Introduction and Kinematics

Physics
Unit 1
Chapters 1 - 3
Credits
• This Slideshow was developed to accompany the textbook
• OpenStax Physics
• Available for free at https://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/college-physics
• By OpenStax College and Rice University
• 2013 edition
• Some examples and diagrams are taken from the OpenStax Physics and Cutnell &
Johnson Physics 6th ed.

Slides created by
Richard Wright, Andrews Academy
[email protected]
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
In this lesson you will…
• Explain the difference between a principle and a law.
• Explain the difference between a model and a theory.
• Perform unit conversions both in the SI and English units.
• Explain the most common prefixes in the SI units and be
able to write them in scientific notation.
• Determine the appropriate number of significant figures in
both addition and subtraction, as well as multiplication and
division calculations.
• Calculate the percent uncertainty of a measurement.
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• Physics is the study of the rules (usually stated mathematically) by which the
physical world operates.
• These rules describe “how” things happen. Laws of Nature
• These rules don’t say “why” things happen. Physicists are most interested in
being able to predict what will happen. Many physicists think that because
they can say how things happen, they have answered the why.
• Why does gravity pull things together? Newton described the effects over 100
years before anyone asked why gravity happened. Einstein suggested that
mass bends space-time, but that is just a model.
• Physics deals with “how”. “Why” is philosophy.
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• Model, Theory, Law
• Model
• A representation of something that is often too difficult (or impossible) to display
directly.
• It is only accurate under limited situations.
• Theory
• an explanation for patterns in nature that is supported by scientific evidence and
verified multiple times by various groups of researchers.
• Law
• Uses concise language to describe a generalized pattern in nature that is supported
by scientific evidence and repeated experiments.
• Often, a law can be expressed in the form of a single mathematical equation.
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• Scientific Method

• Can be used to solve many types of problems, not just science

• Usually begins with observation and question about the phenomenon to be

studied
• Next preliminary research is done and hypothesis is developed
• Then experiments are performed to test the hypothesis
• Finally the tests are analyzed and a conclusion is drawn
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• Units
• USA uses English system as was used by the
British Empire
• Rest of world uses SI system (International
System or Metric System)

• Fundamental Units - Can only be defined by

procedure to measure them
• Time = second (s)
• Distance = meter (m)
• Mass = kilogram (kg)
• Electric Current = ampere (A)

• All other units are derived from these 4

01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
Prefix Symbol Value Prefix Symbol Value
• Metric Prefixes exa E 1018 deci d 10-1
• SI system based on powers peta P 1015 centi c 10-2
of ten tera T 1012 milli m 10-3

• Memorize from T to p giga G 109 micro μ 10-6

mega M 106 nano n 10-9
kilo k 103 pico p 10-12
hecto h 102 femto f 10-15
decka da 101 atto a 10-18
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• Unit conversions
• Multiply by conversion factors so that the unwanted unit cancels
out

• Convert 20 Gm to m
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• Convert 5 cg to kg
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• Convert 25 km/h to m/s
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• Accuracy is how close a measurement is to the correct value for
that measurement.
• Precision of a measurement system is refers to how close the
agreement is between repeated measurements.
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty

Accurate but not precise Precise but not accurate

01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• The accuracy and precision of a measuring system leads to
uncertainty.

• A device can repeated get the same measurement (precise), but

always be wrong (not accurate).
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• Significant Figures
• Used to reflect uncertainty in
measurements
• Each measuring device can only
measure so accurately
• The last digit is always an estimate
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• To find significant figures
• Ignore placeholder zeros between the decimal point and the first nonzero digit
• Count the number of other digits
• 0.000000602
• 3 sig figs
• 1032000
• 4 sig figs
• 1.023
• 4 sig figs
01-01 Introduction, Units, and Uncertainty
• Rules for combining significant figures
• Addition or subtraction
• The answer can contain no more decimal places than the least precise
measurement.

• Multiplication or division
• The result should have the same number of significant figures as the
quantity having the least significant figures entering into the calculation.

• I will accept 3 significant figures for all problems in future assignments.

01-02 Displacement and Vectors
• Objectives 3. If the smallest marks on the ruler were cm, then
• Use a ruler to measure in cm. what unit would you be estimating?
• Materials 4. Measure the shortest side of a 3x5 card.
• Metric Ruler
5. Measure the longest side of a 3x5 card.
• 3x5 Card
6. Measure a diagonal of a 3x5 card.
• Background
• The last digit on a measurement is always an estimate.
7. Use the Pythagorean Theorem with the short and
When measuring using a ruler or meter stick, you can long sides to calculate the diagonal to the correct
estimate between the smallest marks. number of significant figures.
1. What unit are the smallest marks on the metric side of 8. Calculate the percent error using
the ruler/meter stick?
2. If you are measuring in cm, how many decimal places can
you measure including the estimate between the smallest
marks? The percent error should be less than 5%.
01-02 Displacement and Vectors
In this lesson you will…
• Define position, displacement, distance, and distance traveled.
• Explain the relationship between position and displacement.
• Distinguish between displacement and distance traveled.
• Calculate displacement and distance given initial position,
final position, and the path between the two.
• Define and distinguish between scalar and vector quantities.
• Assign a coordinate system for a scenario involving one-
dimensional motion.
01-02 Displacement and Vectors
• Kinematics studies motion • Position is relative to a
without thinking about its reference frame
cause • Earth is the most common
reference frame, but it could
• Position be something else
• The location where • Most common coordinate
something is relative to a system is x-y coordinate system
coordinate system called a
frame of reference
01-02 Displacement and Vectors
• Displacement
• Change in position relative to a
reference frame

• Vector
• Has direction and magnitude
• Path does not matter
• Only depends on final and
initial position
01-02 Displacement and Vectors
• What is the displacement of the
path in the diagram?
01-02 Displacement and Vectors
• Distance
• Total length of the path taken
• Scalar
• Only has magnitude
01-02 Displacement and Vectors
• You drive 20 km east, then turn around and drive 15 km west. What
is your displacement?

• 5 km east of your starting point

• What is your distance traveled?
01-03 Velocity and Graphs
In this lesson you will…
• Explain the relationships between instantaneous velocity, average
velocity, instantaneous speed, average speed,
displacement, and time.
• Calculate velocity and speed given initial position, initial time, final
position, and final time.
• Derive a graph of velocity vs. time given a graph of position vs. time.
• Interpret a graph of velocity vs. time.
• Describe a straight-line graph in terms of its slope and y-intercept.
• Determine average velocity or instantaneous velocity from a graph of
position vs. time.
• Derive a graph of velocity vs. time from a graph of position vs. time.
01-03 Velocity and Graphs
• Complete the lab on your worksheet

• Vernier Graphical App

• New Experiment
• Manual Entry
• Horizontal in X column
• Vertical in Y column
• Button in lower left
• Apply Curve Fit
• Choose the type of fit
01-03 Velocity and Graphs
• Change in time

• Often is 0, so
01-03 Velocity and Graphs
• The slope of a position vs time
graph is the velocity
• Velocity is rate of change of
position

• If the graph is not a straight line,

then use the slope of a tangent
line drawn to that point.
01-03 Velocity and Graphs
• Velocity is a vector (has direction)
• Speed is a scalar (no direction)
• Units of both are m/s
01-03 Velocity and Graphs
• The graph at right shows the 4.2
height of a ball thrown straight
up vs time. Find the velocity of
the ball at 2 seconds.

1.7
01-03 Velocity and Graphs
• 27. (a) Sketch a graph of
velocity versus time
corresponding to the graph of
displacement versus time given
in the graph. (b) Identify the
time or times (ta, tb, tc, etc.) at
which the instantaneous
velocity is greatest. (c) At which
times is it zero? (d) At which
times is it negative?
01-03 Velocity and Graphs
• The spine-tailed swift is the fastest bird in powered flight. On one flight a
particular bird flies 306 m east, then turns around and flies 406.5 m back
west. This flight takes 15 s. What is the bird’s average velocity?

• 6.7 m/s west

• Average speed?

• Which of these would we use to say how fast the bird is?
• Average speed
01-04 Acceleration and Graphs
In this lesson you will…
• Define and distinguish between instantaneous
acceleration, average acceleration, and deceleration.
• Calculate acceleration given initial time, initial velocity,
final time, and final velocity.
• Determine average or instantaneous acceleration from a
graph of velocity vs. time.
• Derive a graph of acceleration vs. time from a graph of
velocity vs. time.
01-04 Acceleration and Graphs

• Acceleration
• Rate of change of velocity

• Vector
• Unit:
• If the acceleration is same direction as motion, then the
object is increasing speed.
• If the acceleration is opposite direction as motion, then
the object is decreasing speed.
01-04 Acceleration and Graphs
• Constant acceleration
• The graph of position–time is
parabolic
• ( is quadratic)
• The graph of velocity–time is
linear
• ( is linear)
01-04 Acceleration and Graphs
• A dropped object near the earth will accelerate downward at 9.8 m/s2.
(Use -9.8 m/s2.) If the initial velocity is 1 m/s downward, what will be
it’s velocity at the end of 3 s? Is it speeding up or slowing down?

• 30.4 m/s downward

01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion
with Constant Acceleration
In this lesson you will…
• Calculate displacement of an object that is not accelerating, given
initial position and velocity.
• Calculate final velocity of an accelerating object, given initial
velocity, acceleration, and time.
• Calculate displacement and final position of an accelerating
object, given initial position, initial velocity, time, and
acceleration.
• Apply problem-solving steps and strategies to solve problems of
one-dimensional kinematics.
• Apply strategies to determine whether or not the result of a
problem is reasonable, and if not, determine the cause.
01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration
• Complete the lab on your worksheet

• We have already learned that

• and

• If the initial velocity is 0 and the

acceleration is constant, then

• Solve this for vf.

01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration
• Assume , so and acceleration is constant

• and
01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration
01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration

•
•
•
01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration

•
•
•
•
01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration
01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration
• Examine the situation to determine which physical principles are
involved.
• Maybe draw a picture
• Make a list of what is given or can be inferred from the problem.
• Identify exactly what needs to be determined in the problem.
• Find an equation or set of equations that can help you solve the problem.
• Substitute the knowns along with their units into the appropriate
equation, and Solve
• Check the answer to see if it is reasonable: Does it make sense?
01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration
• A plane starting from rest accelerates to in . How far did the plane
travel during this time?

• 
01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration
• To avoid an accident, a car decelerates at for and covers of road.

• ,,,,
What was the car’s initial velocity?
01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration
• A cheetah is walking at 1.0 m/s when it sees a zebra 25 m away.
What acceleration would be required to reach 20.0 m/s in that
distance?
01-05 Equations for One-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration
• The left ventricle of the heart accelerates
blood from rest to a velocity of +26 cm/s.
(a) If the displacement of the blood during
the acceleration is +2.0 cm, determine its
acceleration (in cm/s2). (b) How much
time does blood take to reach its final
velocity?
01-06 Falling Objects
In this lesson you will…
• Describe the effects of gravity on objects in motion.
• Describe the motion of objects that are in free fall.
• Calculate the position and velocity of objects in free fall.
01-06 Falling Objects
• Complete the lab on your 1. Use to find the average
worksheet velocity.
2. Find the final speed of the
• We have already learned that marble.
3. So calculate the acceleration
• If the initial velocity is 0 and the of the marble.
acceleration is constant, then

• Also
01-06 Falling Objects
• Free fall is when an object is
moving only under the
influence of gravity
• In a vacuum all objects fall at
same acceleration

• Any object thrown up, down, or

dropped has this acceleration
01-06 Falling Objects
• Do feather falling demo • Real life
• Air resistance

• Use the one-dimensional

equations of motion
01-06 Falling Objects
• You drop a coin from the top of a hundred story building (1000 m).
If you ignore air resistance, how fast will it be falling right before it
hits the ground?

•
01-06 Falling Objects
• How long does it take to hit the ground?
•
01-06 Falling Objects
• A baseball is hit straight up into the air. If the initial velocity was 20
m/s, how high will the ball go?
01-06 Falling Objects
• How long will it be until the catcher catches the ball at the same height it
was hit?

• or
•
•
01-06 Falling Objects
• How fast is it going when catcher catches it?

• so
01-07 Two-Dimensional Vectors
In this lesson you will…
• Observe that motion in two dimensions consists of horizontal and
vertical components.
• Understand the independence of horizontal and vertical vectors in
two-dimensional motion. • Understand the rules of vector addition,
subtraction, and multiplication.
• Apply graphical methods of vector addition and subtraction to
determine the displacement of moving objects. • Understand the rules
of vector addition and subtraction using analytical methods.
• Apply analytical methods to determine vertical and horizontal
component vectors.
• Apply analytical methods to determine the magnitude and direction
of a resultant vector.
01-07 Two-Dimensional Vectors
Vectors
• Vectors are measurements with
magnitude and direction
• They are represented by
arrows
• The length of the arrow is
the magnitude
• The direction of the arrow is
the direction
01-07 Two-Dimensional Vectors

• Vectors can be represented in component

form
• Make a right triangle using the vector as
the hypotenuse
• Use sine and cosine to find the
horizontal (x) component and the
vertical (y) component
• Assign negative signs to any component
going down or left
01-07 Two-Dimensional Vectors
• A football player kicks a ball at 15 m/s at 30°
above the ground. Find the horizontal and vertical
components of this velocity.

• Horizontal:
• Vertical:
01-07 Two-Dimensional Vectors
Scalar Multiplication
• Multiplying a vector by a single
number
• Draw the vector that many times
in a line
• Or multiply the components by
that number
• A negative vector means
multiply by -1, so it goes in the
opposite direction
01-07 Two-Dimensional Vectors
Vector Addition - Graphical
Method
• Draw the first vector.
• Draw the second vector where
the first one ends (tip-to-tail).
• Draw the resultant vector from
where the first vector begins to
where the second vector ends.
• Measure the resultant's length
and direction.
01-07 Two-Dimensional Vectors
• Add the following vectors graphically.
at 45° N of E, at 45° W of N.
01-07 Two-Dimensional Vectors
Vector Addition – Component Method 3. Add all the y-components
• Vectors can be described by its components to show 4. Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the
how far it goes in the x and y directions. magnitude of the resultant
• To add vectors, you simply add the x-component and 5. Use tan-1 to find the direction (the direction is
y-components to get total (resultant) x and y always found at the tail-end of the resultant)
components. • Note: Drawing pictures and triangles helps immensely.
1. Find the components for all the vectors to be
added
2. Add all the x-components
01-07 Two-Dimensional Vectors
Add the follow vectors. x y
at 25° N of E; C
at 60° S of E
D

C D

R
01-07 Two-Dimensional Vectors
A jogger runs 145 m in a x y
direction 20.0° east of north A
and then 105 m in a direction
35.0° south of east. Determine B
the magnitude and direction of
jogger's position from her R
starting point.

B
A
R
01-08 Projectile Motion
In this lesson you will…
• Identify and explain the properties of a projectile, such as
acceleration due to gravity, range, maximum height, and
trajectory.
• Determine the location and velocity of a projectile at
different points in its trajectory.
• Apply the principle of independence of motion to solve
projectile motion problems.
01-08 Projectile Motion
• Complete the lab on your worksheet.

• Use a pushpin to attach one end of the ruler

into the corkboard so the end hangs over
the corkboard. The ruler should be able to
pivot on the pushpin.
• Place one washer on the ruler so that it
hangs over the edge of the corkboard. The
other washer should be placed near the
edge of the corkboard.
01-08 Projectile Motion
• Objects in flight only under influence of gravity
• x and y components are independent
• Time is only quantity that is the same in
both dimensions
• x-component velocity constant since nothing
pulling it sideways
• Use
• y-component changes because gravity pulling
it down
• Use equations of kinematics
01-08 Projectile Motion
• If the starting and ending heights are the same, the distance the
object goes can be found with the range equation
01-08 Projectile Motion
• A meatball with v = 5.0 m/s
rolls off a 1.0 m high table.
How long does it take to hit the
floor?

• y-motion only
01-08 Projectile Motion
• What was the velocity when it hit? • x-direction
• Both x and y motion
• x: • y-direction
• y:

𝑚
6.7 𝑎𝑡 42° 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 h𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙
𝑠
01-08 Projectile Motion

• A truck (v = 11.2 m/s) turned a • y-direction:

corner too sharp and lost part of
the load. A falling box will break if
it hits the ground with a velocity
greater than 15 m/s. The height
of the truck bed is 1.5 m. Will the
box break?
• The box doesn’t break
• x:
• y:
01-08 Projectile Motion
• While driving down a road a bad guy shoots a bullet straight up into
the air. If there was no air resistance where would the bullet land –
in front, behind, or on him?

• If air resistance present, bullet slows and lands behind.

• No air resistance the vx doesn’t change and bullet lands on him.
01-08 Projectile Motion
• If a gun were fired horizontally and a bullet were dropped from the
same height at the same time, which would hit the ground first?
01-08 Projectile Motion
• A batter hits a ball at 35° with a • y-direction:
velocity of 32 m/s. How high
did the ball go?
• x:
• y:
01-08 Projectile Motion
• How long was the ball in the • y-direction:
air?
• x:
• y:
01-08 Projectile Motion
• How far did the ball go? • x-direction:
• x:

Or use the range equation

Where g is positive, is the launch angle, and

01-08b Projectile Motion Lab
• IMPORTANT! The marble must never leave the desk
• Place the target at the calculated
when taking data.
location.
• Make a gentle ramp using your ruler and a book.
• Call over the teacher.
• Roll the marble down the ramp several times to
determine the average speed it will have when it • When the teacher is watching,
rolls off the desk. (We did this in a previous lab.)
• Take measurements to calculate the time until the roll the marble down the ramp
marble hits the floor. and see where it lands. The
• Using the average speed and time of free fall,
calculate the landing spot for your marble from
target gives your grade.
directly below the edge of your desk. Grade = __________________________