LINEAR MOTION DBS10012- ENGINEERING SCIENCE

2.0 LINEAR MOTION

At the end of this topic, students should be able to:

➢ Define linear motion, uniform and non-uniform motion.
➢ Describe distance, displacement, speed, velocity, average velocity,
acceleration and deceleration.
➢ Apply the concept of linear motion in solving the related problems
by using formula.
➢ Illustrate velocity-time graph.
➢ Determine the velocity, acceleration and displacement from the
graphs.

CONCEPT OF LINEAR MOTION

1) Linear motion is motion in a straight line.

2) Non Linear motion is motion not in a straight line.
3) According to Newton’s First Law, a body with no net force acting on it will either
remain at rest or continue to move with uniform speed in a straight line, according to
its initial condition of motion.
4) Examples of linear motion are:
a) A car moving in a straight line.
b) A passenger carried by the moving escalator.
5) Examples of non-linear motion are:
a) A snake crawling.
b) A top spinning.

Uniform and non–uniform motion

Uniform motion:
1) Movement with a velocity that is constant and stable. In terms of direction, the
object should be running at a constant speed on a straight direction.
2) The motion which covers equal distance in equal interval of time.
3) Example: A vehicle running at a constant speed of 10m/s, will cover equal
distances of 10 m every second, so its motion will be uniform.

A displacement-time graph for uniform motion is a straight line.

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Non–uniform motion:

1) Non-uniform motion is when a body that is moving along a straight line does
not travel equal distances in equal amounts of time.
2) Most of the motion that we come across in daily life is non-uniform motion.
Moving objects are either 'speeding up' or 'slowing down'.
3) In non-uniform motion, the velocity of the moving object changes, as a result of
which the object is said to have acceleration.

Distance and Displacement

1) Distance travelled by an object is the total length that is travelled by that object.
Distance is a scalar quantity. The SI unit of distance is meter (m).
2) Displacement of an object from a point of reference, O is the shortest distance of the
object from point O in a specific direction OR the distance measured in a straight
line from starting point to the ending point. Displacement is a vector quantity. The
SI unit of displacement is meter (m).

Distance vs Displacement

Distance travelled = 200m

Displacement = 120 m, in the direction of Northeast

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Example 1
The diagram below shows the path travelled by Fikri from J to M. Calculate the displacement
of Fikri.

10km
J K

6km

M
2km

Displacement is the distance from J to M in a straight line.

JM = √(10 − 2)2 + 62

JM = 10km
Comparison between distance and displacement

Aspect Distance Displacement

Definition Total route taken by Distance taken with
a motion consideration of direction
Type of Scalar quantity-with Vector quantity-direction
quantity magnitude only and magnitude are
important
SI unit Metre (m)

Speed and Velocity

1) Speed is the rate of change in distance. Speed is a scalar quantity. An object with no
movement at all has a zero speed.

2) Velocity is the rate of change in displacement. Velocity is a vector quantity.

Comparison between speed and velocity

Aspect Speed Velocity

Definition Rate of change of distance Rate of change of displacement
Type of Scalar quantity-with magnitude Vector quantity-direction and
quantity only magnitude are important
Formula 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
SI unit ms-1

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Average velocity & Instantaneous velocity

1) Velocity shows how fast an object is moving to which direction.
2) Average velocity can be calculated by dividing displacement over time.
3) For example, when a car moved 50 km in 2 hours, the average velocity is 25.5 km/h

because
4) The instantaneous velocity shows the velocity of an object at one point.
5) For example, when you are driving a car and its speedometer swings to 90 km/h, then
the instantaneous velocity of the car is 90 km/h.

Acceleration and deceleration

1) An object accelerates when its velocity changes with time. Acceleration is defined as
the rate of change in velocity.
change of velocity 𝐯−𝐮
Acceleration = ==> 𝐚 =
time taken for the change 𝐭
2) The acceleration of an object is regarded as positive if its velocity increases and
negative if its velocity decreases. Negative acceleration is also known as
deceleration.
3) An object is said to move with uniform acceleration if the rate of change of its
velocity is constant.
4) An object is said to move with zero acceleration if its velocity remains constant.

Example 2
a) A car increases its velocity from 75 km h-1 to 110 km h-1 in 5 s. What is its acceleration
in m s-2?
Solution
u = 75 km h−1 = 20.83 m s −1 ,v = 110 km h−1 = 30.56 m s−1 , t = 5 s
v−u
a= = 1.95 ms −2
t
b) An object moves from rest with a uniform acceleration of 3 m s-2. What is the velocity
of the object after 35 s?
Solution
v−u
u = 0 ,t = 35 s ,a = 3 m s −2 ,a = ,v = u + at = 0 + (3 × 35) = 105 m s−1
t

c) A lorry moving at constant velocity of 30 m s-1 came to a stop 6 s after its brake was
applied. What was the deceleration of the lorry?
Solution
v−u 0−30
u = 30 m s −1 , v = 0 , t = 6 s , a = = m s−2 = −5 m s−2 ,
t 6

Deceleration = 5 m s−2
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d) A motorcycle moving with a speed of 5m/s is subjected to an acceleration of 0.2m/s2.

Calculate the speed of motorcycle after 10 seconds.
Solution,
u = 5m/s, a = 0.2m/s2 and t = 10 s
v = u + at = 5 + (0.2 × 10) = 7m s −1

Equations of Linear Motion

Problems on linear motion with uniform acceleration can often be solved quickly using the
equations of motion. The following symbols are used in the equations of motion.

u = initial velocity, v = final velocity, t = time, a = acceleration, s = displacement

There are four equations of linear motion that are:

• 𝒗 = 𝒖 + 𝒂𝒕,
𝟏
• 𝒔 = 𝒖𝒕 + 𝟐 𝐚𝐭 𝟐 ,
• 𝒗𝟐 = 𝒖𝟐 + 𝟐𝒂𝒔 ,
𝟏
• 𝒔 = 𝟐 (𝒖 + 𝒗)𝒕

Example 3
a) A van is accelerated at 5 m s-2 from an initial velocity of 3 m s-1 for 10 seconds. What is
the final velocity, and the distance moved?

Solution

i. Final velocity, v = u + at = 3 + (5 × 10) = 𝟓𝟑 𝐦 𝐬−𝟏

1 1
ii. Distance moved, s = ut + at 2 = (3 × 10) + (5 × 102 ) = 𝟐𝟖𝟎 𝐦
2 2

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b) A driver travelling at a velocity of 100 km h-1 notices a goat in the middle of the road
80 m in front of him. On seeing the goat, the driver instantly applies the brakes and is able
to bring the car to a stop after 6 seconds.
i. What is the deceleration of the car?
ii. Calculate the distance travelled by the car from the time the driver applies the
brakes until it comes to a stop.
iii. Is the driver able to avoid knocking the goat?
Solution

−1
100 × 103 m
i. u = 100 km h = 𝟐𝟕. 𝟕𝟖 𝐦 𝐬 −𝟏
60 × 60 s
v−u 0−27.78
v = 0 ,t = 6 s ,v = u + at ➔ a = = = −𝟒. 𝟔𝟑 𝐦 𝐬−𝟐
t 6

Deceleration = 4.63 m s −2
1 1
ii. s = ut + at 2 = (27.78 × 6) + (−4.63)(62 ) = 𝟖𝟑. 𝟑𝟒 𝐦
2 2
iii. Since the car moved a distance of 83.34 m before it came to a stop,

the driver would not be able to avoid knocking down the goat
c) The speed of a car travelling along a straight road decreases uniformly from 11ms-1 to
7ms-1 over 85.0 m. Calculate
i) the deceleration of the car.
𝑣 2 − 𝑢2
𝑎=
2𝑠
72 − 112
𝑎=
2(85)
𝑎 = −0.424𝑚/𝑠
Deceleration = 0.424 m/s

ii) the time taken for the speed to decrease from 11ms-1 to 7ms-1.
𝑣−𝑢
𝑡=
𝑎
7 − 11
𝑡=
(−0.424)
𝑡 = 9.43𝑠

iii) the time taken for the speed to come to a stop from the speed of 11ms-1.
𝑣−𝑢
𝑡=
𝑎
0 − 11
𝑡=
(−0.424)

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𝑡 = 25.94𝑠

iv) The total distance travelled by the car during this time.
1
𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
1
𝑠 = (11)(25.94) + (−0.424)(25.94)2
2
𝑠 = 142.69𝑚

d) A ball is thrown vertically upwards with an initial velocity of 14.5 m s-1. Neglecting air
resistance, find

i. The maximum height reached,

ii. The time taken before it reaches the ground.
(Acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m s-2)

Solution

i. u = 14.5 m s −1 a = −g =
−9.81 m s −2 (The ball decelerates during its upward flight)

v = 0 (The ball is momentarily at rest at the highest point of its flight)

v2 −u2 0−14.52
v 2 = u2 + 2as ➔ s= = 2(−9.81) = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟕𝟐𝐦
2a

ii. Upward flight:

v−u 0−14.5
u = 14.5 m s −1 ,v = 0 , a = −9.81 m s −2, v = u + at ➔ t = = = 1.48 s
a −9.81

Downward flight:

u = 0 , s = 10.72 m , a = 9.81 m s−2 (The ball accelerate as its falls)

1 1 10.72×2
s = ut + 2 at 2 ➔10.72 = (0 × t) + 2 (9.81)t 2 ➔t 2 = ➔ t = 1.48 s
9.81

The total time of flight is therefore, 1.48 s + 1.48 s = 𝟐. 𝟗𝟔 𝐬

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e) A sports car is sitting at rest in a freeway entrance ramp. The driver sees a break in the
traffic and floors the car’s accelerator, so that the car accelerates at a constant 4.9 m/s 2
as it moves in a straight line onto the freeway. What distance does the car travel in
reaching a freeway speed of 30 m/s?

Solution

f) A train moving at 20m/s accelerates at 0.5m/s2 for 30 s. How far will it travel in this
time?
Solution

u = 20m/s, a = 0.5m/s2 and t = 30 s

1
s = ut + 2 at 2
1
s = (20)(30) + 2 (0.5)(30)2
s = 825 m
g) John is waiting at a stoplight. When it finally turns green, John accelerated from rest at a
rate of a 5m/s2 for a time of 8 seconds. Find the displacement of Ben's car during this
time period.

Solution,
u = 0, a = 5m/s2 and t = 8 s
1
s = ut + at 2
2
1
s = (0)(8) + 2 (5)(8)2
s = 160m

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VELOCITY-TIME GRAPH

• A velocity – time graph shows how the velocity of an object changes with time.
• The gradient of a velocity – time graph represents the acceleration of the object.
• The area under a velocity – time graph represents the distance travelled by the
object.

Solving Problems using Graphs which show linear motion

Example: A car moving at a velocity of 30 ms-1 accelerates constantly and reaches a

velocity of 35 ms-1 in 6 seconds. The car moves with a velocity of 35 ms-1 for 30 seconds.
The car then stops for 4 seconds. Calculate:
(a) the acceleration for the first 6 seconds.
(b) the deceleration for the last 4 seconds.
(c) the total distance travelled

Velocity/ms-1
(a)
35
me
30
A B
C
Time/s
6 36 40
m
Given :𝑢 = 30 𝑚 𝑠 −1 , 𝑣 = 35 𝑚 𝑠 −1 , 𝑡 = 6𝑠
𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡
𝑣−𝑢 35−30
𝑎 = 𝑡 = 6 = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟑𝟑 𝒎 𝒔−𝟐

(b) Given: 𝑢 = 35 𝑚 𝑠 −1 , 𝑣 = 0, 𝑡 = 4𝑠
𝑣−𝑢 0−35
a = 𝑡 = 4 = −𝟖. 𝟕𝟓 𝒎𝒔−𝟐

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(c) Total distance = Area below the graph

= Area A + Area B + Area C
1 1
= 2 (35 + 30)6 + (35 × 30) + 2(35× 4)
= 195 + 1 050 + 70
= 1 315 m

Study of Motion with the Ticker Timer:

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