KINEMATIC

EQUATIONS
When analyzing kinematics, it would be nice to not have to rely on graphing to
determine instantaneous speeds, or the distances covered by accelerating objects,
etc. When an object is accelerating, we deal with 5 kinematic variables:
a → the object’s acceleration
v1 → how fast the object was going before it accelerated
v2 → how fast the object was going after it accelerated
Δd → the distance the object covered while accelerating
Δt → how much time it took the object to accelerate
In order to be able to solve for
each of these, we need to
come up with 5 equations;
each one having a different
kinematic variable excluded.
We now have 5 kinematic equations, each one missing one of the kinematic variables:
𝟏
𝒗𝟐 = 𝒗𝟏 + 𝒂∆𝒕 no ‘Δd’ ∆𝒅 = 𝒗𝟏 ∆𝒕 + 𝒂∆𝒕𝟐 no ‘v2’
𝟐

𝒗𝟐 +𝒗𝟏 𝒗𝟐𝟐 = 𝒗𝟐𝟏 + 𝟐𝒂∆𝒅 no ‘Δt’

∆𝒅 =
𝟐
∆𝒕 no ‘a’

𝟏 How do we use these equations to solve

∆𝒅 = 𝒗𝟐 ∆𝒕 − 𝒂∆𝒕𝟐 no ‘v1’
𝟐 kinematics problems?
 Given:

EXAMPLE: Required:
A car is travelling 19 m/s [W]
when it sees an obstacle in the
Analysis:
road ahead and applies the
brakes. If the car decelerates
at 5.0 m/s2 and stops JUST in Solution:
front of the obstacle, then how
far was the car from the
obstacle when it applied its
brakes?

Statement:
 Given:

Required:

EXAMPLE: Analysis:
A baseball is initially at rest on
a window ledge 51 m above
the ground. If the ball takes Solution:
3.5 seconds to hit the ground.
What is the ball's acceleration
downward?

Statement:
Textbook Reference:
• None
Practice Questions:
• ‘Kinematic Equations
Practice’ Worksheet