GEN.

PHY 1 GENERAL PHYSICS 1

CHAPTER 7 KINEMATICS

Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
▪ Understand Kinematics

▪ Distinguish the difference between scalars and

vectors
▪ To plot a velocity graph and an acceleration graph
▪ To learn the two-dimensional motion

INTRODUCTION

Kinematics is the study of the motion of points, objects, and groups of objects without
considering the causes of its motion. Kinematics is the branch of classical mechanics that
describes the motion of points, objects and systems of groups of objects, without reference to
the causes of motion.
To describe motion, kinematics studies the trajectories of points, lines and other
geometric objects, as well as their differential properties (such as velocity and acceleration).
Kinematics is used in astrophysics to describe the motion of celestial bodies and systems; and
in mechanical engineering, robotics and biomechanics to describe the motion of systems
composed of joined parts (such as an engine, a robotic arm, or the skeleton of the human body)

Kinematics of a particle trajectory:

• Kinematic equations can be
used to calculate the trajectory
of particles or objects.
• The physical quantities
relevant to the motion of a
particle include: mass m,
position r, velocity v,
acceleration a.

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FRAMES OF REFERENCE

There are two choices you have to make in order to define a position variable x.
You have to decide where to put x = 0 and which direction will be positive. This is
referred to as choosing a coordinate system, or choosing a frame of reference. As long
as you are consistent, any frame is equally valid. But you don’t want to change
coordinate systems in the middle of a calculation. Imagine sitting in a train in a station
when suddenly you notice that the station is moving backward. Most people would say
that they just failed to notice that the train was moving it only seemed like the station
was moving. But this shows that there is a third arbitrary choice that goes into choosing
a coordinate system: valid frames of reference can differ from each other by moving
relative to one another. It might seem strange to use a coordinate system moving
relative to the earth but, for instance, the frame of reference moving along with a train
might be far more convenient for describing things happening inside the train. Frames
of reference are particularly important when describing an object’s displacement.

DISPLACEMENT

Displacement is the change in position of an object relative to its reference

frame.

For example, if a car moves from a house to a grocery store, its displacement is the
relative distance of the grocery store to the reference frame, or the house. The word
“displacement” implies that an object has moved or has been displaced. Displacement
is the change in position of an object and can be represented mathematically as
follows:

where:
Δx is displacement, xf is the final position, and x0 is the initial position.

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SCALARS AND VECTORS

A vector is any quantity that has both magnitude and direction, whereas a scalar has
only magnitude.

SCALAR QUANTITY

The physical quantity with magnitude and no direction.

Some physical quantities can be described just by their numerical value (with
their respective units) without directions (they don’t have any direction). The addition
of these physical quantities follows the simple rules of the algebra. That is only their
magnitudes are added.

EXAMPLES OF SCALAR QUANTITY

• Mass
• Speed
• Distance
• Time
• Area
• Volume
• Density
• Temperature
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VECTOR QUANTITY
The physical quantity that has both direction as well as magnitude.

A vector with the value of magnitude equal to one and direction is called unit
vector represented by a lowercase alphabet with a “hat” circumflex. That is “û “.

EXAMPLES OF SCALAR QUANTITY

• Linear momentum
• Acceleration
• Displacement
• Momentum
• Angular velocity
• Force
• Electric field
• Polarization

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCALAR AND VECTOR

The difference between Scalar and Vector is crucial to understand in physics learning.
Below are a few differences for better understanding.

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SPEED AND VELOCITY
Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to "how fast an object is moving." Speed
can be thought of as the rate at which an object covers distance.
Velocity is a vector quantity that refers to "the rate at which an object changes
its position." Imagine a person moving rapidly one step forward and one step back -
always returning to the original starting position.
Average speed is calculated as the distance traveled over the total time of travel.
In contrast, average velocity is defined as the change in position (or displacement) over
the total time of travel.

CALCULATING AVERAGE SPEED AND VELOCITY

As an object moves, it often undergoes changes in speed. For example, during
an average trip to school, there are many changes in speed. Rather than the speed-o-
meter maintaining a steady reading, the needle constantly moves up and down to
reflect the stopping and starting and the accelerating and decelerating. One instant,
the car may be moving at 50 mi/hr and another instant, it might be stopped (i.e., 0
mi/hr). Yet during the trip to school the person might average 32 mi/hr. The average
speed during an entire motion can be thought of as the average of all speedometer
readings. If the speedometer readings could be collected at 1-second intervals (or 0.1-
second intervals or ...) and then averaged together, the average speed could be
determined. Now that would be a lot of work. And fortunately, there is a shortcut.

The average speed during the course of a motion is often computed using the
following formula:

In contrast, the average velocity is often computed using this formula

AVERAGE SPEED VS INSTANTANEOUS SPEED

Since a moving object often changes its speed during its motion, it is common
to distinguish between the average speed and the instantaneous speed. The distinction
is as follows.
• 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
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Moving objects don't always travel with erratic and changing speeds.
Occasionally, an object will move at a steady rate with a constant speed. That is, the
object will cover the same distance every regular interval of time. For instance, a cross-
country runner might be running with a constant speed of 6 m/s in a straight line for
several minutes. If her speed is constant, then the distance traveled every second is
the same. The runner would cover a distance of 6 meters every second. If we could
measure her position (distance from an arbitrary starting point) each second, then we
would note that the position would be changing by 6 meters each second. This would
be in stark contrast to an object that is changing its speed. An object with a changing
speed would be moving a different distance each second. The data tables below depict
objects with constant and changing speed.

ACCELERATION
Acceleration is a vector quantity that is defined as the rate at which an object
changes its velocity. An object is accelerating if it is changing its velocity.
In physics, acceleration is the rate at which the velocity of a body changes with
time. It is a vector quantity with both magnitude and direction. Acceleration is
accompanied by a force, as described by Newton’s Second Law; the force, as a vector,
is the product of the mass of the object being accelerated and the acceleration (vector),
𝑚
or F =ma. The SI unit of acceleration is the meter per second squared: 𝑠2
Acceleration is a vector that points in the same direction as the change in
velocity, though it may not always be in the direction of motion. For example, when an
object slows down, or decelerating, its acceleration is in the opposite direction of its
motion.
The motion of an object can be depicted graphically by plotting the position of
an object over time. This distance-time graph can be used to create another graph that
𝑚
shows changes in velocity over time. Because acceleration is velocity in 𝑠 divided by
time in s, we can further derive a graph of acceleration from a graph of an object’s
speed or position.
It is a graph of an object’s position over time. This graph is similar to the motion
of a car. In the beginning, the object’s position changes slowly as it gains speed. In the
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middle, the speed is constant and the position changes at a constant rate. As it slows
down toward the end, the position changes more slowly. From this graph, we can derive
a velocity vs time graph.

This shows the velocity of the object over time. The object’s velocity increases
in the beginning as it accelerates at the beginning, then remains constant in the middle
before it slows down toward the end. Notice that this graph is a representation of the
slope of the previous position vs time graph. From this graph, we can further derive an
acceleration vs time graph.

To do this, we would also plot the slope of the velocity vs time graph. In this
graph, the acceleration is constant in the three different stages of motion. As we noted
earlier, the object is increasing speed and changing positions slowly in the beginning.
The acceleration graph shows that the object was increasing at a positive constant
acceleration during this time. In the middle, when the object was changing position at
a constant velocity, the acceleration was 0. This is because the object is no longer
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changing its velocity and is moving at a constant rate. Towards the end of the motion,
the object slows down. This is depicted as a negative value on the acceleration graph.
Note that in this example, the motion of the object is still forward (positive), but since it
is decelerating, the acceleration is negative.

MOTION WITH CONSTANT ACCELERATION

Constant acceleration occurs when an object’s velocity changes by an equal
amount in every equal time period.

An object experiencing constant acceleration has a velocity that increases or

decreases by an equal amount for any constant period of time. Acceleration can be
derived easily from basic kinematic principles. It is defined as the first time derivative
of velocity (so the second derivative of position with respect to time):

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Assuming acceleration to be constant does
not seriously limit the situations, we can study and
does not degrade the accuracy of our treatment,
because in a great number of situations,
acceleration is constant. When it is not, we can
either consider it in separate parts of constant
acceleration or use an average acceleration over a
period of time.

The motion of falling objects is a simple, one-

dimensional type of projectile motion in which there
is no horizontal movement. For example, if you held
a rock out and dropped it, the rock would fall only
vertically downward toward the earth. If you were to
throw the rock instead of just dropping it, it would
follow a more projectile-like pattern, similar to the
one a kicked ball follows.

Projectile motion is the motion of an object

thrown or projected into the air and is subject only to
the acceleration of gravity. The object thrown is
called a projectile, and the object’s path is called its
trajectory. In two-dimensional projectile motion,
there is both a vertical and a horizontal component.

Due to the algebraic properties of constant

acceleration, there are kinematic equations that
relate displacement, initial velocity, final velocity,
acceleration, and time. A summary of these
equations is given below.

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FREE FALLING OBJECTS

A free-falling object is an object that is falling under the sole influence of gravity.
Any object that is being acted upon only by the force of gravity is said to be in a state
of free fall. There are two important motion characteristics that are true of free-falling
objects:
• Free-falling objects do not encounter air resistance.
• All free-falling objects (on Earth) accelerate downwards at a rate of 9.8
m/s/s (often approximated as 10 m/s/s for back-of-the-envelope
calculations) Because free-falling objects are accelerating downwards at
a rate of 9.8 m/s/s, a ticker tape trace or dot diagram of its motion would
depict an acceleration. The dot diagram at the right depicts the
acceleration of a free-falling object. The position of the object at regular
time intervals - say, every 0.1 second - is shown. The fact that the
distance that the object travels every interval of time is increasing is a
sure sign that the ball is speeding up as it falls downward. If an object
travels downward and speeds up, then its acceleration is downward.

• Free-fall acceleration is often witnessed in a physics classroom by means

of an ever-popular strobe light demonstration. The room is darkened and
a jug full of water is connected by a tube to a medicine dropper. The
dropper drips water and the strobe illuminate the falling droplets at a
regular rate - say once every 0.2 seconds. Instead of seeing a stream of
water free-falling from the medicine dropper, several consecutive drops
with increasing separation distance are seen. The pattern of drops
resembles the dot diagram shown in the graphic at the right.

ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION OF VECTORS: GEOMETRIC METHOD

The vector A shown in Figure (a) represents a velocity of 10 m/s northeast, and
vector B represents a velocity of 20 m/s at 30 degrees north of east. (A vector is named
with a letter in boldface, non-italic type, and its magnitude is named with the same letter
in regular, italic type. You will often see vectors in the figures of the book that are
represented by their magnitudes in the mathematical expressions.) Vectors may be
moved over the plane if the represented length and direction are preserved.

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Figure 1

GRAPHICAL ADDITION OF VECTORS, A+B+C

In Figure (b), the same vectors are positioned to be geometrically added. The
tail of one vector, in this case A, is moved to the head of the other vector (B). The vector
sum (C) is the vector that extends from the tail of one vector to the head of the other.
To find the magnitude of C, measure along its length and use the given scale to
determine the velocity represented. To find the direction θ of C, measure the angle to
the horizontal axis at the tail of C.
Figure (a) shows that A + B = B + A. The sum of the vectors is called the resultant
and is the diagonal of a parallelogram with sides A and B. Figure (b) illustrates the
construction for adding four vectors. The resultant vector is the vector that results in
the one that completes the polygon.

Figure 2. (a) A + B = B + A. (b) Graphical addition of several vectors.

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To subtract vectors, place the tails together. The difference of the two vectors
(D) is the vector that begins at the head of the subtracted vector (B) and goes to the
head of the other vector
(A). An alternate method is to add the negative of a vector, which is a vector with
the same length but pointing in the opposite direction. The second method is
demonstrated in Figure.

Figure 3. Graphical subtraction of Vectors

Addition and subtraction of vectors: Component method
For precision in adding vectors, an analytical method using basic trigonometry
is required because scale drawings do not give accurate values.
Consider vector A in the rectangular coordinate system of Figure. The vector A
can be expressed as the sum of two vectors along the x and y axes, A = A x + A y,
where A x and A y are called the components of A. The direction of A x is parallel to
the x axis, and that of A y is parallel to the y axis. The magnitudes of the components
𝐴
are obtained from the definitions of the sine and cosine of an angle: cos θ = 𝐴𝑥 and sin
𝐴𝑦
θ = 𝐴 , or

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To add vectors numerically, first find the components of all the vectors. The
signs of the components are the same as the signs of the cosine and sine in the given
quadrant. Then, sum the components in the x direction, and sum the components in
the y direction. As shown in the Figure, the sum of the x components and the sum of
the y components of the given vectors (A and B) comprise the x and y components of
the resultant vector (C).

Figure 5. Component method of vector addition, A + B = C

These resultant components form the two sides of a right angle with a
hypotenuse of the magnitude of C; thus, the magnitude of the resultant is

The direction of the resultant (C) is calculated from the tangent because tan θ =
𝐶𝑥 𝐶𝑦
. To solve for the angle θ, use θ = tan −1 ( ).
𝐶𝑦 𝐶𝑥
The procedure can be summarized as follows:
1. Sketch the vectors on a coordinate system.
2. Find the x and y components of all the vectors, with the appropriate signs.
3. Sum the components in both the x and y directions.
4. Find the magnitude of the resultant vector from the Pythagorean theorem.
5. Find the direction of the resultant vector using the tangent function.
Follow the same procedure to subtract vectors by calculating the appropriate
algebraic sum of the components in Step 3.

MULTIPLICATION OF VECTORS
THE DOT PRODUCT
There are two different ways in which two vectors may be multiplied
together. The first is the dot product, also called the scalar product, which is written A
· B. This can be evaluated in two ways:
• A · B = Ax Bx + Ay By
• A · B = AB cos θ, where θ is the angle between the vectors when they
are set tail to tail, and A and B are the lengths of the vectors.

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Note that the order of the vectors does not matter and that the result of the dot
product is a scalar rather than a vector. Note that if two vectors are perpendicular, their
dot product is zero according to the second rule above.

CROSS PRODUCT
The second way to multiply vectors is called the cross product or the
vector product. It is written A · B. It can be evaluated in two ways:
• A · B = (Ax By − Ay Bxz), when the vectors A and B both are in x–y plane.
The z indicates that the result is a vector that points along the z axis. In
general, the vector resulting from a cross product is always perpendicular
to both of the vectors being multiplied together.
• A · B = AB z sin θ, where θ is the angle between the vectors A and B
when they are placed tail to tail. Again, the result is a vector perpendicular
to A and B (and therefore points along the z axis if A and B are in the x–
y plane).

The result of a cross product does depend on the order of the vectors. Note from
the first rule that A · B = − B · A. Also, if A and B are parallel, the second rule implies
that their cross product is zero.

Finally, the cross product give rise to the “right hand rule,” which allows you to
easily determine the direction of the resulting vector. For the general expression A × B
= C, point your thumb in the direction of A. Now point your index finger in the direction
of B; if necessary, flip over your hand. The vector C points outward from your palm.

VELOCITY AND ACCELERATION OF VECTORS IN TWO DIMENSIONS

For motion in two dimensions, the earlier kinematics equations must be
expressed in vector form. For example, the average velocity vector is v = (df − do)/ t,
where d o and d f are the initial and final displacement vectors and t is the time elapsed.
As noted earlier, the velocity and displacement vectors are shown in bold type, whereas
the scalar (t) is not. In similar fashion, the average acceleration vector is a = (v f − vo)/
t, where Vo and Vf are the initial and final velocity vectors.
An important point is that the acceleration can arise from a change in the
magnitude of the velocity (speed) as well as from a change in the direction of the
velocity. If an object travels around a circle at a constant speed, there is an acceleration
due to the change in the direction of the velocity, even though the magnitude of the
velocity does not change. A mass moves in a horizontal circle with a constant speed in
Figure. The velocity vectors at positions 1 and 2 are subtracted to find the average
acceleration, which is directed toward the center of the circle. (Note that the average
acceleration vector is placed at the midpoint of the path in the given time interval.)

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Figure 6. Velocity and acceleration of an object moving in a circle

The following discussion summarizes the four different cases for acceleration in a
plane:
• Case 1: Zero acceleration
• Case 2: Acceleration due to changing direction but not speed
• Case 3: Acceleration due to changing speed but not direction
• Case 4: Acceleration due to changing both speed and direction.

Imagine a ball rolling on a horizontal surface that is illuminated by a stroboscopic

light. Figure (a) shows the position of the ball at even intervals of time along a dotted
path.
• Case 1 is illustrated in positions 1 through 3; the magnitude and direction of
the velocity do not change (the pictures are evenly spaced and in a straight
line), and therefore, there is no acceleration.
• Case 2 is indicated for positions 3 through 5; the ball has constant speed but
changing direction, and therefore, an acceleration exists. Figure (b)
illustrates the subtraction of v 3 and v 4 and the resulting acceleration toward
the center of the arc.
• Case 3 occurs from positions 5 to 7; the direction of the velocity is constant,
but the magnitude changes. The acceleration for this portion of the path is
along the direction of motion.
• The ball curves from position 7 to 9, showing Case 4; the velocity changes
both direction and magnitude. In this case, the acceleration is directed nearly
upward between 7 and 8 and has a component toward the center of the arc
due to the change in direction of the velocity and a component along the path
due to the change in the magnitude of the velocity

Figure 7. (a) Path of a ball on a table (b) Acceleration between points 3 and 4

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PROJECTILE MOTION
Anyone who has observed a tossed object—for example, a baseball in flight—
has observed projectile motion. To analyze this common type of motion, three basic
assumptions are made:
• Acceleration due to gravity is constant and directed downward
• The effect of air resistance is negligible
• The surface of the earth is a stationary plane (that is, the curvature of the
earth's surface and the rotation of the earth are negligible).

To analyze the motion, separate the two‐dimensional motion into vertical and
horizontal components. Vertically, the object undergoes constant acceleration due to
gravity. Horizontally, the object experiences no acceleration and, therefore, maintains
a constant velocity. This velocity is illustrated in Figure where the velocity components
change in the y direction; however, they are all of the same length in the x direction
(constant). Note that the velocity vector changes with time due to the fact that the
vertical component is changing.

Figure 8. Projectile Motion

In this example, the particle leaves the origin with an initial velocity (V0), up at
an angle of θ o. The original x and y components of the velocity are given by Vx0 = Vo
and Vy0 = v o sin θ o.

With the motions separated into components, the quantities in the x and y
directions can be analyzed with the one‐dimensional motion equations subscripted for
each direction: for the horizontal direction, Vx = Vx0 and X = Vx0 t; for vertical direction,
1
Vy = Vy0 − Gt and y = Vy0 − (2) gt2, where x and y represent distances in the horizontal
and vertical directions, respectively, and the acceleration due to gravity (g) is 9.8 m/s2.
(The negative sign is already incorporated into the equations.) If the object is fired down
at an angle, the y component of the initial velocity is negative. The speed of the
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projectile at any instant can be calculated from the components at that time from the
Pythagorean theorem, and the direction can be found from the inverse tangent on the
ratios of the components:

Other information is useful in solving projectile problems. Consider the example

shown in Figure where the projectile is fired up at an angle from ground level and
returns to the same level. The time for the projectile to reach the ground from its highest
point is equal to the time of fall for a freely falling object that falls straight down from
the same height. This equality of time is because the horizontal component of the initial
velocity of the projectile affects how far the projectile travels horizontally but not the
time of flight. Projectile paths are parabolic and, therefore, symmetric. Also, for this
case, the object reaches the top of its rise in half of the total time (T) of flight. At the top
of the rise, the vertical velocity is zero. (The acceleration is always g, even at the top
of the flight.) These facts can be used to derive the range of the projectile, or the
distance traveled horizontally. At maximum height, Vy = 0 and t = T/2; therefore, the
1
velocity equation in the vertical direction becomes 0 = V0 sin θ − g( 2 ) or solving for T,
2𝑉0 sin 𝜃
T= 𝑔
Substitution into the horizontal distance equation yields R = (V0 cos θ) T. Substitute T
in the range equation and use the trigonometry identity sin 2θ = 2 sin θ cos θ to obtain
𝑉2
an expression for the range in terms of the initial speed and angle of motion, R = ( 𝑔0 )
sin 2θ. As indicated by this expression, the maximum range occurs when θ = 45
degrees because, at this value of θ, sin 2θ has its maximum value of 1. Figure sketches
the trajectories of projectiles thrown with the same initial speed at differing angles of
inclination.

Figure 9. Range of projectiles launched at different angles.

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UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION
For uniform motion of an object in a horizontal circle of radius (R), the constant
speed is given by v = 2π R/ T, which is the distance of one revolution divided by the
time for one revolution. The time for one revolution (T) is defined as period. During one
rotation, the head of the velocity vector traces a circle of circumference 2π v in one
period; thus, the magnitude of the acceleration is a = 2π v/ T. Combine these two
equations to obtain two additional relationships in other variables: a = v 2/ R and a =
(4π2/ T2) R.
The displacement vector is directed out from the center of the circle of motion.
The velocity vector is tangent to the path. The acceleration vector directed to the center
of the circle is called centripetal acceleration. Figure shows the displacement, velocity,
and acceleration vectors at different positions as the mass travels in a circle on a
frictionless horizontal plane.

Figure 10. Uniform Circular Motion

References:
▪ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundlessphysics/chapter/basics-of-
kinematics/
▪ https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1DKin/Lesson1/Introduction

Video Tutorial Link:

Constant Acceleration Explained with Vectors and Algebra

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4pV1HibhlU&feature=youtu.be
Scalars and Vectors
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUrMI0DIh40&feature=youtu.be

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