CHAPTER 1 :

KINEMATICS

Type of Motion
Motion in a straight Line
Position, Distance & Displacement
Average Speed and velocity
Instantaneous Velocity
Acceleration and Instantaneous Acceleration
Motion Graph
Equation for motion with Constant Acceleration
Free Fall Acceleration

INTRODUCTION

Kinematics is the branch of mechanics which

studies the motion of objects without
considering the forces that causes the motion.
There are three types of motion which are :
a) linear/straight motion
b) arc motion and circular/rotational motion.
Linear motion is a motion along a straight line.
Involves a concept of displacement, velocity
and acceleration.

LINEAR MOTION (RECTILINEAR

MOTION )

Distance, x
Total length of the path which always positive value.
Scalar quantity & SI unit is meter (m).
Displacement, s
The change in the position of the body.
Displacement is the difference between final and
original coordinates.
or

Can be negative or positive value.

Vector quantity and the SI unit is meter (m).

Example 1:
Imagine a person walking 70 m to the East and then
turning around and
walking back a distance of 30 m. Determine the
displacement
and distance the person walk.
Solution :

40 m, east

LINEAR MOTION (RECTILINEAR

MOTION )
Speed, v

Scalar quantity
x

Total distance moved, x over the time, t ;

t
-1

SI Unit : ms
Velocity , v

Vector quantity

The displacement, s divided by the time, t.

SI Unit : ms-1

s
v
t

or

v lim

t 0

s
ds

t
dt

LINEAR MOTION (RECTILINEAR

MOTION )
Average velocity, vavg

Total displacement divide by total time taken

vavg

total displacement
total time

Instantaneous velocity, v
The velocity at a particular instant
v = rate of change of displacement =

Example 2:
An object moves from P to Q in 3s and from Q to R in
2s. Determine
R
the speed and velocity of the object.
Solution :

4m
P

Q
3m

1.4 m/s, 1 m/s

LINEAR MOTION (RECTILINEAR

MOTION )
Acceleration, a
The change in velocity ( any change in speed or
direction )
Vector quantity and the unit is ms-2
Can be negative or positive value

LINEAR MOTION (RECTILINEAR

MOTION )
Average velocity, vavg

Total displacement divide by total time taken

vavg

total displacement
total time

Instantaneous velocity, v
Instantaneous velocity, v is the velocity at a
particular instant
v = rate of change of displacement =

MOTION GRAPH

Constant acceleration motion can be characterized

by motion equation and by motion graphs.
Motion graphs tell us how far a body has travelled,
how fast it is moving and all the speed.
Motion of a body can be illustrated by:
i) Displacement time graph
ii) Velocity time graph
iii) Acceleration time graph

MOTION GRAPH
1) Position - time graph (s-t graph)
Distance of a body from start point is measured.
The gradient of the graph gives the velocity of the
motion.
Case 1 :
travelling
velocitys

body

is

at a constant

Case 3 : A body is
travelling
with decreasing
velocity s

Case 2 : A body is
travelling
s with increasing
velocity

Case 4 :A body is at
rest s

MOTION GRAPH
2) Velocity - time graph (v-t graph)
Gradient of the graph gives the acceleration of the
motion.
Area under the graph give the distance travelled by
1 : A body is
Case 3 : A body is
the Case
object.
travelling
velocity

at a constant

travelling

v
acceleration

t
Case 2 :
travelling

body

t
is

with uniform
deceleration

with uniform

Case 4 :A body is travelling

with non-uniform
acceleration

MOTION GRAPH
3) Acceleration - time graph (a-t graph)
a-t graph gives the acceleration of a moving object
at different times.
Area under the graph the graph gives the velocity of
1 : A body is
Case 3 : A body is travelling
the Case
motion.
travelling

at a constant
acceleration

t
Case 2 :
travelling

body

acceleration

t
is

with zero

acceleration

with increasing

MOTION GRAPH

Example 3:
v / ms-1
B

20

A
0

10

D
12

t /s

From the graph v-t above, describe the motion of the

object and
determine :
(a) Acceleration from A to B,
(b) Acceleration from C to D,
(c) Total distance moved

Solution :

5 m/s2, -10 m/s2, 180 m

Example 4 :
The acceleration time graph of a car which starts from
rest is as shown.

Determine:
a) The velocity of the car after i) 10 s and ii) 30 s
b)Sketch the velocity time graph and
c)From the velocity-time graph, calculate the distance
travelled by
the car in 30 s.

Solution :

- 40 m/s, 0 m/s

Solution :

MOTION WITH CONSTANT

ACCELERATION

MOTION WITH CONSTANT

ACCELERATION

MOTION WITH CONSTANT

ACCELERATION

Example 5 :
A car starts from rest and accelerates uniformly. After
10 s, its displacement is 25 m. Calculate
a) the velocity of the car after 10 s.
b) the acceleration of the car after 10 s.
c) the displacement in the next 10 s if the car continues
its motion with
the same acceleration.
Solution :

5 m/s, 0.5 m/s2, 75 m

Solution :

Example 6 :
A car is accelerating uniformly as it passes two
checkpoints that are 30 m apart. The time taken between
checkpoints is 4.0 s and the car speed at the first
checkpoint is 5.0 m/s. Find the car acceleration and its
speed at the second checkpoint.
Solution :

1.25 m/s2, 10 m/s

Example 7:
The driver of a car slams on the brakes when he sees a
tree blocking the road. The car slows uniformly with the
acceleration of 5.6 m/s2 for 4.2 s, making straight skid
mark 62.4 m long ending at the tree. Calculate the speed
as the car hit the tree.
Solution :

3.1 m/s

Example 8 :
A lift is accelerated from rest to 5 m/s at a rate of 2.5
m/s2. It then moves at a constant velocity for 10 s and
then decelerates to rest at 2.0 m/s2.

i) draw the velocity time graph

ii) determine the distance travelled by the lift
iii) determine the average velocity of the lift
Solution :

61.25 m, 4.22 m/s

Solution :

28

FREE FALL MOTION

Definition
Free fall motion is s motion of an object
under the
influence of gravity only experiences
acceleration,
a is constant (g = 9.81 ms-2) regardless of
its initial
motion.
Acceleration due to gravity, g not depend on
size, shape, mass.

29

FREE FALL MOTION

1)
2)

The direction of motion are now along the vertical y-axis.

Vector quantities (displacement, initial velocity & final
velocity) are positive in an upward motion & negative in
a downward motion.
+ s y, + u y, + v

re fe re nc e
le ve l

- s y, - u y, - v

3)

The free-fall acceleration is ALWAYS NEGATIVE in an

upward & a downward motion.
- g = - 9 .8 1 m s

-2

- g = - 9 .8 1 m s

-2

re fe re nc e
le ve l

4)

time is ALWAYS POSITIVE.

Example 9 :
A person throws a ball upward into the air with an initial
velocity of
15 m/s.
a) How high the ball goes
b) How long the ball is in the air before it reaches his
Solution
:
hand.

11.47 m, 3.06 s

Example 10 :
An object is released from rest at height, 20 m from a
building . When it reaches the ground calculate its
i) time
ii) velocity
Solution :

2.02 s, -19.82 m/s

Solution :