Phys 102

Lecture 2
Motion in
1 dimension
Part 1- Distance and displacement
 Particle’s Position

Particle’s Position is the location of the particle with respect to a chosen

reference point that we can consider to be the origin of a coordinate system.

 Positions to the right of the origin are

positive.

 Positions to the left of the origin are

Particle’s Position
 Displacement

Displacement of a particle ∆x is defined as its change in position in some time

interval.
In other word; it is the difference between the final position xf , and the
initial position xi .
 Displacement

A displacement to the right will be a positive displacement.

For example, starting with xi = 60 m and ending at xf = 150 m, the displacement is :
 Displacement
A displacement to the left will be a negative displacement.
For example, starting with xi = 150 m and ending at xf = 60 m, the
displacement is :
∆ x = xf - xi = 60 m - 150 m = -90 m
 Distance and Displacement
• Distance is the length of a path followed by a
particle.
• Distance is the absolute value of the displacement.
• Distance is always positive and tells how far
something is from something else but does not tell
us whether it is to the right or to the left.
• Units are important in Physics (and in all of
Science).
• In the lab, we will usually measure distance or
displacement in units of meters (m).
• Distance or displacement could also be measured
in centimeters (cm) or kilometers (km) or even
miles (mil).
Example
 Example solution
Displacement
 Example solution
Answer:
Speed and velocity

Speed is a scalar quantity.

 Speed and velocity
Speed & Velocity can also be measured in km/hr or mi/hr
 Speed and velocity

Answer :

The average Velocity is zero m/s.

Example

Calculating the Average Velocity and Speed

Find the displacement, average velocity,
and average speed of the car in the figure
between positions A and F.

TABLE 2.1

Position of the car at various times

Position t(s) x(m)

A 0 30
B 10 52
C 20 38
D 30 0
E 40 -37
F 50 -53 14
 TABLE 2.1

Position of the car at various times

Position t(s) x(m)

A 0 30
B 10 52
C 20 38
D 30 0
E 40 -37
F 50 -53 15
 TABLE 2.1

Position of the car at various times

Position t(s) x(m)

A 0 30
B 10 52
C 20 38
D 30 0
E 40 -37
F 50 -53 16
Ans
. :

Displacement:

Average Velocity:

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 Ans. :

Applying the Formula to find Total Distance:

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Ans. :

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We can interpret average velocity
geometrically by drawing a straight
line between two points on the
position-time graph.
This line forms the hypotenuse of a
right triangle of height ∆𝑥 and base
∆𝑡.
The slope of this line is ∆𝑥/∆𝑡 (the
average velocity).

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The instantaneous velocity

⚫ The instantaneous velocity 𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑠 is the velocity right now;

at this particular moment.
⚫ If the velocity is constant:
𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑠 = 𝑣𝑎𝑣𝑔

SI unit: meter per second (m/s)

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• The slope of the line between A and B gives us
the average velocity for this interval.

• If we slide point B to the left along the curve

toward point A, the line between the points
becomes steeper and steeper.

• As the two points become extremely close

together, the line becomes a tangent line to
the curve (the green line).

• The slope of this tangent line represents the

instantaneous velocity at point A.
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The instantaneous velocity 𝑣𝑥 equals the limiting value of
the ratio ∆𝑥/∆𝑡 as ∆𝑡 approaches zero:

∆𝑥
𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 ≡ lim
∆𝑡→0 ∆𝑡

In calculus notation, this limit is called the derivative of x with

respect to t.

∆𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 ≡ lim =
∆𝑡→0 ∆𝑡 𝑑𝑡

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 Acceleration
We are often interested in how fast the velocity is changing. This is the acceleration.

Acceleration is a change of velocity divided by a change of

time.

This quantity has units of (meters/second)/second.

We will write this as m/s2 (there are no "square seconds").

As with the velocity, we can describe the instantaneous

acceleration, the acceleration right now, at this particular
moment. If the acceleration is constant :

ainst = a avg
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 Acceleration

Example: Find the acceleration from the figure below .

Velocity vs Acceleration

When the object’s velocity and acceleration are in the

same direction, the object is speeding up.

On the other hand, when the object’s velocity and

acceleration are in opposite direction, the object is
slowing down.

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 MOTION DIAGRAMS

Images are equally spaced, Constant positive velocity, zero acceleration

𝑣Ԧ & 𝑎Ԧ are in
the same
direction

Images become farther apart, the velocity increases.

The velocity decreases, 𝑣Ԧ & 𝑎Ԧ are opposite directions 28

 Equations of motion
• When an object moves with constant , uniform acceleration in
a straight line, we can use the following 4 equations :

• 1) v = u + at u = initial velocity
• 2) s = ½ ( u + v ) t s = displacement
• 3) s = ut + ½ at² v = final velocity
• 4) v² = u² + 2as a =constant acceleration
t = time
Equations of motion
The Four Kinematic Equations
Example 1: A racing car starting from rest accelerates constantly
down a 160-m track before crossing the finish line after 8 s.
1) What is the acceleration of the car?
2) What is the car’s velocity at the finish line?
1 2
1) ∆𝑥 = 𝑣0 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡
2
1
160 = 0(8) + 𝑎(8)2
2
2(160)
Ans.1 : 𝑎= = 5 𝑚/𝑠 2
(8)2

2) 𝑣 = 𝑣0 + 𝑎𝑡
𝑣 = 0 + 5 8 = 40 𝑚/𝑠

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Example-2: A car starts from rest with constant acceleration 𝑎
= 2.5 𝑚/𝑠 2 . What is the car’s velocity after 10 𝑠. How far did
the car travel in that time?

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 Equations of motion
Example:
Consider a car that starts at rest and accelerates at 2 m/s2 for 3 seconds.
At that time, t = 3 s, how fast is it going? and how far has it gone?
 Equations of motion
Example:
Consider a car that starts at rest and accelerates at 2 m/s2 for 3 seconds.
At that time, t = 3 s, how fast is it going? and how far has it gone?

Answer :
𝑣𝑥𝑓 = 𝑣𝑥𝑖 + 𝑎𝑥 𝑡
𝑣𝑥𝑓 = 0 + 2(𝑚/𝑠 2 ) × 3 𝑠
𝑣𝑥𝑓 = 6(𝑚/s)

𝑥𝑓 = 𝑥𝑖 + 𝑣𝑥𝑖 𝑡 + 12𝑎𝑥 𝑡 2
𝑥𝑓 = 0 + 0 × 3 + 12 × 2(𝑚/𝑠 2 ) × 32 (𝑠 2 )
𝑥𝑓 = 9m
Freely Falling Objects

Objects are in free fall if the only force acting on them is

gravity, even if they are moving upwards.

Objects in free fall experience constant vertical acceleration,

so we can use the kinematic equations of motion to solve
problems.

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Freely Falling Objects

When we use the kinematic equations for objects in free fall,

we note that:

The motion is in the vertical direction (y) rather than the horizontal
direction (x).

The acceleration is downward and has the magnitude of 9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2

on Earth.

We choose the downward direction to be negative. Thus, 𝑎𝑦 = −𝑔

= −9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2 .

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Freely Falling Objects

When we use the kinematic equations for objects in free fall,

we note that:

The motion is in the vertical direction (y) rather than the horizontal
direction (x).

The acceleration is downward and has the magnitude of 9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2

on Earth.

We choose the downward direction to be negative. Thus, 𝑎𝑦 = −𝑔

= −9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2 .
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Example 1: you drop a ball from rest from a 7 m-tall building.
How long does take the ball to hit the ground?
How fast does the ball move just before hitting the ground?

Ans. 1:
1 2
1) ∆𝑦 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡
2
1
0 − 7 = 0 − (9.8)𝑡 2
2
(2)(7)
𝑡= 𝑡2 = ≈ 1.2 𝑠
9.8

2) 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 − 𝑔𝑡
𝑣𝑓 = 0 − 9.8 1.2 = −11.8 𝑚/𝑠
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Example 2: you throw a ball up with speed 6 m/s from a 7 m-
tall building.
How long does take the ball to get to the top?
Find the maximum height that the ball reaches ?
Ans.2 :
1) 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 − 𝑔𝑡
0 = 6 − 9.8𝑡
6
𝑡= = 0.612 𝑠
9.8
2) 1 2
∆𝑦 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡
2
1
∆𝑦 = 6 0.612 − (9.8)(0.612)2
2
∆𝑦 = 1.84 𝑚
The maximum height from the ground = 7 + 1.84 = 8.84 m
APPLICATIONS
• Problem 1:Q25 page: 50
• 25. Review. Colonel John P. Stapp, USAF,
participated in studying whether a jet pilot could
survive emergency ejection. On March 19, 1954,
he rode a rocket-propelled sled that moved down
a track at a speed of 632 mi/h. He and the sled
were safely brought to rest in 1.40 s (Fig. P2.25).
Determine (a) the negative acceleration he
experienced and (b) the distance he traveled
during this negative acceleration.

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APPLICATIONS
Problem 2: Q17 page:50

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APPLICATIONS
Problem 3: Q40 page: 51

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HW 1- A movie stunt man wishes to drop from a freeway overpass and
land on the roof of a speeding truck passing beneath him. The distance
he will fall from rest to the roof of the truck is 12 m, and the truck is
moving 80 km/h. What horizontal distance away should the truck be
when the stunt man jumps?

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HW 2- The stopping distance of a car depends on its speed in a way that is counterintuitive for many
people. The stopping distance is not simply proportional to the speed; that is, if you double your
speed, you do not merely double your stopping distance. On a dry road a car with good tires may be
able to obtain a braking acceleration of 4.90 ms2. Calculate the stopping distance for a speed of 50
km/h and for 100 km/h.

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HW 1- A movie stunt man wishes to drop from a freeway overpass and
land on the roof of a speeding truck passing beneath him. The
distance he will fall from rest to the roof of the truck is 12 m, and the
truck is moving 80 km/h. What horizontal distance away should the
truck be when the stunt man jumps?

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HW 2- The stopping distance of a car depends on its speed in a way that is counterintuitive for many
people. The stopping distance is not simply proportional to the speed; that is, if you double your
speed, you do not merely double your stopping distance. On a dry road a car with good tires may be
able to obtain a braking acceleration of 4.90 ms2. Calculate the stopping distance for a speed of 50
km/h and for 100 km/h.

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