Motion

An object is said to be in motion when its position changes with time.

Describing Motion
To describe the position of an object we need to specify a reference point called
the origin.
Example ---> A school in a village is 2 km north of the railway station.
Railway station is the origin.

Motion Along A Straight Line

Distance ---> The total path length covered the object. Scalar quantity. Can
only be positive.
Odometer ---> A device that measures the distance travelled fitted in auto-
mobiles.
Displacement ---> The shortest distance from the initial to the final position of
an object. Vector quantity. Can be positive, negative and also zero.

Uniform And Non – Uniform Motion

Uniform motion ---> An object covering equal distances in equal intervals of
time.
Non – uniform motion ---> Objects covering unequal distances in equal
intervals of time.

Measuring The Rate Of Motion

Average speed = Total distance travelled/Total time taken => v = s/t. SI unit =
m/s. Represented by v. Scalar.
Example ---> Car travelling 100 km in 2 h => average speed = 50 km/h

Speed With Direction

Velocity ---> The speed of an object moving with a definite direction.
Average velocity ---> Calculated in the same way as average speed.
If velocity ---> changing at a uniform rate:
Average velocity = (Initial velocity + Final velocity)/2 => v(average velocity) =
(u+v)/2. Speed and Velocity ---> same units ---> m/s

Rate Of Change of Velocity

Uniform motion ---> change in velocity = 0.
Non – uniform motion ---> velocity changes with time.
Acceleration ---> velocity of an object per unit time => acceleration = change
in velocity/time taken => a = (v-u)/t. Positive when its in the direction of the
velocity, negative when it is opposite to the direction of velocity and zero when
there is no change in velocity. SI unit = m/s^2.
Uniform acceleration ---> Velocity changes by equal amounts in equal intervals
of time. Example ---> freely falling object.
Non – uniform acceleration ---> Change in velocity at a uniform rate. Example
---> Car travelling in a straight road increases its speed by unequal amounts in
equal intervals of time.

Graphical Representation Of Motion

Distance – Time Graphs

Velocity – Time Graphs

The area enclosed by velocity – time graph
and the time axis = Displacement
s = AC * CD => [(40 km/h) * (t2 – t1) h) =>
40 (t2 – t1) => Area of the rectangle ABCD.
 area of the triangle + area of the square = displacement
s = area ABCDE => area of the rectangle ABCD + area
of the triangle ADE => AB*BC + 1/2(AD*DE)

Equations Of Motion
v=u+a*t
s = u * t + 1/2 * a * t^2
2 * a * s = v^2 – u^2

Uniform Circular Motion

When an object moves in a circular path with uniform speed ---> Uniform
circular motion. Speed(v) = 2 * pi * r/t.

Questions page
– 74
Q1) An object has moved through a distance. Can it have zero displacement? If
yes, support your answer with an example.
Ans) Yes, an object can show a zero displacement if it has moved through a
distance. For example, an object has started moving from point A and it
returned back to the same point A, then there will be zero displacement
although it has travelled the distance.

Q2) A farmer moves along the boundary of a square field of side 10 m in 40 s.

What will be the magnitude of displacement of the farmer at the end of 2
minutes 20 seconds from his initial position?
Ans) Given

Side of square = 10 m, thus perimeter P = 40 m

Time taken to cover the boundary of 40 m = 40 s
Thus in 1 second, the farmer covers a distance of 1 m.
Now distance covered by the farmer in 2 min 20 seconds = 1×140 = 140m
Now the total number of rotations the farmer makes to cover a distance of 140
meters = total distance perimeter=3.5
At this point, the farmer is at a point which is diagonally opposite from the
starting point.
Thus the displacement, s^2 = 10^2 + 10^2 from Pythagoras theorem.
S=10√2 =14.14 m.

Q3) Which of the following is true for displacement?

(a) It cannot be zero.
(b) Its magnitude is greater than the distance travelled by the object.
(c) displacement may or may not be equal to distance
Ans) Option (c) displacement may or may not be equal to distance, is true.

Questions page – 76
Q1) Distinguish between speed and velocity.
Ans)

Speed Velocity
The rate at which an object covers a certain The rate at which an object changes
distance is known as speed. position in a certain direction.
Speed cannot be negative or zero. It can be negative or zero.
It is a scalar quantity It is a vector quantity
Example: Example:
A man making a roundabout journey at a A woman plans to drive her vehicle at a
speed of 40 km/h. speed of 76 km/h towards East.

Q2) Under what condition(s) is the magnitude of average velocity of an object

equal to its average speed?
Ans) The magnitude of average velocity of an object is equal to its average
speed when the displacement of the object is equal to the distance covered by
it in a given time interval. This happens when an object moves along a straight
line in the same direction.

Q3) What does the odometer of an auto-mobile measure?

Ans) The odometer measures the distance travelled by a vehicle.

Q4) What does the path of an object look like when it is in uniform motion?
Ans) The path of an object looks like a straight line when it is in uniform motion.

Q5) During an experiment, a signal from a spaceship reached the ground

station in five minutes. What was the distance of the spaceship from the
ground station? The signal travels at the speed of light, that is, 3×10^8 m/s.
Ans) Let the distance between the spaceship and the ground station be 'S'.
Then, S = v*t
where, v = speed of signal = 3×10^8 m/s
t= time taken = 5 min => 5×60 s => 300 s
∴ s = 3×10^8×300 => 9×10^10 m

Questions page – 77
Q1) When will you say a body is in
(i) uniform acceleration ---> A body has a uniform acceleration if its velocity
changes by equal amounts in equal intervals of time. The motion of a freely
falling body is an example of uniform acceleration.
(ii) non-uniform acceleration ---> A body has a non-uniform acceleration if its
velocity changes by unequal intervals of time.

Q2) A bus decreases its speed from 80 km/h to 60 km/h in 5 s. Find the
acceleration of the bus.
Ans) Initial speed u = 80 km/h = 80×518 = 22.22 m/s
 Final speed v = 60 km/h = 60×518 = 16.67 m/s
Using v = u+at
Or 16.67 = 22.22+a×5
=> a = −1.1 m/s^2

Q3) A train starting from a railway station and moving with uniform
acceleration attains a speed 40 km/h in 10 minutes. Find its acceleration.
Ans) Given: t = 10 min => 10×60 => 600s
Initial speed of train is given as: u = 0 m/s

Final speed of train is given as: v = 40 km/h = 40×1000/3600 = 11.1 m/s

Now acceleration is given by the relation:
a = (v−u)/t = (11.1−0)/600 = 0.0185 m/s^2

Questions page – 81
Q1) What is the nature of the distance-time graphs for uniform and non-uniform
motion of an object?

Ans) For uniform motion, the distance-time graph is a straight line. On the
other hand, the distance-time graph of an object in non-uniform motion is a
curve.

Q2) What can you say about the motion of an object whose distance-time
graph is a straight line parallel to the time axis?

Ans) When the slope of distance-time graph is a straight line parallel to time
axis, the object is at the same position as the time passes. That means the
object is at rest.

Q3) What can you say about the motion of an object if its speed-time graph is a
straight line parallel to the time axis?

Ans) When the slope of a speed time graph is a straight line parallel to the time
axis, the object is moving with uniform speed.
Q4) What is the quantity which is measured by the area occupied below the
velocity-time graph?

Ans) Displacement is the quantity that is measured by the area occupied below
the velocity-time graph.

Questions page – 82
Q1) A bus starting from rest moves with a uniform acceleration of 0.1 m s-2 for
2 minutes. Find

(a) the speed acquired ---> v = u+a*t = 0+0.1×120 => v = 12 m/s

(b) the distance travelled. ---> s = u*t+1/2*a*t^2 => s = 0+12×0.1×(120)^2

=> s = 720 m.

Q2) A train is travelling at a speed of 90 km/h. Brakes are applied so as to

produce a uniform acceleration of – 0.5 m/s^2. Find how far the train will go
before it is brought to rest.

Ans) u = 25 m/s

v=0

a = -1/2

v = u + a * t, t = 50

s = u * t + 1/2 * a * t^2, s = 625 m

Q3) A trolley, while going down an inclined plane, has an acceleration of 2 cm/s^2.
What will be its velocity 3 s after the start?

Ans) a = 2, u = 0, t = 3. v = u + a * t, v = 6 cm/s

Q4) A racing car has a uniform acceleration of 4 m/s^2. What distance will it
cover in 10 s after start?

Ans) a = 4, t = 10, u = 0. s = u*t + 1/2 a*t^2, s = 200m

Q5) A stone is thrown in a vertically upward direction with a velocity of 5 m/s. If
the acceleration of the stone during its motion is 10 m/s^2 in the downward
direction, what will be the height attained by the stone and how much time will
it take to reach there?

Ans) a = -10, u = 5, v = 0, v = u + a * t, t = 0.5 s, s = u * t + 1/2 * a * t^2, s =

1.25 m.

Exercises
Q1) An athlete completes one round of a circular track of diameter 200 m in 40
s. What will be the distance covered and the displacement at the end of 2
minutes 20 s?

Ans) Total given time = 20 min 20sec = (120+20) sec = 140 sec

Time period of revolution = 40 sec

Hence the no. of revolution complete in 140 sec
n = 140/40 = 7/2 = 3.5
Distance cover = 3.5 π d = 3.5×227×200 = 2200m
Displacement cover is = d = 200 m
because at 3.5 revolution athlete is at opposite to initial starting point.

Q2) Joseph jogs from one end A to the other end B of a straight 300 m road in 2
minutes 30 seconds and then turns around and jogs 100 m back to point C in
another 1 minute. What are Joseph’s average speeds and velocities in jogging
(a) from A to B and (b) from A to C?

Ans) From point A to B

Distance covered = 300 m

Displacement = 300 m
Time taken = 2 min 30 sec = (2×60)+30 = 150 sec
Average speed = Distance covered/Time taken = 300/150 = 2 m/sec
Average velocity = Displacement/Time taken = 300/150 = 2 m/sec
From point A to C
Distance covered = 300+100 = 400 m
Displacement = 300−100 = 200 m
Time taken = 3 min 30 sec = (3×60)+30 = 210 s
Average speed = Distance covered/Time taken = 400/210 = 1.90 m/s
Average velocity = Displacement/Time taken = 200/210 = 0.95 m/s

Q3) Abdul, while driving to school, computes the average speed for his trip to
be 20 km/h. On his return trip along the same route, there is less traffic and the
average speed is 30 km/h. What is the average speed for Abdul’s trip?

Ans) Let the distance between school and home is s.

While going: T1 = s/v1

And while returning: T2 = s/v2
Total distance = 2s and total time is t = t1+t2
v(average)=2s/t=2s/(s/v1)+(s/v2)
=> v(average)=2*v1*v2/(v1+v2)
=> v(average)=2×20×30/(20+30)
=> v(average)=24km/h

Q4) A motorboat starting from rest on a lake accelerates in a straight line at a

constant rate of 3.0 m/s^2 for 8.0 s. How far does the boat travel during this
time?

Ans) u = 0, a = 3, t = 8, s = u * t + 1/2 * a * t^2 => s = 96 m.

Q5) A driver of a car travelling at 52 km/h applies the brakes and accelerates
uniformly in the opposite direction. The car stops in 5 s. Another driver going at
3 km/h in another car applies his brakes slowly and stops in 10 s. On the same
graph paper, plot the speed versus time graphs for the two cars. Which of the
two cars travelled farther after the brakes were applied?

Ans)
Car A:

u = 52 km/h = 14.44 m/s

v=0

t=5s

Car B:

u = 3 km/h = 0.83 m/s

v=0

t = 10 s

Q6) Fig 8.11 shows the distance-time graph of three objects A, B and C. Study
the graph and answer the following questions:

(a)Which of the three is travelling the fastest?

Ans) (a) Speed is given by the slope of the distance-time graph. The more the
angle made by the line of the positive slope with the x-axis, the more is the
speed. From, the graph, B has the greatest slope and hence is moving fastest.

(b) Are all three ever at the same point on the road

Ans) (b) For the three objects to be at the same point at some time, the
distance-time graph of all three particles should coincide at the same point at
some time. Since this does not happen in the given graph, the particles do not
coincide.

(c)How far has C travelled when B passes A

Ans) (c) From the graph, B passes A after approximately 1 hr. At this time, the
distance moved by C is 8 km.

(d)How far has B travelled by the time it passes C

Ans) (d) From the graph, B passes C after approximately 0.6 hr. At this time, the
distance moved by B is approximately 5.8 km.

Q7) A ball is gently dropped from a height of 20 m. If its velocity increases

uniformly at the rate of 10 m/s^2, with what velocity will it strike the ground?
After what time will it strike the ground?

Ans) u = 0, s = 20, a = 10, 2as = v^2 – u^2, v = 20 m/s.

=> v = u + at, t = 2 s.

Q8) The speed-time graph for a car is shown is Fig. 8.12.

(a) Find how far does the car travel in the first 4 seconds. Shade the area on
the graph that represents the distance travelled by the car during the period.

Ans) distance = area under the speed – time graph

s = 1/2 * b * h

s = 1/2 * 4 * 6 => s = 12 m

(b)Which part of the graph represents uniform motion of the car?

Ans) The portion where the car is travelling approximately 6.7 m/s from 6 s to
10 s is when the car is travelling uniformly.

Q9) State which of the following situations are possible and give an example for
each of these:

(a) an object with a constant acceleration but with zero velocity.

Let say a stone is thrown in vertical direction with initial speed u. As the time
passes its velocity decreases and at the maximum height it attained, its
velocity is zero but it has an acceleration (9.8)m/s^2 in the downward direction
due to gravity.

(b) An object moving with an acceleration but with uniform speed.

Ans) Because, the velocity keeps on changing due to continuous change in the
direction of motion. Therefore, circular motion is an example of an object
moving with an acceleration but with uniform speed.

(c) an object moving in a certain direction with an acceleration in the

perpendicular direction.

Ans) When a pebble is tied with an end of string and it is whirled in horizontal
circular motion with the other end of the string at the centre of circular path,
then it has a constant magnitude of centripetal acceleration towards the
centre. Hence the acceleration is in perpendicular direction to the motion of
pebble.
Q 10) An artificial satellite is moving in a circular orbit of radius 42250 km.
Calculate its speed if it takes 24 hours to revolve around the earth.

Ans) s = 2 * 22/7 * 42250 km

t = 24 * 3600 s

v = s/t => 3.07 km/s