Chapter 2

Motion Along a
Straight Line

Prepared and Reported by:


ERECKA B. SADIA
MA Science Education


Reported and Submitted to:


VIRGINIA S. SOBREMISANA Ph.D.
Professorial Lecturer

DATE: June 28, 2014


This chapter uses the definitions of length and time to
study the motions of particles in space. This task is at
the core of physics and applies to all objects
regardless of size (quarks to galaxies).
Describing Motion
In 1543, the book Six Books Concerning the Revolutions
of the Heavenly Orbs was published by the Polish
astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus to describe the
revolutions in heavens. The creation of the book paved
the way for the discovery of classical mechanics and the
adoption of the symbolically named scientific
revolution. Such upheaval culminated in the publication
of another book called Newtons Principia 150 years
later. With these discoveries, strategies for calculations
needed to predict the positions of objects in varying
situations have been presented. The changes in positions
of objects are described in a branch of Physics called
MECHANICS.
MECHANICS
Involves analysis of forces acting on bodies, whether
at rest or motion.
STATICS
Refers to the study of bodies that are in state of
constant motion.
DYNAMICS
Refers to the study of motion where acceleration is
present.
KINEMATICS
Refers to the description of motion without regard
what causing them.

How objects move as a
function of time?
Kinematics: describes
motion.
Why objects move the way
they do?
Dynamics: deals with the
causes of motion.
The planets, the world, and everything in it, moves.
Water falls from the mountain. A vehicle carries you
from home to school. All these things have one
thing in common: one object move from one place
to another.
WHAT IS MOTION?
It is defined as a continues change of position
with respect to a reference point.

REFERENCE POINT
It is described as a physical entity such as earths
surface or a moving vehicle to which the position
and motion of the object is relative
A point in space, regardless of the type of
geometry that you are using that stays still and
does not move. From this point the behavior of
an object moving through that space can be
determined.

MOTION
RECTILINEAR CURVILINEAR
One-dimensional position vector
Position:
-Location in space.
-Defined by x, y and z
We locate an object by finding its position with
respect to the origin
The magnitude of the position vector is a scalar that denotes
the distance between the object and the origin.

The direction of the position vector is positive when the object
is located to the positive side of axis from the origin and
negative when the object is located to the negative side of axis
from the origin.
Person outside the bus
The bus moved away from the tree

The person is comparing the position of the bus with respect to the position of the tree

Reference (or origin) is position of the tree
0 5
10
Person inside the bus
The tree moved away from the bus.

The person is comparing the position of the tree with respect to the position of the bus.

Reference (or origin) is position of the bus.
0 5 10
Motion is relative
Both the observations are correct. The difference is what is taken as the origin.

Motion is always relative. When one says that a object is moving, he/she is comparing
the position of that object with another object.
Motion is therefore change in position of an object with respect to another object over
time.

Kinematics studies motion without delving into what caused the motion. It is the
description of motion in terms of time, distance, displacement, speed, velocity and
acceleration.
KINEMATICS


Motion can be described
according to its type:

1. Uniform Motion
It is characterized by a body moving in equal
distances for equal intervals of time.

2. Uniformly Accelerated motion
Illustrates a body moving with motion unvarying
increase in velocity in equal interval of time.


Distance and Displacement
Distance = length of the actual path taken to go from
point of origin to destination

Displacement = length of the straight line joining the
point of origin to the destination or in other words the
length of the shortest path

Displacement is the change in position (or location)
Calculated by: x = x
2
- x
1
Displacement is a vector with both magnitude and
direction
Checkpoint
Suppose it was given that the person started by point A and walked in a straight line for
5 km. Can you calculate the end point of his/her journey?
A
No, the person could be anywhere on the
circle of 5 km radius.
Unless we know the direction of the motion
we cannot calculate the end point of the
journey.
Sample Problem
Brien and Chloe both start from their house. Brien walks 2 km to the east while Chloe
walk 1 km to the west and then turns back and walks 1 km.

Distance travelled by them is the same (2 km)

Is their displacement also the same?
No Chloe is back home and her displacement is 0 m.

This is because direction of motion is different in both cases.

You require both distance and direction to determine displacement.
Displacement
Displacement measures
the change in position
represented as Ax or Ay
m
m m
x x x
i f
70
10 80
1
+ =
=
= A

m
m m
x x x
i f
60
80 20
2
=
=
= A

EXERCISE 1: Determine the displacement in the following cases:
(a) A particle moves along a line from
to
(b) A particle moves from
to
(c) A particle starts at 5 m, moves to 2 m, and then returns to 5 m
EXERCISE 2: Displacements
Three pairs of initial and final positions along an
x axis represent the location of objects at two
successive times: (pair 1) 3 m, +5 m; (pair 2)
3 m, 7 m; (pair 3) 7 m, 3 m.

(a) Which pairs give a negative displacement?
(b) Calculate the value of the displacement in
each case using vector notation.
Rate of Motion
Sample Problem
r = 100 m
The adjoining figure shows a Formula 1 racing
track. A driver is did 10 laps, what is the
distance travelled by the driver at the end of
the race?

What is the displacement?

If the driver took 125.6 seconds to complete
the laps, what is his speed and velocity in
km/hr?
Speed
Speed is a scalar quantity (no information
about sign/direction is need)
same units as velocity
Average speed = total distance / total time
Savg = total distance divided by t
Speed is the magnitude of the velocity
Describes only how fast a particle is
moving

MOTION IN ONE DIMENSION
Average Speed
How fast an object is moving.

s
ave
= d
At
where:
s
ave
= rate (speed)
d = distance
A t = elapsed time
SI unit:
m/s

Average speed is
always a positive
number.
Average vs. Instantaneous Speed
During a typical trip to school, your car will undergo a series of changes in its speed.
If you were to inspect the speedometer readings at regular intervals, you would
notice that it changes often. The speedometer of a car reveals information about
the instantaneous speed of your car. It shows your speed at a particular instant in
time.
The instantaneous speed of an object is not to be confused with the average speed.
Instantaneous speed is the speed at any given instance in time. Average speed is a
measure of the distance traveled in a given period of time; it is sometimes referred
to as the distance per time ratio. Suppose that during your trip to school, you
traveled a distance of 5 miles and the trip lasted 0.2 hours (12 minutes). The average
speed of your car could be determined as

Velocity
It is the rate of change of the
position of an object, equivalent
to a specification of its speed and
direction of motion.

Both magnitude and direction
are required to define it.

Average Velocity
It takes time for an object to undergo a displacement
The average velocity is the rate at which the
displacement occurs









t
x x
t
x
v
i f
average
A

=
A
A
=

Average Velocity
v
ave
= x
t
where:
v
ave
= average velocity
x = displacement
t = change in time

2 1
2 1
Displacement
Average velocity=
Elapsed time
x x x x
v i i
t t t t
A A
= =
A A
Average Velocity
x
2
and x
1
are components of the position vectors at
the final and initial times, and angle brackets denotes
the average of a quantity.

Direction will be the same as the direction of the
displacement (At is always positive)

SI unit:
m/s
Average velocity is
+ or depending
on direction.
Example:
s m
s
m
t
x
v
average
7
10
70
1
1
+ =
+
=
A
A
=

Suppose that in both cases truck

covers the distance in 10 seconds:
s m
s
m
t
x
v
average
6
10
60
2
2
=

=
A
A
=

Instantaneous Velocity vs. Speed

The instantaneous velocity of an object can be
obtained by taking the slope of a graph of the
position component vs. time at the point
associated with that moment in time

The instantaneous velocity can be obtained by
taking a derivative with respect to time of the
object's position.

Instantaneous speed, which is typically called
simply speed, is just the magnitude of the
instantaneous velocity
Instantaneous Velocity
Instantaneous velocity is defined as the limit of
the average velocity as the time interval becomes
infinitesimally short, or as the time interval
approaches zero



The instantaneous velocity indicates what is
happening at every point of time
0 0
lim lim
f i
inst
t t
x x
x dx
v
t t dt
A A

A
= = =
A A
Instantaneous Velocity
Draw a tangent line to the curve at
B. The slope of this line gives the
instantaneous velocity at that
specific time.
t
x
B
Ax
At
v
inst
= Ax/At
A student standing still with
the back of her belt at a
horizontal distance of 2.00 m
to the left of a spot of the
sidewalk designated as the
origin.
A student starting to walk
slowly. The horizontal position
of the back of her belt starts
at a horizontal distance of
2.47 m to the left of a spot
designated as the origin. She
is speeding up for a few
seconds and then slowing
down.
Graphical Interpretation of Instantaneous
Velocity
Instantaneous velocity is the slope of the tangent
to the curve at the time of interest








How to Describe Change of Velocity ?
Practice Problem
Describe the motion of this
object.
It is stationary.
t
x
Practice Problem
Describe the motion of this
object.
It is moving at constant velocity in
the + x direction.
t
x
Practice Problem
What physical feature of the
graph gives the constant velocity?
The slope, because Ax/At is rise
over run!
t
x
Ax
At
A
B
v
ave
= Ax/At
Practice Problem
t
x
Does this graph represent motion at
constant velocity?
No, since there is not one constant slope
for this graph.
Practice Problem
Can you determine average velocity from
the time at point A to the time at point B
from this graph?
Yes. By drawing a line connecting A and B
and determine the slope of this line.
t
x
A
B
Ax
At
v
ave
= Ax/At
Rate of Change of Velocity
Definition of Acceleration




2 1
2 1
Change in velocity
Average acceleration=
Elapsed time
v v v
a
t t t
A
= =
A
Any change in velocity is called acceleration.
Acceleration (a)
The sign (+ or -) of acceleration indicates its
direction.
Acceleration can be
speeding up
slowing down
Turning

SI Unit of Average Acceleration: meter per second
squared (m/s
2
)
An object is accelerated even if all that
changes is only the direction of its velocity and
not its speed.

It is important to realize that speeding up is
not always associated with an acceleration
that is positive. Likewise, slowing down is not
always associated with an acceleration that is
negative. The relative directions of an object's
velocity and acceleration determine whether
the object will speed up or slow down.
Acceleration (a)
Average Acceleration
Changing velocity (non-uniform) means an
acceleration is present
Average acceleration is the rate of change of the
velocity




Average acceleration is a vector quantity (i.e.
described by both magnitude and direction)
t
v v
t
v
a
i f
average
A

=
A
A
=

Instantaneous and Uniform

Acceleration
Instantaneous acceleration is the limit of the
average acceleration as the time interval goes to
zero



When the instantaneous accelerations are always
the same, the acceleration will be uniform
The instantaneous accelerations will all be equal to the
average acceleration
0 0
lim lim
f i
inst
t t
v v
v dv
a
t t dt
A A

A
= = =
A A
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 Ax values.
The velocity vs time graph
reflects the increasing
velocity.
One-dimensional Motion With Constant
Acceleration
at v v
o f
+ =
Shows velocity as a function of acceleration and time
t
v v
t t
v v
a
o f
f
o f

=

=
0
a a =

One-dimensional Motion With Constant

Acceleration
Used in situations with uniform acceleration
t
v v
t v x
o f
average
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
= = A
2
2
1
2
o
x v t at A = +
Velocity changes
uniformly!!!
2 2
2
f o
v v a x = + A
at v v
o f
+ =
Notes on the equations
Gives displacement as a function of velocity and time



Gives displacement as a function of time, velocity and
acceleration


Gives velocity as a function of acceleration and
displacement
2
1
2
o
x v t at A = +
2 2
2
f o
v v a x = + A
t
v v
t v x
o f
average
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
= = A
2
Another look at Constant Acceleration
Since lets rewrite it as
dx
v
dt
=
Lets integrate both sides:
dx vdt =
0
0
x t
x
dx v dt =
} }
Then, the result is:
( )
2
0 0
0
1
2
t
o
x x v at dt v t at = + = +
}
o
v v at = +
Just as before!

Summary of Kinematic Equations
Practice Problem
Describe the motion of this object.
It is moving in the +x direction at
constant velocity. It is not accelerating.
t
v
Practice Problem
Describe the motion of this object.
It is stationary.
t
v
Practice Problem
Describe the motion of this object.
It starts from rest and accelerates in
the +x direction. The acceleration is
constant.
t
v
Practice Problem
What physical feature of the
graph gives the acceleration?
The slope, because Av/At is rise
over run!
t
v
Av
At
A
B
a = Av/At
Graphs of Motion
Equations are great for describing idealized
situations, but they don't always cut it.
Sometimes you need a picture to show what's
going on a mathematical picture called a
graph. Graphs are often the best way to convey
descriptions of real world events in a compact
form. Graphs of motion come in several types
depending on which of the kinematic quantities
(time, displacement, velocity, acceleration) are
assigned to which axis.
The Slopes of
Motion Graphs

A considerable amount
of information about the
motion can be obtained
by examining the slope of
the various motion
graphs. The slope of the
graph of position as a
function of time is equal
to the velocity at that
time, and the slope of
the graph of velocity as a
function of time is equal
to the acceleration.
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.
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).
Colonel J. P. Stapp was in his braking rocket sled
Can you tell the direction of the acceleration from the figures?
His body is an accelerometer not a speedometer.
Out
in
Free Fall
Physics
Free-Fall Acceleration
Questions:
Do heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones
when starting from the same position?
Does air resistance matter?
If the free fall motion has a constant
acceleration, what is this acceleration and how
was it found?
How do we solve problems involving free fall?

In 4
th
century , a Greek Philosopher named Aristotle thought
that all objects are naturally attracted towards the earth.
Thus fire rose naturally upward toward the sun and stars.
Stones were earthy and so fell down toward their home in
earth. A big stone was more earthy than a small one and
so should fall faster.
After nineteen centuries, Galileo refuted Aristotles claimed
and argued that objects fall at the same rate regardless of
the difference in mass as observed in his famous
experiment at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, where he dropped
two balls of different sizes and weights. What Galileo found,
is the result of careful measurements, that all falling objects
have the same acceleration at the same place near the
earths surface.
HISTORY
Galileo (1564
1642) and the
Leaning Tower of
Pisa.
Does Air Resistance Matter?
Air Resistance
The force of friction or drag acting on an
object in a direction opposing its motion as
it moves through air.
Hammer & Feather in the Presence
of Air
Hammer & Feather in the absence
of air
Free Fall
Motion along vertical direction.
A state where an object moves under the
sole influence of gravity.
Gravity accelerates the object toward the
earth the entire time it rises, and the entire
time it falls.
a = -g = -9.8 m/s
2
Acceleration is always constant and toward
the center of the earth!!!
There are two important
motion characteristics that
are true of free-falling
objects:

1. Free-falling objects do
not encounter air
resistance.
2. All free-falling objects
(on Earth) accelerate
downwards at a rate of 9.8
m/s/s


Symmetry in Free Fall
When something is thrown upward and
returns to the thrower, this is very symmetric.
The object spends half its time traveling up;
half traveling down.
Velocity when it returns to the ground is the
opposite of the velocity it was thrown upward
with.
Object dropped from rest
Object thrown up, falls.

Kinematic Equations for Constant
Acceleration

V
f= final velocity
V
i
= initial velocity
t = time a = acceleration
x =displacement along the x-axis
There are a variety of symbols used in
the above equations and each symbol
has a specific meaning.
d the displacement of the object. (we
use x & will also use y)
t the time for which the object
moved.
a the acceleration of the object.
v
i
the initial velocity of the object.
v
f
the final velocity of the object
Freely falling objects moves in a vertical direction that is, along the y-axis.
instead of using x, we will use y.
The positive acceleration a is used to
denote an increasing acceleration. In free
fall motion, it is always influenced by the
pull of gravity and so, we denote the
acceleration as g. The value of g decreases
with increasing altitude. At Earth's surface,
the value of g is approximately 9.80
m/s
2
assuming that AIR RESISTANCE is
negligible.

It's conventional to define "up" as
the + y-direction and to use y as the
position variable. In that case the
acceleration is:
a = -g = - 9.80 m/s
2
.


Kinematic Equations for
Free Fall

The Four Kinematic Equations Which
Describe an Object's Motion are:
If there is NO AIR RESISTANCE
ALL objects, regardless of
weight & size, will fall at
the same acceleration.

The Acceleration of gravity:
g= -9.81 m/s/s
Position Of Free Falling Object At
Regular Time Intervals
The position of the free-
falling object at regular
time intervals, every 1
second, is shown. The fact
that the distance which the
ball travels every interval of
time is increasing is a sure
sign that the ball is
speeding up as it falls
downward.
Velocity Of Free Falling Object At
Regular Time Intervals
Assuming that the
position of a free-falling
ball dropped from a
position of rest is shown
every 1 second, the
velocity of the ball will be
shown to increase
How Fast?
The velocity of a free-falling object
which has been dropped from a
position of rest is dependent upon
the length of time for which it has
fallen. The formula for determining
the velocity of a falling object after a
time of t seconds is:
v
f
= v
i
+ gt
where g is the acceleration of gravity
(approximately -10 m/s/s on Earth;
its exact value is -9.81 m/s/s). The
equation above can be used to
calculate the velocity of the object
after a given amount of time.
How Far?
The distance which a free-falling object
has fallen from a position of rest is also
dependent upon the time of fall. The
distance fallen after a time of t seconds
is given by the formula below:
y = (
1
/
2
) g t
2

where g is the acceleration of gravity
(approximately -10 m/s/s on Earth; its
exact value is -9.81 m/s/s). The equation
above can be used to calculate the
distance traveled by the object after a
given amount of time.
Free Fall -- An Object Dropped
Initial velocity is zero
Frame: let up be positive
Use the kinematic equations
Generally use y instead
of x since vertical

v
o
= 0
a = g
2
2
8 . 9
2
1
s m a
at y
=
= A
y
x
g
y
t
2
=
Free Fall -- An Object Thrown
Downward
a = g
With upward being positive,
acceleration will be negative,
g = -9.8 m/s
Initial velocity = 0
With upward being positive,
initial velocity will be
negative
Free Fall -- Object Thrown Upward
Initial velocity is upward,
so positive
The instantaneous
velocity at the maximum
height is zero
a = g everywhere in the
motion
g is always downward,
negative
v = 0
Thrown Upward
The motion may be symmetrical
then t
up
= t
down
then v
f
= -v
o
The motion may not be symmetrical
Break the motion into various parts
generally up and down

1. Which car or cars (red, green, and/or blue) are undergoing an acceleration? Study
each car individually in order to determine the answer.
2. Which car (red, green, or blue) experiences the greatest acceleration?
3. 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?
4. While on another vacation, Lisa del Valle rode a bus, which left the terminal at 5:00 in
the morning. At 5:01 am, she saw the speedometer that the bus had reached 60 km/h.
Assuming the bud accelerated at a constant rate during this period, what was the
magnitude of the acceleration of the bus in m/s
2
?
5. The graph on the right shows the speed of a
vehicle over time.
a) During what time interval was the acceleration
zero?
b) What is the greatest speed reached by the
vehicle?
c) What is the acceleration of the vehicle during the
first two hours?
A Falling Stone
A stone is dropped from rest
from the top of a tall
building, as Figure 2.17
indicates. After 3.00 s of
free-fall,
(a) what is the velocity of the
stone?
(b) what is the displacement
y of the stone?