Kinematics

Kinematics is the study of motion without

considering its causes.
Rest and Motion :
Rest and motion are relative terms.“An object
is at rest if it does not change position with
respect to its surrounding with the passing
time.”
“An object is said to be in motion if it changes
its position with respect to its surrounding with
the passage of time.”
Motion is classified into three main categories

1. One – dimensional

2. Two – dimensional

3. Three – dimensional
Distance and Displacement:
Distance and displacement are two quantities that may seem to mean the same
thing yet have distinctly different definitions and meanings.
• Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how much ground an object has
covered" during its motion.
Distance and Displacement:
Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to "how far out of place
an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.
Displacement and Distance:
Distance Displacement

It is the length of the actual It is the shortest distance

path between the initial and between initial and final position
final position moved by the of the body.
OR
body”. It is “the change in position in a
particular direction and is
represented by a vector drawn
from initial position to final
position”.

It is a scalar quantity It is a vector quantity

Distance between two points Displacement between two
tells exactly how the object points does not tell exactly how
moved between these two the object moved between these
Example :
An athlete moving along x-axis where xi is his initial and xf is his
final position. 
The displacement of an athlete x is

 x  x f  xi

Symbol ‘’ is used to denote a change in physical quantity.


(i)  x is positive if xf  xi

(ii) x is negative if xf  xi
(iii) Zero if xi = xf.
Example

Find the distance and displacement of a body in the following cases:

A car completes a half circle of radius 10.0 m.
Distance covered = half the perimeter of circle = 2r 10m
2
2(3.14)10 A B
  31.4m
2
Displacement = 2 x radius

= 2 x 10 = 20 m

(i) A car completes a full circle of radius 10.0 m.

Distance covered = perimeter of circle

= 2r  2(3.14)10  62.8m

Displacement = final position – initial position

=0
 Problem-Solving Steps
While there is no simple step-by-step method that works for every problem, however,

the following general procedures facilitate problem solving and make it more

meaningful.

A certain amount of creativity and insight is required as well.

Step 1

• Draw a simple sketch to elaborate the problem.

• Examine the situation to determine which physical principles are involved.

• After identifying the physical principles, apply the equations representing those

principles.

• The correct equation is essential, because equations represent physical principles,

laws of nature, and relationships among physical quantities.

Step 2

• Make a list of what is given data (known) or that can be inferred from the problem statement.
• Remember, “stopped” means velocity is zero, and we often can take initial time and position as
zero.
• If the object is dropped, then the initial velocity is zero.

Step 3

• Identify exactly what needs to be determined in the problem (the unknowns). Making a list.

Step 4

• Find an equation or set of equations that can help you solve the problem. The list of knowns and
unknowns can help here.

• If the equation contains more than one unknown, then an additional equation is needed to solve the
problem.

• We may have to use two (or more) different equations to get the final answer.
Step 5

• Substitute the knowns along into the appropriate equation, and obtain numerical

solutions.

• Write units.

Step 6

• Check the answer to see if it is reasonable: Does it make sense? This final step is

extremely important—the goal of physics is to accurately describe nature.

• To see if the answer is reasonable, check both its magnitude and its sign, in addition

to its units.

• When solving problems, we often perform these steps in different order, and we

also tend to do several steps.

Unreasonable Results
• Physics must describe nature accurately.
• Use the following strategies to determine whether an answer is reasonable and, if
it is not, to determine what is the cause.
Step 1
• Solve the problem using strategies as outlined and in the format followed in the
worked examples in the text.
Step 2
• Check to see if the answer is reasonable. Is it too large or too small, or does it
have the wrong sign, improper units,…? In this case, we may need to convert
meters per second into a more familiar unit, such as miles per hour.
Step 3
• If the answer is unreasonable, look for what specifically could cause the identified
difficulty.
 Class work:
Q1 John drove off his car 1 km North, 2 km West, 1 km South, and finally
2 km East.
What is the total distance from the starting point?
What is the total displacement from the starting point?
 Class work:
Q2 What is the displacement of Saeed if he begins at AURAK, runs for 10
km to Carrefour and then returns back to AURAK?
What is the total distance?
Speed and Velocity:
Just as distance and displacement have distinctly different meanings, so do
speed and velocity.
Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to "how fast an object is moving."
Speed
can be thought of as the rate at which an object covers distance.
Speed and Velocity:
Velocity is a vector quantity that refers to "the rate at which an object changes
its position." 𝑑𝑥
𝒗=
𝑑𝑡
Average speed and average velocity

Average Speed ( v ) Average velocity ( v )
“It is defined as the total distance ( x) It is defined as the “rate of change of
covered divided by the total time (t) it displacement”
takes to cover that distance”.

If ‘ x’is the displacement in the time interval
total.dis tan ce x
Average speed (v) =  ‘t’ during which the displacement occurred
total.time t Where x and x f are the positions of the
i
body at times and t respectively
ti f

 x x f  xi
v 
t t f  t i
Scalar quantity Vector quantity
 Uniform / Constant Velocity: (also known as uniform motion):
Sl no Uniform Speed Uniform velocity

1. If a body covers equal distances in If a body covers equal displacements in

equal intervals of time, how small equal intervals of time, how small these
these intervals may be then that intervals may be then that velocity is
velocity is called uniform or called uniform or constant velocity.
constant velocity.

2 It is a scalar quantity It is a vector quantity

3 Distance –time graph Displacement – time graph

Displacement(m)
Distance(m)
v
x f  xi 10 A
10 A t f  ti

10  0
v 0 2 4 Time /s
40
0 2 4 Time(s)
Slope of displacement time graph = velocity
Slope of distance time graph = speed

velocity =  x x f  xi v = 2.5ms-1
speed = v = 2.5ms-1 v 
t t f  ti
4 Speed –time graph Velocity –time graph
velocity/ ms-1
Speed ms-1 10 A
10 A B
B 0 2 4 Time /s
0 2 4 Time /s

Area under speed –time graph = Area under velocity –time graph =
distance travelled. displacement travelled.

Distance travelled (X) = bxh Displacement travelled (X)= bxh

X = 4 X 10 X = 4 X 10

= 40m = 40m
Example 3
The velocity –time graph Fig. BELOW of an object moving along a straight
line is shown below: Calculate the distance covered by the object between
v
(i) t = 0 to t = 4 s

(ii) t = 4 to t = 6 s

(iii) t=0 to t = 6s

Solution : Fig.
(i) The distance between t = 0 to t = 4 s is x1 (say) and
x1 = area of rectangle ABCD = AB x CD = 20 x 4 = 80 m

(ii) The distance between t = 4 s to t = 6 s is x2 (say)

x2 = area of triangle DCE = ½ x DC x CE = ½ x 20 x 2 = 20 m

(iii)Total distance covered in time t = 0 to t = 6 s is

x = Area of rectangle ABCD + Area of triangle DCE
x = x 1 + x2
= 80 m + 20 m
= 100 m
 
1.Instantaneous Velocity (v ):
The velocity of a body at a particular instant of time, is called instantaneous velocity
Mathematically, 
 x 𝑑𝑥
v  lim t 0 ¿
t 𝑑𝑡

Graphical Interpretation of Instantaneous Velocity :

To find the instantaneous velocity at t = 1.0 s ,

we have to find the average velocity during an
infinitesimally short time interval.

The instantaneous velocity (v )’of the object
at t = 1.0 s is equal to slope of the line tangent
to the position –time curve at B is defined to be
instantaneous velocity at that time.
The instantaneous velocity at point B ,
at t = 1.0 s is

  x (100  60)
(v)    4.3m / s
t 1.8  0..63
Fig. 2.5
 Instantaneous Velocity Versus Average Velocity
The position of a particle is given by:
x(t)=3.0t+0.5t3
a. find the instantaneous velocity at t=2.0s.
b. Calculate the average velocity between 1.0 s and 3.0 s.

Solution
a. v(t)=dx(t)dt=3.0+1.5t2m/s.
Substituting t = 2.0 s into this equation gives
v(2.0s)=[3.0+1.5(2.0)2]= 9.0m/s.
To determine the average velocity of the particle between 1.0 s and 3.0 s, we calculate the
values of x(1.0 s) and x(3.0 s):
x(1.0s)=[(3.0)(1.0)+0.5(1.0)3]m=3.5m
x(3.0s)=[(3.0)(3.0)+0.5(3.0)3]m=22.5m.
Then the average velocity is
v=(x(3.0)−x(1.0))/(t(3.0)−t(1.0))
=(22.5−3.5)/(3.0−1.0) = 9.5m/s.
A particle moves along the x-axis according to x(t)=10t−2t2
(a) What is the instantaneous velocity at t = 2 s and t = 3 s?
(b) What is the instantaneous speed at these times?
(c) What is the average velocity between t = 2 s and t = 3 s?