MOTION IN A STRAIGHT LINE Motion An object is said to be in motion, if its position changes with respect to time. This, is related to the observer. fits positionisnotchanging the objectis seid tobeatrest. An object in motion for one observer maynot beso for another observer. The branch of physics which deals with the study of motion of objects Is called mechanics. Itis divided into three: > Statics - Study of objects at rest under theaction of forces in equilibrium. > Kinematics - Study ofobjectsinmotion without con: ing the cause of motion. » Dynamics - Studyofthe causes of motion. We are dealing with kinematics in this chapter. We will introduce e few physical quantities which are required to describe the motion of an object. Broadly speaking, there are three types of motion. * Translatorymotion: Here particles constituting the object have same displacement. Eg.: Motion ofa car along araad. » Rotatorymotion: Hereall the particles constituting the object move along a circular path. E.g.: Rotation of earthonits ownaxis. * Oscillatory motion: To and fro motion. E.g.: motion of the pendulum ofa clock. Translatory motion While describingmotion, theposition of objectshouldbe specified. For that we usea reference point as origin and a set of three co — ordinate axes designated as X, YandZ axes. (There is other co ~ordinate systems also). The coordinates (x, y, z) of an object describe the position of object with respect to this coordinate system. If the motion of an object is restricted to a straight line, it is said to execute one- dimensional motion. Eg.- Anant movingon along string, Acar moving along a straight road. A body moving ina plane Is two dimensional motions. Ey A body moving in a space is two dimensional motions. E.g:- Motion of a kite, bird. A ball rolling over ground.Concept of point object or particle If the distance travelled by the object is very large compared to the size of the ‘object, then the object can be considered as a point object or particle. For example, a train travelling from Thrissur to New Delhi can be considered as @ point object. Also, during translatory motion, since llthe particles have samedisplacement, the object can be considered as aparticle. 1) Arailway train 400m longis going from New Delhi railway station to Kanpur. Can we consider railway train as @ point object? Yes, because length of the train is smaller as compared to the distance between New Delhi and Kanpur. Origin, Unit and Direction for position measurement The position of an object at different instants may be given with respect to a reference point 0. The point O Is called the origin. Distance can be measures in meter, kilometers, milimeters etc. +x (t) oO x(t) Distances measuredto the right of the O are taken aspositive and to the left ofO ‘as negative. The distance of an object form origin O is called its position coordinate at time. Distance and Displacement Distance traveled by an object in a given interval of times thelength of the path covered by the object during that c Displacementof an objectis definedas its change in position J? Co ~ iterval. In a definitedirection. Let an object startfrom A, travelalong the path ACB and finallyreach B. The distance traveled is the length ofthe path ACB. But displacement is AB. Differences between distance and displacement ‘© Distanceisascalar, while displacementisa vector. ‘+ Fora moving particle distance can never be zero or negative while displacement can be zero, positive ornegative. ‘+ Fora moving particle, distance can never decrease with time while displacement can, Decreasein displacement with time means that the body is m: position. 1g towards the initial2) Write the characteristics of displacement? — It Is a vector quantity having both magnitude and direction. — Displacement of 2 given body can be positive, negative or zero. 3) Shina went from her home to school 2.5km away. On finding her home closed she returned to her home immediately. What is her net displacement? What is the total distance covered by her? Displacement = 0 Distance = 2.5km + 2.5km = 5.0km 4) Can speed of an object be negative? Justify? No speed of an object can never be negative because distance is also always positive. 5) Under what condition the displacement and the distance of a moving object will have the same magnitude? Distance and displacement have the same magnitude when the object moves in a straight line. Speed The distance traveled by an object in one secondis called speed. Itis also defined as the rate of change of position. distance travelled sped = ore) Unit: m/s Dimension:- [LT~4] Average Speed It is the ratio of the total distance traveled by the object to the total time taken. total distance travelled @) Average speed ‘total time taken Velocity It is the rate of change of displacement. Velocityhas both magnitude and direction. igitisa vector quantity. displacement velocity = cme —— (3) Unit: m/s Dimension:- [LT~*] Average velocity Average velocity of an object during an interval of time is the ratio of its total displacement during that interval to the total time taken. Let x (t,) and x (t,) be theposition of an object at timest, andt, respectively. Then Displacement = x(t,) — x(t) time = ty — ty x4) - x) tet Average velocity, Vay = ——— (4)