UNIT 02 PHYSICS

MOTION IN A STRIGHT LINE

Scalar quantities Vector quantities

A quantity which does not depend on direction. Vector quantities have both a magnitude & a direction
Scalar quantities have only a magnitude
Ex: speed, mass, time, distance, volume, density, Ex: displacement, acceleration, velocity, weight, force,
energy, temperature, pressure, power momentum, moment

Distance & Displacement

Distance (d): Total length covered by a moving body

Displacement (s): A change of position that occurs from one point to another point in a particular direction
is called displacement. The magnitude of the displacement is the shortest distance between the two points

Q. A boy rode his bicycle from point A to his house (point B) & then to point C

i) What is the distance covered by the boy?

ii) What is the displacement of the boy?

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Q. An object moves from point A to point B to point C, then back to point B and then to point C along the
line shown in the figure below.

a) Find the distance covered by the moving object

b) Find the displacement of the object

Q. A person who started to run from point A, reached point A passing the point B along his journey

i) What is the distance covered by the person?

ii) What is the displacement of the person?

iii) If the person completes 04 rounds, what is his displacement now?

Speed
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
Speed = 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
Mean/Average Speed =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

➢ Standard unit : ms-1

➢ Uniform speed = Constant speed

10ms-1 = 36kmh-1

Q. A train travels at a speed of 54kmh-1. Find the distance travelled by the train in 15s

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 Q. A motion relevant to a certain object is given below. Comment whether the object has travelled at
uniform speed or not

Time (s) 0 1 2 3 4
Distance (d) 0 4 8 12 16

Velocity
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
Velocity =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
Average/mean velocity =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

➢ Standard unit: ms-1

Uniform/constant velocity: When a body is moving at a constant velocity, neither the magnitude nor the
direction of its velocity changes with time
𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑛𝑡−𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
Rate of change of displacement = = velocity
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒

Q. Answer the given questions using this table

Time (s) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Displacement (d) 0 4 8 12 12 12 12 6 0

i) Calculate the velocity in the first 3s

ii) Describe the motion in the following time periods

a. 0 – 3s b. 3 – 6s c. 6 – 8s
iii) Calculate the velocity in the final 2s

iv) What is the average velocity?

v) Draw the relevant velocity time graph for the above motion

vi) If the object travelled in a linear path, find the total distance travelled by the object

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 Acceleration
The rate of change of the velocity

➢ Standard unit: ms-2

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 − 𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦

Acceleration = =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒

Deceleration
If the velocity is decreasing, the acceleration takes a negative value. A negative acceleration is known as a
deceleration

Ex: If an object has an acceleration of - 5ms-2, that means the body has a deceleration of 5ms-2

Negative acceleration = Deceleration

Q. An object which is at rest, travels at a uniform acceleration & reaches a velocity of 10ms -1 in 5s.
What is the acceleration of the object?

Q. An object moves from 7ms-1 to 22ms-1 in 3s. What is the acceleration of the object?

Q. An object moves from 20ms-1 to 8ms-1 in 4s. What is the deceleration of the object?

Relationship between mean velocity & the displacement

Q. A body that starts from rest, is subjected to a uniform acceleration for 8 s after which, it acquires
a velocity of 20 ms-1

i) What is the acceleration of the object?

ii) What is the displacement of the body during this time interval?

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Q. A body starting from rest accelerates for 6s and acquires a velocity of 18 ms-1. Thereafter it moves
at a constant velocity of 18 ms-1 for 10s and ultimately comes to rest after decelerating for 2s

i) What is the acceleration of the object during the first 6s?

ii) What is the deceleration of the object during the last 2s?

iii) What is the displacement of the body during the 18s time period?

Q. Starting from rest, if an object travelled with an acceleration of 0.8 ms-2 for 15s find the velocity of
the object at the end of 10 s period. Also find the displacement of it

Q. The velocity of an object moving on a straight line was 5 ms -1 at a certain instant. Its velocity
changed to 15 ms-1, after accelerating for 3s. Find the acceleration during the 3s period

Displacement - time graphs

Motion from 0 – t1:

Motion from t1 – t2:
Motion from t2 – t3:

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Q. Draw the relevant velocity – time graph for the above given graph

Velocity-time graphs

Area under a velocity - time graph = Displacement

Using the given graph,
i) Calculate the acceleration during the first 4s

ii) What is the maximum velocity achieved?

iii) What is the deceleration of the object during the last 3s?

iv) Calculate the total displacement of the object

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v) Draw the relevant acceleration – time graph

vi) Draw the relevant displacement - time graph

Q. An object starting from rest, acquires a velocity of 20 ms-1 after moving for 5s under a uniform
acceleration. Then the object moves with that velocity for 6s & comes to rest after decelerating for 4s

i) Draw the relevant velocity – time graph for the above motion

ii) Calculate the acceleration during the first 5s using the graph

iii) Calculate the deceleration during the last 4s using the graph

iv) Calculate the displacement travelled under uniform velocity using the graph

v) Calculate the total displacement of the object using the graph

Q. Why travelling during hours of low traffic whenever possible is energy wise effective?

During the periods of heavy traffic, vehicles have to reduce the speed frequently. When the vehicles begin
to move again, the engine has to produce extra power. This process causes an energy loss

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 Graph conversions
Displacement – time Velocity - time Acceleration – time

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 Gravitational acceleration (g)
Average value for the gravitational acceleration at sea level is about 9.8 ms-2. For the easiness of
calculations, we use 10ms-2

Gravity acts towards the earth

➢ Gravitational acceleration of a body moving vertically downwards = 9.8ms-2 (10ms-2)
➢ Gravitational acceleration of a body moving vertically upwards = - 9.8ms-2 (- 10ms-2)

Q. A ripen mango took 7s to reach the ground after falling from a mango tree (g = 10ms-2)
i) Draw the relevant velocity – time graph

ii) Calculate the height of the mango tree

iii) Draw the relevant displacement – time graph

Q. An object has been projected vertically upwards from the ground at a velocity of 60 ms-1
(g = 10ms-2)

i) Draw the velocity – time graph for the given motion

ii) What is the maximum height reached by the object?

iii) Draw the displacement – time graph for the given motion

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Q. An object has been projected vertically upwards from the ground at a velocity of 50 ms-1. After
few seconds, the object came to the ground (g = 10ms-2)

i) Draw the relevant velocity time graph

ii) What is the time taken for the whole journey?

iii) Find the maximum height reached by the object

iv) Find the total displacement of the object?

v) What is the total distance travelled by the object?

vi) What is the velocity of the object after 8s?

vii) What is the acceleration of the object after 6s?

viii) What is the velocity of the object at the highest point of motion?

ix) Draw the relevant displacement – time graph

x) Give an assumption you used in the above calculations

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 MCQs

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EngMed Institute Dr. Achintha Ranasinghe (MBBS USJP SL) 077 4592188
EngMed Institute Dr. Achintha Ranasinghe (MBBS USJP SL) 077 4592188
EngMed Institute Dr. Achintha Ranasinghe (MBBS USJP SL) 077 4592188
 v

Essay

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EngMed Institute Dr. Achintha Ranasinghe (MBBS USJP SL) 077 4592188
Find the,

i) Total displacement after 5s ii) Total distance after 5s iii) Average velocity after 5s
iv) Velocity at the 5th second v) Velocity from 2s to 5s vi) Velocity during the first 2s
vii) Acceleration from 2s to 5s viii) Draw the relevant velocity - time graph

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Remarks

• O/L past papers

• Revision papers
• Provincial papers
• Grade 11 MCQ 700+ by Achintha Ranasinghe
• Text book Revision Exercises

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