Motion in One Dimension

INPHYS1
 Mechanics
- Branch of physics that deals with the large
scale motion of objects.
Kinematics – describes the positions and
motions of objects in space without
considering the causes of motion
- uses words, diagrams, numbers, graphs,
and equations

Dynamics – the study of the causes of

motion
 Reference Frames
 Motion is a relative term
- Different observers see different motions
- Different observers are in different reference
frames
 A reference frame
- a physical entity which we refer the position
and motion of objects 1m

Ex. Ground, a room, a moving car, etc.

0m
 Coordinate System
- A system for assigning a location of a
point or position of an object in a reference
frame
Cartesian (x, y, z) – also called rectangular
coordinates (right angles)
y

o x

z
 Quantities that are used to
describe the motion of objects
 VECTORS - are quantities that are fully
described by both a magnitude and a
direction. (ex. Displacement, velocity,
acceleration)

 SCALARS - are quantities that are fully

described by a magnitude (or numerical
value) alone. (ex. Distance, speed, time)
 Examples
Vector Scalar

50 m/s, West 60 sec

-15 m/s2 20 0C
5 km, East 6.0 m
 Distance and Displacement
They both describe the change in position.
• Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how
much ground an object has covered" during its
motion.
– Distance is denoted by d

• 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.
x  x f  xi
 Examples
1. Consider the motion depicted in the diagram below. A
physics teacher walks 4.0 meters East, 2.0 meters
South, 4.0 meters West, and finally 2.0 meters North.
0

What is the total distance covered by the teacher?

distance = 12 m
What is the displacement of the teacher?
displacement = 0 m
2. Use the diagram to determine the resulting
displacement and the distance traveled by the
skier during these three minutes.

d= 420m, x = 140 m
3. You walk a long straight sidewalk for 45 m, then
you turn around and walk 25m in the opposite
direction. Finally, you turn again and walk 37 m
in the original direction and stop. What is your
displacement from your starting point?
x = 57 m, + direction
 Average speed and Average velocity
 Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to “how
fast an object is moving”.
- the rate at which an object covers distance
d

t
 Velocity is a vector quantity that refers to “the
rate at which an object changes its position”.

x2  x1 x
v 
t2  t1 t
 Examples (speed)
1. While on vacation, Lisa Carr traveled a total
distance of 440 km. Her trip took 8.0 hours.
What was her average speed?
v = 55 km/hr

2. Two students take a three-hour car trip. In the

first two hours, they travel 100 km at a
constant speed. In the third hour, they travel
another 80 km, at different constant speed.
What is the average speed for each segment
and the entire trip.
Average speed vs Instantaneous speed
• Instantaneous Speed - the speed at any
given instant in time.

• Average Speed - the average of all

instantaneous speeds; found simply by a
distance/time ratio.
 Examples (velocity)
1. The physics teacher walks 4 meters East, 2 meters
South, 4 meters West, and finally 2 meters North. The
entire motion lasted for 24 seconds. Determine the
average speed and the average velocity.

ave. speed = 0.50 m/s ave. velocity = 0 m/s

2. Use the diagram to determine the average speed and
the average velocity of the skier during these three
minutes.

ave. speed = 140 m/min ave. velocity = 46.7 m/min, right

 Acceleration
• Acceleration is a vector quantity that is defined as
the rate at which an object changes its velocity.
v2  v1 v
a 
t2  t1 t
• An object is accelerating if it is changing its velocity.

• Constant velocity, zero acceleration

• constant acceleration - the velocity is changing by a

constant amount each second
 Examples

2. A bicyclist starts from rest and increases his velocity at a

constant rate until he reaches a speed of 4.0 m/s in 5.0 sec.
What is his average acceleration?
ave. a = 0.80 m/s2
 The Direction of the Acceleration Vector
Since acceleration is a vector quantity, it has a
direction associated with it. The direction of the
acceleration vector depends on two things:
– whether the object is speeding up or slowing
down
– whether the object is moving in the + or -
direction
The general RULE OF THUMB is:
If an object is slowing down, then its acceleration is
in the opposite direction of its motion.
The velocity and acceleration of the car are
depicted by vector arrows.
The direction of these arrows are representative of
the direction of the velocity and acceleration
vectors.
Note that the velocity vector is always directed in
the same direction which the car is moving.
 Graphical Interpretations
Consider a car moving with a constant, rightward
(+) velocity of +10 m/s.

This motion is described

as a constant, positive
velocity resulting in a line
of constant and positive
slope
Now, consider a car moving with a rightward (+),
changing velocity, that is, a car that is moving
rightward but speeding up or accelerating.

This motion is described

as a changing, positive
velocity resulting in a line
of changing and positive
slope
 In summary
Constant Velocity, + Velocity + Velocity, Changing Velocity
(acceleration)

Slow, Rightward(+) Slow, Leftward(-)

Fast, Rightward(+) Fast, Leftward(-)

Negative (-) Velocity Leftward (-) Velocity
Slow to Fast Fast to Slow

Positive (+) Velocity Positive (+) Velocity

0 acceleration Positive acceleration
 Introduction to Free Fall
A free falling object is an object that is
falling under the sole influence of gravity.

2 important motion characteristics:

• Free-falling objects do not encounter air
resistance.
• All free-falling objects (on Earth)
accelerate downwards at a rate of 9.8 m/s2
– It is known as the acceleration due to gravity,
g = 9.8 m/s2, downward
Recall that acceleration is the rate at which
an object changes its velocity.

A position versus time graph for a

free-falling object is
A velocity versus time graph for a free-falling
object is
 Assignment
1. Consider a football coach pacing back and forth along the
sidelines. The diagram below shows several of coach's positions
at various times. At each marked position, the coach makes a "U-
turn" and moves in the opposite direction. In other words, the
coach moves from position A to B to C to D.

a. What is the coach's resulting displacement and distance of travel?

b. What is the coach's average speed and average velocity?
2. A motorcyclist starts from rest and accelerates in one
direction with a constant acceleration of 4.0 m/s2 for 12
sec. What is the rider’s velocity at the end of 12 sec?

3. Given the figure at the right,

calculate the velocity of a free-falling
object after six and eight seconds.