑎𝑡 2
- 𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡
- 𝑣 2 = 𝑢 2 + 2𝑎𝑠

• Earlier we have learnt that acceleration is the change in velocity over change in time
Δ𝑣 𝑣 − 𝑢
𝑎= =
𝑡 𝑡
• Where 𝑣 is the final velocity and 𝑢 is the initial velocity. Rearranging this equation gives
us:
𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡

• Now consider a typical velocity vs time graph. The displacement is equal to the area
under the curve
• We can find this area by breaking it up into a rectangle and a triangle
1
• The area of the rectangle is 𝑢𝑡 and the area of the triangle is 2 (𝑣 − 𝑢)𝑡
• After substituting 𝑣 − 𝑢 = 𝑎𝑡, we finally derive our desired result
1 1
𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + (𝑣 − 𝑢)𝑡 = 𝑢𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2 2

• To derive the final equation, we eliminate t by using the first and second equation
𝑣−𝑢
• From the first equation, 𝑡 = 𝑎 . Substituting this into the second equation, we obtain:

𝑢(𝑣 − 𝑢) 1 𝑣 − 𝑢 2
𝑠= + 𝑎( )
𝑎 2 𝑎
2𝑎𝑠 = 2𝑢(𝑣 − 𝑢) + (𝑣 − 𝑢)2
2𝑎𝑠 = 2𝑢𝑣 − 2𝑢 2 + 𝑣 2 − 2𝑢𝑣 + 𝑢 2
∴ 𝑣 2 = 𝑢 2 + 2𝑎𝑠

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• Conduct practical investigations, selecting from a range of technologies, to record and

analyse the motion of objects in a variety of situations in one dimension in order to
measure or calculate:
- Time
- Distance
- Displacement
- Speed
- Velocity
- Acceleration

• A simple experiment to determine the acceleration and final velocity is by dropping a

ball from a height
• The aim, equipment, and method are outline below:
Aim

- To determine the final velocity of a falling ball (i.e. to evaluate g)

Equipment

- Boss head
- Clamp
- Retort stand
- Small ball
- Measuring tape or meter stick
- Stop Watch

Method

ball

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1. Obtain a ball and set up the equipment as shown in the figure above.
2. Secure the ball in the clamp (as shown)
3. Set the height of the center of ball to the ground to be 100 cm
4. Release the ball from the clamp and record the time it takes for the ball to hit the
ground
5. Repeat at this height two more times
6. Alter the height by some set increment, say, 10 cm
7. Repeat steps 1-6 until data for 3-5 heights has been obtained

• The acceleration (≈ 9.8 𝑚𝑠 −2 ) of the ball can be determined by using the equation:
1
𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
• The final velocity can then be determined using the equation:
𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡

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