Ch 2:

Kinematics in 1D
 Kinematics
 Kinematics is the branch of mechanics
that describes the motion of objects
without necessarily discussing what
causes the motion.
 We will learn to describe motion in
two ways.
» Using graphs
» Using equations
 Review: Free
Falling Objects

Free fall from rest

Example 2.1
Carol starts at a position x(t=0) = 1.5 m.
At t=2.0 s, Carol’s position is x(t=2 s)=4.5 m
At t=4.0 s, Carol’s position is x(t=4 s)=-2.5 m
a) What is Carol’s average velocity between t=0 and t=2 s?
b) What is Carol’s average velocity between t=2 and t=4 s?
c) What is Carol’s average velocity between t=0 and t=4 s?

a) 1.5 m/s
b) -3.5 m/s
c) -1.0 m/s
Example 2.2

An archer shoots an arrow across the stadium

at an unlucky rat 200 meters away. The
archer hears the squeal 2.2 seconds later.
What was the velocity of the arrow? The
speed of sound is 330 m/s.

V = 125 m/s
 Example 2.3
x (m)
8
What is the average velocity D
between B and E? 6

4
E
2
B
A C
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

t (s)
0.2 m/s
 Example e
2.4
b
c
a d

At which point(s) does the position equal zero?

A) a only
B) a and d
C) b only
D) b & d
 Example e
2.5
b
c
d
a

A) a
At which point(s) does the velocity equal zero?
B) b only
C) c only
D) b & d
E) a & d
 Particle

 A particle is an object that has mass

but no volume and occupies a position
described by one point in space.
 Physicists love to turn all objects into
particles, because it makes the math a
lot easier.
 Position

 How do we represent a point in space?

 a) One dimension (x)
 b) Two dimensions (x,y)
 c) Three dimensions (x,y,z)
 Delta (  )

  is a Greek letter used to represent

the words “change in”. x therefore
means “change in x”. It is always
calculated by final value minus initial
value.
 Practice Problem

Question: If x is the displacement of a

particle, and d is the distance the
particle traveled during that
displacement, which of the following is
always a true statement?
a) d = |x|
b) d < |x|
c) d > |x|
d) d > |x|
e) d < |x|
 Practice Problem

A particle moves from x = 1.0 meter to

x = -1.0 meter.
a) What is the distance d traveled by
the particle? 2.0 m
b) What is the displacement of the
particle? -2.0 m
 Distance vs Displacement
B 100 m

displacement
50 m

distance
A
 A picture can help you distinquish between
distance and displacement.
 Practice Problem
You get on a ferris wheel of radius 20
meters at the bottom. When you reach
the top on the first rotation
a) what distance have you traveled?
b) what is your displacement from the bottom?
c) When you are on your way back down, does
the distance increase, decrease, or stay the
same? What about the displacement?
d) What is the distance traveled after you have
completed the full ride of 10 rotations? What
about the displacement?
 Practice Problem answers
You get on a ferris wheel of radius
20 meters at the bottom. When you
reach the top on the first rotation
a) d = ½ (2  r) =  r = 20  m
b)  x = 20 + 20 = 40 m
c) distance increases, displacement decreases
d) d = 10 (2  r) = 400  m
 Average Speed
 How fast a particle is moving.

 save = d
t
where:
save = rate (speed)
d = distance
 t = elapsed time Average speed is
 SI unit: always a positive
m/s number.
 Average Velocity
 How fast the displacement of a particle is
changing.
 vave = ∆x
∆t
where:
vave = average velocity
∆x = displacement
∆t = change in time Average velocity
 SI unit: is + or –
m/s depending on
direction.
 Demonstration
 You are a particle located at the
origin.
 Demonstrate how you can move from x
= 0 to x = 10.0 with an average speed
of 0.5 m/s. You may not leave the x-
axis!
 What was your average velocity in this
case?
 Demonstration
 You are a particle located at the point
x = 10.0 m.
 Demonstrate how you can move from x
= 10.0 to x = 0 with an average speed
of 0.5 m/s. You may not leave the x-
axis!
 What is your average velocity in this
case?
 Demonstration
 You are a particle located at the
origin.
 Demonstrate how you can move from x
= 0 to x = 10.0 and back with an
average speed of 0.5 m/s. You may not
leave the x-axis!
 What was your average velocity in this
case?
 Practice Problem

A car makes a trip of 1½ laps around a

circular track of diameter 100 meters
in ½ minute. For this trip
a) what is the average speed of the
car? 15.7 m/s
b) what is its average velocity?
3.33 m/s
 Practice Problem

How long will it take the sound of the

starting gun to reach the ears of the
sprinters if the starter is stationed at
the finish line for a 100 m race?
Assume that sound has a speed of about
340 m/s.
Answer: 0.29 s
 Practice Problem
x

t
Describe the motion of this
particle.
It is stationary.
 Practice Problem
x

t
Describe the motion of this
particle.
It is moving at constant
velocity in the + x direction.
 Practice Problem
x B
vave = x/t
A x
t
t
What physical feature of the
graph gives the constant
velocity?
The slope, because x/t is rise
over run!
 Practice Problem

x (m)
Determine the
average velocity
from the graph.
Ans: 1/3 m/s
 Practice Problem
x

t
Does this graph represent motion at
constant velocity?
No, since there is not one constant
slope for this graph.
 Practice Problem
x A
B vave = x/t
x
t
t
Can you determine average velocity
from the time at point A to the time
at point B from this graph?
Yes. Draw a line connecting A and B
and determine the slope of this line.
Practice Problem
Determine the
average velocity
between 1 and 4
seconds.
Ans: 0.17 m/s
 Practice Problem

You drive in a straight line at 10 m/s

for 1.0 hour, and then you drive in a
straight line at 20 m/s for 1.0 hour.
What is your average velocity?
Answer: 15 m/s (this is probably what
you expected!)
 Practice Problem

You drive in a straight line at 10 m/s for

1.0 km, and then you drive in a straight
line at 20 m/s for another 1.0 km. What
is your average velocity?
Answer: 13.3 m/s (this is probably NOT
what you expected!)
Always use the formula for average
velocity; don’t just take an “average” of
the velocities!
 Instantaneous Velocity

 The velocity at a single instant in

time.
 Determined by the slope of a
tangent line to the curve at a single
point on a position-time graph.
Instantaneous Velocity
x vins = x/t
B x
t

t
Draw a tangent line to the curve
at B. The slope of this line gives
the instantaneous velocity at that
specific time.
Practice Problem
Determine the
instantaneous
velocity at 1.0
second.
Ans: 0.85 m/s
 Practice Problem

The position of a particle as a function

of time is given by the equation
x = (2.0 m/s) t + (-3.0 m/s2)t2.
a) Plot the x vs t graph for t = 0 until t =
1.0 s.
b) Find the average velocity of the
particle from t = 0 until t = 0.50 s.
c) Find the instantaneous velocity of the
particle at t = 0.50 s.
 Practice
Q 10: If the position of an object is zero, does its
speed need to be zero?
Q 11: For what kind of motion are the
instantaneous and average velocities equal?
P 27: The position of a particle as a function of
time is given by x = (-2.0 m/s) t + (3.0 m/s2) t2.
a) Plot x-vs-t for time from t = 0 to t = 1.0 s.
b) Find the average velocity of the particle form t
= 0.15 s to t = 0.25 s.
c) Find the average velocity from t = 0.19 s to t =
0.21 s.
 Acceleration (a)
 Any change in velocity is called
acceleration.
 The sign (+ or -) of acceleration
indicates its direction.
 Acceleration can be…
» speeding up
» slowing down
» turning
Uniform (Constant) Acceleration
 In Physics B, we will generally assume
that acceleration is constant.
 With this assumption we are free to use
this equation:
a = ∆v
∆t
 SI Unit:
m/s2
 Acceleration has a sign!

 If the sign of the velocity and the

sign of the acceleration is the same,
the object speeds up.
 If the sign of the velocity and the
sign of the acceleration are different,
the object slows down.
 Practice Problem

A 747 airliner reaches its takeoff speed

of 180 mph in 30 seconds. What is its
average acceleration?
 Practice Problem

A horse is running with an initial

velocity of 11 m/s, and begins to
accelerate at –1.81 m/s2. How long does
it take the horse to stop?
 Practice Problem
v

Describe the motion of this particle.

It is moving in the +x direction at
constant velocity. It is not accelerating.
 Practice Problem
v

t
Describe the motion of this
particle.
It is stationary.
 Practice Problem
v

Describe the motion of this particle.

It starts from rest and accelerates in the
+x direction. The acceleration is constant.
 Practice Problem
v B
a = v/t
A v
t
t
What physical feature of the
graph gives the acceleration?
The slope, because v/t is
rise over run!
Practice Problem

Determine the
acceleration from
the graph.
Ans: 10 m/s2
 Practice Problem
Determine the
displacement of
the object from 0
to 4 seconds.
Ans: 0
Describe the
motion.
The object is initially moving in the negative direction at –20
m/s, slows gradually and momentarily is stopped at 2.0
seconds, and then accelerates in the + direction. At 4.0
seconds, it is back at the origin, and continues to accelerate in
the + direction.
Position vs Time Graphs
 Particles moving with no
acceleration (constant velocity)
have graphs of position vs time
with one slope. The velocity is not
changing since the slope is
constant.
 Position vs time graphs for
particles moving with constant
acceleration look parabolic. The
instantaneous slope is changing. In
this graph it is increasing, and the
particle is speeding up.
Uniformly Accelerating
Objects
 You see the car move
faster and faster. This
is a form of
acceleration.
 The position vs time
graph for the
accelerating car
reflects the bigger and
bigger x values.
 The velocity vs time
graph reflects the
increasing velocity.
Position vs Time Graphs
 This object is moving in the
positive direction and
accelerating in the positive
direction (speeding up).
 This object is moving in the
negative direction and
accelerating in the negative
direction (speeding up).
 This object is moving in the
negative direction and
accelerating in the positive
direction (slowing down).
 Pick the constant velocity
graph(s)…
x v
A
C

t t
x v
B
D

t t
 Draw Graphs for
Stationary Particles

x v a

t t t

Position Velocity Acceleration

vs vs vs
time time time
 Draw Graphs for
Constant Non-zero Velocity

x v a

t t t

Position Velocity Acceleration

vs vs vs
time time time
 Draw Graphs for Constant
Non-zero Acceleration

x v a

t t t

Position Velocity Acceleration

vs vs vs
time time time
 Practice Problem

What must a particular Olympic

sprinter’s acceleration be if he is able to
attain his maximum speed in ½ of a
second?
In some problems, estimation is an
important part of the problem!
 Practice Problem

A plane is flying in a northwest direction

when it lands, touching the end of the
runway with a speed of 130 m/s. If the
runway is 1.0 km long, what must the
acceleration of the plane be if it is to
stop while leaving ¼ of the runway
remaining as a safety margin?
 Kinematic Equations

 v = vo + at
» Use this one when you aren’t worried
about x.
 x = xo + vot + ½ at2

» Use this one when you aren’t worried

about v.
 v2 = vo2 + 2a(∆x)

» Use this one when you aren’t worried

about t.
 Practice Problem
On a ride called the Detonator at Worlds
of Fun in Kansas City, passengers
accelerate straight downward from 0 to
20 m/s in 1.0 second.
a) What is the average acceleration of the
passengers on this ride?
b) How fast would they be going if they
accelerated for an additional second at this
rate?
c) Sketch approximate x-vs-t, v-vs-t and a-vs-t
graphs for this ride.
 Practice Problem

Air bags are designed to deploy in 10 ms.

Estimate the acceleration of the front
surface of the bag as it expands.
Express your answer in terms of the
acceleration of gravity g.
 Practice Problem
You are driving through town at 12.0
m/s when suddenly a ball rolls out in
front of you. You apply the brakes and
decelerate at 3.5 m/s2.
a) How far do you travel before stopping?
b) When you have traveled only half the
stopping distance, what is your speed?
c) How long does it take you to stop?
d) Sketch approximate x-vs-t, v-vs-t, a-vs-t
graphs for this situation.
 Practice problems

 Landing with a speed of 115 m/s and

traveling due south, a jet comes to
rest in 7.00 x 102 m. Assuming the jet
slows with constant acceleration, find
the magnitude and direction of its
acceleration.
 Practice problems
 When you see a traffic light turn red
you apply the brakes until you come to
a stop. If your initial speed was 12
m/s, and you were headed due west,
what was your average acceleration
during braking?
 Suppose the car in the previous
problem comes to rest in 35 m. How
much time does this take?
 Practice problems

 Starting from rest, a boat increases

its speed to 4.30 m/s with constant
acceleration
» (a) What was the boat’s average speed?
» (b) If it takes the boat 5.00 s to reach
this speed, how far has it traveled?
 Practice problems

 A cheetah accelerates from rest to

25 m/s in 6.2 s. Assuming constant
acceleration,
» (a) how far has the cheetah run in this
time?
» (b) How far has the cheetah run in 3.1 s?
 Model problem

 A kid slides down a hill with an

acceleration of 3.0 m/s2. If he starts
from rest, how far has he traveled in
» (a) 1.0 s?
» (b) 2.0 s?
» (c) 3.0 s?
 Model Problem
 Two cars drive on a straight highway. At
time t = 0, car A passes mile marker 0
traveling due north with a speed of 28.0
m/s. At the same time, car B is 2.0 km
south of mile marker 0 traveling at 30.0
m/s due south. Car A is speeding up with an
acceleration of magnitude 1.5 m/s2, and car
B is slowing down with an acceleration of
magnitude 2.0 m/s2. Write x-vs-t equation
of motion for both cars.
 Model Problem

 A 1-ton baby elephant jumps onto the

roof of a Volkswagon. Upon impact,
the elephant’s speed is 5.0 m/s. The
elephant makes a dent in the roof of
the Volkswagon that is 50 cm deep.
What is the magnitude of the
elephants deceleration, assuming it is
constant.
 Model Problem

 Superman leaps into the air and moves

straight upward with constant
acceleration. After 5 seconds,
Superman has reached a height of
2,000 m.
 A) What is Superman’s acceleration?
 B) What is his speed at this time?
 Model Problem

 A yacht cruising at 2.0 m/s is shifted

into neutral. After coasting 8.0 m, the
engine is engaged again and the yacht
resumes cruising at a reduced speed
of 1.5 m/s. How long did it take the
yacht to coast the 8.0 m?