Motion

DR. DASTAN KHALID

Last Week
We discussed measurement and units.
We especially talked about the unit of length, time and mass
We have discussed the (mks) & (cgs) systems of units.
This Week
We will discuss
Position
Motion
Speed (both average & Instantaneous)
Velocity (both average & Instantaneous)
The difference between distance and displacement
Acceleration and Constant acceleration
Free fall
Position
The term position refers to the location of an object. Text

To designate the position of an object, a reference point and a

measurement scale are needed.
For example, the entrance to campus is about 2 km (or possibly
more) from Serchinar intersection.
The book is 15 cm from the corner of the table.
The Cartesian coordinates of the point on a graph are (x, y) = (2.0 cm,
3.0 cm). Here the reference point is the origin of the coordinate
system.
 Motion
If an object changes position, we say that motion
has occurred. That is, an object is in motion when
it is undergoing a continuous change in position.
Consider an automobile traveling on a straight
highway. The motion of the automobile may or
may not be occurring at a constant rate. In either
case, the motion is described by using the
fundamental units of length and time.
Another example is the change of position of the
stars and planets. How many types of motions
they have? Do you know the effect of each
motion?
Speed & Velocity
The terms speed and velocity are often used interchangeably; however, in physical science,
they have different distinct meanings. Speed is a scalar quantity, and velocity is a vector
quantity.
A scalar quantity has only magnitude (numerical value and unit of measurement). For
example, you may be traveling in a car at 90 km/h. Your speed is a scalar quantity.
A vector quantity has magnitude and direction. For example, suppose you are traveling at
90 km/h north. This describes your velocity, which is a vector quantity because it consists of
magnitude plus direction.
By including direction, a vector quantity (or a vector, for short) gives more information than
a scalar quantity. No direction is associated with a scalar quantity.
Speed & velocity
 Speed & Average Speed
The average speed of an object is the total distance traveled divided by the time spent in traveling the total
distance.
Distance (d) is the actual length of the path that is traveled.
Mathematically we represent the above definition as

Note that length d and time t are intervals. They are sometimes written ∆d and ∆t to indicate explicitly that
they are intervals (∆𝑑/∆𝑡). The ∆ (Greek delta) means “change in” or “difference in.
What is the unit of speed?
Can you write the speed equation in terms of change in distance and time?
Speed & Instantaneous Speed
Taken over a time interval, speed is an average.
Average speed gives only a general description of motion. During a long time interval like that
of a car trip, you may speed up, slow down, and even stop. The average speed, however, is a
single value that represents the average rate of motion for the entire trip.
The description of motion can be made more specific by taking smaller time intervals such as a
few seconds or even an instant
The instantaneous speed of an object is its speed at that instant of time (Dt becoming
extremely small).
Velocity
Velocity is similar to speed, but a direction is involved.
Average velocity is the displacement divided by the total
travel time.
Displacement is the straight-line distance between the initial
and final positions, with direction toward the final position,
and is a vector quantity
For straight-line motion in one direction, speed and velocity
have something in common. Their magnitudes are the same
because the lengths of the distance and the displacement are
the same.
Just like instantaneous speed, there is also instantaneous
velocity, which is the velocity at any instant of time.
Example
What is the time taken for a (hello) signal when you call your friend in Basra from Sulaimani,
knowing that a given mobile operator uses a satellite at an altitude of 3.56 x 104 km. You may
assume the angle between both you and your friend with respect to the satellite is 90° and you
may treat the distance between you as flat.
 Another Interesting Example!
What is the average speed of the earth in km/h as it takes one revolution about the sun.
Acceleration
When you are riding in a car on a straight interstate highway and the speed is suddenly
increased—say, from 20 m/s to 30 m/s you feel as though you are being forced back against
the seat
If the car then whips around a circular cloverleaf, you feel forced to the outside of the
circle.
These experiences result from changes in velocity
Because velocity is a vector quantity, with both magnitude and direction, a change in
velocity involves either or both of these factors. Therefore, an acceleration may result from
A change in speed (magnitude)
A change in direction, or (3)
A change in both speed and direction.
Acceleration
Examples of the above changes are
A car speeding up (or slowing down) while traveling in a straight
line
A car rounding a curve at a constant speed, and
A car speeding up (or slowing down) while rounding a curve

These three occurs very frequently on a race circuit

Acceleration
Acceleration is defined as the time rate of change of velocity. Taking the symbol ∆ (delta) to
mean “change in,” the equation for average acceleration ( a ) can be written as

Can you find the unit of acceleration from the above equation?
 Constant Acceleration
Consider a constant acceleration of 9.8 m/s2.
This value means that the velocity changes by 9.8 m/s each second.
Thus, for straight-line motion, as the number of seconds increases,
the velocity goes from 0 to 9.8 m/s during the first second, to 19.6
m/s (that is, 9.8 m/s + 1 9.8 m/s) during the 2nd second (!!!) , to 29.4
m/s (that is, 19.6 m/s + 9.8 m/s) during the third second, and so
forth, adding 9.8 m/s each second.
Here we can use

When the initial velocity is zero, we use

Acceleration Examples
Acceleration as a vector
We know acceleration is the rate of change of velocity and we also know velocity is a vector
Therefore acceleration is also a vector
Free fall
Italian physicist Galileo was one of the first scientists to assert that all
objects fall with the same acceleration.
Of course, this assertion assumes that frictional effects (such as air
resistance) are negligible.
To exclude frictional and any other effects, the term free fall is used.
Objects in motion solely under the influence of gravity are said to be
in free fall.
The velocity of a freely falling object on the Earth increases 9.80 m/s
each second but the distance covered is not uniform because the
object speeds up. This distance can be found using
1
𝑑= 𝑔 𝑡2
2
Example
Question
Acceleration in Uniform Circular Motion
Example
Projectile Motion