March 9, 2021

TOPIC: MOTION

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SUB-TOPIC: SPEED AND VELOCITY

OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this topic, you will be able to:
1. Define and use equations linking distance,
displacement, time, speed and velocity.

Click here to watch this video before moving on.

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INTRODUCTION:

The motion of a satellite in orbit around the Earth and that of a

spaceship travelling through deep space are quite different but
neither of them needs its engines switched on to keep moving at a
constant speed. However, any cyclist knows that he must keep
pushing on the pedals to keep his bicycle moving at a steady speed
even on a flat road. If a man jumps out of an aeroplane at a great
height above the ground, his speed increases as he falls so that
when he reaches the ground, he will be moving so fast that he is
likely to be killed. However, if he uses a parachute, his speed does
not continue to increase and so he should land safely.

A swimmer swimming across a river finds that she lands some

distance downstream on the opposite bank even though she swims
in a direction perpendicular to the river banks. Each of these
examples of motion is different in some way and in this unit, we
learn how to describe and explain each kind of motion.

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Speed and Velocity

We use both scalar and vector terms to describe the motion of an

object.

Definitions
1. Distance:
● Ground covered (in no particular direction)
● Symbol (s)
● Measured in meters (m)
● It is a scalar quantity

2. Displacement
● Ground covered or distance covered in a particular
direction.
● Symbol (s)
● Measured in meters (m)
● It is a vector quantity
3. Time
● Refers to duration (between the start and end an event)
● Symbol (t)
● Measured in seconds (s)
● It is a scalar quantity
4. Speed
● Distance covered in a given time
● Symbol (v)
● Measured in meters per second (m/s or ms-1)
● It is a scalar quantity

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 5. Velocity
● Distance covered in a particular direction in a given time,
or displacement per unit time
● Symbol (v)
● Measured in meters per second (m/s or ms-1)
● It is a vector quantity

Equations

Velocity = displacement / time taken

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Average speed, v = distance moved / time taken

Average , v = s / t

As a runner completes a lap of 400m running round a track, we calculate his

average speed from the distance round the track and the time taken to run
round.
During the lap, his speed will vary and our calculations only give the average
value of his speed.

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The cyclist who travels 200 km in 4 hours on average will travel 50 km in each
hour. (13.89 m/s)
This is called his average speed.

Distance-Time Graphs (for discussion)

Click here to see video on DISTANCE-TIME GRAPHS

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Question 1:
Calculate the average speed of the runner if he completes a 400m lap in 50
seconds.
Distance travelled = 400 m
Time = 50 s
Average speed = total distance travelled / total time taken
= 400m / 50s
Avg speed = 8 m/s

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Question 2:
Calculate the average speed of the cyclist in m/s.
“The cyclist who travels 100 km in 4 hours on average will travel 25km in each
hour. This is called his average speed.”
Distance travelled = 100km = 100,000 m
Time taken = 4 hours = 60 x 60 x 4 = 14,400s

Speed = distance travelled / time taken =100,000/ 14,400 s = 6.94m/s

Question 3
A racing car completes a 12km lap of a course in 4 minutes exactly. Calculate
its average speed in
Dist. covered = 12 km =12,000m
Time = 4 minutes = (4/60)= (1/15) = 0.067 hour

(a) km/hour
Dist. covered = 12 km, time taken = 4/60 = 0.067 hour
Average speed = total distance travelled / time taken
= 12km / 0.067 hours
= 179.1 km/hr

(b) m/s
Dist. covered = 12,000m, Time taken = (4 x 60s) =240 s
Average speed = total distance travelled / time taken
= 12000m / 240s
= 50 ms-1

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Question 4
What is the average speed in m/s of
a. A car which travels 400m in 20s (20 m/s)
b. An athlete who runs 1500m in 4 minutes (6.25 m/s)

Question 5
Avg. speed = (initial speed + final speed) / 2
A train increases speed steadily from 10 m/s to 20 m/s in 1 minute.
a. What is its average speed during this time in m/s ? (15 m/s)
b. How far does it travel while increasing its speed? (900 m)

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SUB-TOPIC:
ACCELERATION AND THE EQUATIONS OF MOTION

OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this session you will be able to;
1. Define acceleration and uniform acceleration.
2. Use equations linking velocity, displacement, time and acceleration

Click here to see video on VELOCITY-TIME GRAPHS

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 Click here to see video on ACCELERATION

Definition: Acceleration
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity.
Acceleration is the change of velocity per unit time
Acceleration = change in velocity ÷ time interval
a = 𝜟v/ 𝜟t
a = (v - u) / 𝜟t

Definition: Uniform or constant acceleration

An object has uniform or constant acceleration if its velocity changes by
equal amounts in equal, successive time intervals.

THE EQUATIONS OF MOTIONS:

Click here to watch this video before moving on

Symbols:
u represents initial velocity
v represents final velocity
v-u represents change in velocity (𝜟v)
t represents time interval or time taken (duration)
s represents displacement (distance moved in a straight line)
a represents acceleration

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 1. v = u + at a = (v - u) / t

2. s = ut + ½ at2 a = (s-ut)/ 0.5t2 or a = 2(s-ut)/t2

3. v2 = u2 + 2as

4. s = ½ (v+u)t

5. Average velocity = (v + u) / 2

Question 1:
A cyclist starting from rest with uniform acceleration can reach a velocity of 20
m/s in 25 seconds. Calculate her acceleration.
u = 0 m/s v = 20m/s t = 25s a=?

Which of the equations of motion contains v, u, t and a ?

v = u + at
20m/s = 0 + (a x 25 m/s)
20 m/s = 25a
20 /25 = a
a = 0.8 m/s2
a = 0.8 ms-2

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a= (v-u)/ t
a= (20 - 0)/ 25
a = (20/ 25) = 0.8 m/s2

Question 2:

A car can accelerate uniformly at 2.5 m/s 2 and starts from a velocity of 36
km/h. Determine its velocity after 8 seconds. Note: the units are mixed so
convert to SI units first.

u = 36 km/h = 36000/(60 x 60) = 10m/s

v=?
t=8s
a = 2.5 m/s2

Which equation contains v, u, a and t?

v = u + at
v = 10 + (2.5 x 8)
= 10 + 20
= 30 m/s

Question 3
A motor cyclist starts from rest and reaches a speed of 6 ms-1 after travelling
with uniform acceleration for 3 seconds. What is his acceleration? (2 m/s2)
t = 3 s, u = 0, v = 6 m/s, a = ?

Using, v = u + at we will make acceleration, a, the subject of the

formula:
v - u = at

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(v - u)/ t = a
(6 - 0)/ 3 = a
6/3 = 2 = a
a = 2 m/s2

Question 4
A vehicle moving with uniform acceleration of 2 m/s 2 has a velocity of 4m/s at
a certain time. What will its velocity be
a. 1 second later?
b. 5 s later

Question 5
If a bus travelling at 20m/s is subject to a steady deceleration of 5 m/s2, how
long will it take to come to rest?

u = 20 m/s v = u + at
v = 0 m/s 0 = 20 + (-5 x t)
t=? 0 = 20 -5t
a = -5 m/s2 -20 = -5t
-20/ -5 = t
4s = t
Time taken for bus to come to rest = 4 seconds

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Question 6
Aircrafts breaking the sound barrier (SONIC BOOM)
An aircraft flying at 600km/h accelerates steadily at 10 km/h per second.
(10 kmh-1/s). Taking the speed of sound as 1100 km/h, how long will it take to
reach the sound barrier?
u = 600 kmh-1
a = 10 kmh-1/s
v = 1100kmh-1
t=?

v = u + at (making t the subject of the formula)

t = (v-u)/ a
t = (1100kmh-1 - 600kmh-1)/ 10 kmh-1/s

t = (500 kmh-1/ 10 kmh-1/s) = 50 s

The aircraft will take 50 seconds to reach the sound barrier

Question 7
A train accelerates uniformly from rest at 0.2 m/s 2 over a distance of 1
km. Calculate the final velocity it reaches.
a = 0.2 m/s2 u = 0 m/s s = 1000m v= ?

Which equation of motion contains v, u, s and a?

v2 = u2 + 2as
v2 = (0)2 + (2 x 0.2 x 1000)
v2 = 0 + 400

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 v2 = 400
v = √(400) = 20 m/s
The train reaches a final velocity of 20 m/s.

Question 8
A car accelerates uniformly from rest for 20 s with an acceleration of 1.5 m/s2.
It then travels at a constant speed for two minutes before slowing down with
uniform deceleration to come to rest in a further 10 seconds.

Sketch a velocity-time graph of the motion and find;

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 a. the maximum speed of the car v = u + at
b. The total distance travelled
Area of trapezium = ½ (sum of parallel sides)xheight
c. the acceleration while slowing down
a = (v - u)/ t
= (0 - 30/ 10
= -3 m/s2
Deceleration or retardation = 3 ms-2

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Question 9
A car starting from rest with uniform acceleration reaches a velocity of 10m/s
in 10 seconds and travels with this velocity for 20 s. It then decelerates
steadily and comes to rest 50 s after starting.

Draw a velocity-time graph and find from it

a. the acceleration during the first 10s (1 m/s2)
b. the acceleration 15s to 25s after starting from rest (0 m/s2)
c. the deceleration (acceleration = -0.5 m/s2 or deceleration = 0.5 m/s2 )
d. the total distance travelled = area under graph. Shape of the graph is
trapezium.
Area of trapezium = ½ sum of parallel sides x perpendicular height.
= ½ (20 + 50) 10
= ½ x 70s x 10m/s
= 350s x m/s = 350 m

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Question 10
A cyclist starts from rest and accelerates at 1 m/s 2 for 20 seconds. He then
travels at a constant speed for 1 minute and finally decelerates at 2 m/s2 until
he stops. Find
a. his maximum speed and (using v=u+at) = 20 m/s
b. the total distance covered in meters (sketch velocity-time graph and find
total area under the graph)

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Question 11
Sketch a velocity-time graph for an object with uniform acceleration.

Question 12
Write two equations which can be used to determine acceleration.

Question 13
Calculate the acceleration of an object that takes 5s to speed up from 10 m/s
to 20 m/s.

Question 14
What does the area under a velocity-time graph show?

Question 15
Sketch a distance-time graph and a velocity-time graph for an object travelling
at constant speed.

Question 16
Sketch a velocity-time graph for an object travelling with constant acceleration.

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