Physics Module 2: KINEMATICS

Motion in One Dimension

Mechanics - Deals with motion of objects and the forces that change this motion.
Kinematics - Study of motion of particles and bodies, without taking into account the factors
that cause notion.
Dynamics - Study of motion, along with the factors that cause motion; involves masses and
forces.

Motion in One Dimension

● Motion along a straight-line path (also called rectilinear motion or translational
motion). Motion can be defined as the change of position over time.
Examples:
Horizontal motion: An athlete running on a straight back
Vertical Motion: Freely falling body

Frame of Reference - any measurement of position, distance or speed must be made with
respect to a reference frame.

Quantities That Describe Motion

A. Distance and Displacement

Distance traveled – measured along the actual path.
Displacement - how far the object is from its starting point, regardless of how it got
there.
 ∆𝑥 = 𝑋𝑓 − 𝑋0

Positive and Negative Displacement

Consider two cars traveling along path PQ :

Both cars have the same average velocity since they have the same displacement but the car on
blue path has a greater average speed since it traveled a longer distance.
B. Speed and Velocity
Speed – how far an object travels in a given time interval; it is a scalar quantity.
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
𝑑
𝑣 = 𝑡

Velocity - includes directional information, a vector quantity.

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑑

Instantaneous Velocity
- average velocity over a very, very short (infinitesimal) time interval
- velocity at any time t

∆𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑉𝑥 = lim ∆𝑡
= 𝑑𝑡
∆𝑡 → 0
The instantaneous velocity at a given time can be determined by measuring the slope of the line
that is tangent to that point on the position-versus-time graph.
 C. Acceleration
Acceleration
- Changing velocity (non-uniform) means an acceleration is present.
- Acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity.

∆𝑣 𝑉𝑓−𝑉𝑜
𝑎= ∆𝑡
= 𝑡
Graphical Representation:

Is an object speeding up or slowing down?

- Depends upon the sign of both velocity and acceleration.

Velocity Acceleration Motion

+ + Speeding up in + direction

- - Speeding up in - direction

+ - Slowing down in + direction

- + Slowing down in - direction

 Uniform Motion and Uniformly Accelerated Motion

Uniform Motion
- A body is said to be in uniform motion if it travels equal distances in equal intervals of
time.
- Velocity is constant ; acceleration is zero.
Examples: train moving at steady speed, hands of clock motion, motion of the blades of
an electric fan

Equation:

𝑥 − 𝑥𝑜 = 𝑣𝑡 or 𝑥 = 𝑥𝑜 + 𝑣𝑡
where 𝑥 − 𝑥 is the displacement, v is the constant velocity and t is the time that elapsed
𝑜

Uniformly Accelerated Motion

- motion of an object where the acceleration is constant.
Examples: a ball rolling down on an inclined plane, motion of a freely falling body
Sample Problems:
1. A motorist drives north for 35.0 minutes at 85 km/h and then stops for 15.0 minutes. He
then continues north, traveling 130 km in 2.00 h. What is his total displacement and his
average velocity?
2. A tortoise and a hare are having a 100- m race. When the starting gun goes off the hare
lies down for a nap. The tortoise moves forward with a constant acceleration, reaching a
speed of 2.0 m/s when she is 20 m from the starting line. After this, the tortoise travels at
a constant velocity of 2.0 m/s until crossing the finish line. After 45 seconds the hare
wakes up from his nap and covers the 100 m with a constant acceleration of 2.0 m/s2 .
Who wins the race? Clearly justify your answer.
3. Some cockroaches can run as fast as 1.5 m/s. Suppose that two cockroaches are separated
by a distance of 60 m and that they begin to run toward each other at the same moment.
both insects have constant acceleration until they meet. The first cockroachhas an
acceleration of 0.20 m/s2 in one direction, and the second one has an acceleration of 0.12
m/s2 in the opposite direction. How much time passes before the two insects bump into
each other?
4. A truck is travelling at a constant velocity of 10 m/s when the driver sees a child 50 m in
front of him in the road. He hit the brakes to stop the truck. The truck accelerates at a
rate of -1.25 m/s2. His reaction time to hit the brakes is 0.5 s. Will the truck hit the
child?
 Vertical Motion (Free Fall)
Vertical Motion (Free Fall)
- A freely falling body is a body that moves freely under the influence of gravity alone,
regardless of its initial motion.
- Objects thrown upward or downward and those released from rest are all falling freely
once they are released.
- Any freely falling object experiences an acceleration directed downward, regardless of its
initial motion
2
𝑎 = −𝑔= − 9. 8𝑚/𝑠

Sample Problems:
1. A ball is dropped from rest from a very tall building. What is its position and velocity after 5.0
seconds?
2. A ball is thrown in the air with an initial velocity of 29.4 m/s upward.

a. How long does it take the ball to go up?

b. to come down after reaching maximum height?
c. What is the acceleration at the top?
3. A stone is dropped into a well. The sound of splash is heard 6.83 s later. What is the depth of
the well? (Take the speed of sound to be 343 m/s).
4. If a flea can jump straight up to a height of 0.440 m, what is its initial speed as it leaves the
ground? How long is it in the air?
 Motion in Two Dimension; Projectile

Projectile
- An object that moves through space under the influence of the earth’s gravitational
force.
- combination of horizontal motion with constant velocity and vertical motion with
constant acceleration
- Trajectory - A body undergoing a projectile motion.

CASE I. ANGULAR PROJECTION

- when a body is thrown with an initial velocity at an angle to the horizontal direction.

Where:
𝑣𝑜 = Initial Velocity
𝑣𝑜𝑥= Horizontal component of initial velocity
𝑣𝑜𝑦= Vertical component of initial velocity
𝑣𝑥= Horizontal component of velocity at any instant
𝑣𝑦= Vertical component of velocity at any instant
𝑌𝑚𝑎𝑥= Maximum height
(x,y) = Position
𝑋𝑚𝑎𝑥= Range, Maximum x
Remember:
along x , uniform motion (constant velocity) ; a=0
along y, uniformly accelerated motion, a= - g
ASSUMPTION: Negligible air resistance
To find horizontal and vertical component of initial velocity, 𝑣𝑜:

𝑣𝑜𝑥 = 𝑣𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑠θ and 𝑣𝑜𝑦=𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ

To find the velocity at any time t; 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑣𝑜𝑥 = 𝑣𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑠θ (same velocity along x)
𝑣𝑦 = 𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ + 𝑎𝑡 (accelerated motion along y)

𝑣𝑦 = 𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ − 𝑔𝑡

To find position of projectile at any time t;

x-xo = vt (uniform motion)
𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥𝑡 = (𝑣𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑠θ)𝑡
2
𝑦 = 𝑣𝑜𝑦𝑡 + 1/2𝑎𝑡 (uniformly accelerated motion)
2
𝑦 = (𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ)𝑡 − 1/2𝑔𝑡

when the projectile reaches maximum x, y= 0

2
𝑦 = (𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ)𝑡 − 1/2𝑔𝑡 = 0
2
(𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ)𝑡 = 1/2𝑔𝑡

2𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ = 𝑔𝑡
For total time of flight;
2𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ
𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑔
 Range = maximum x
At maximum x , t = total time of flight
𝑥 = (𝑣𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑠θ)𝑡
2
𝑣𝑜 𝑠𝑖𝑛2θ
𝑥𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑅 = 𝑔

The time at maximum height is equal to one- half of the total time of flight;
2𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ
𝑡 = (1/2) 𝑔
𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ
𝑡1/2 = 𝑔

To find the maximum height;

2
y= (𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ)t – ½ 𝑔𝑡
2
(𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ) (𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ)
𝑦 = (𝑣𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛θ) 𝑔
− 1/2𝑔 2
𝑔
2 2
𝑣𝑜 𝑠𝑖𝑛 θ
𝑦𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 2𝑔

2
NOTE: when solving problems involving these formulas, the value of g = 9.8 m/𝑠 , the negative
sign has been integrated in the derivation of formulas.

Summary of Formulas
CASE II. HORIZONTAL PROJECTION
- when a body is given an initial velocity in the horizontal direction only.

at any time t;
𝑣𝑜 = 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑣𝑜𝑥 𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥𝑡 = 𝑣𝑜𝑡
2
𝑣𝑦 = 0 + at 𝑦 = 𝑣𝑜𝑡 + 1/2𝑎𝑡
2 2
𝑣𝑦 =− 𝑔𝑡 − 𝑦 =− 1/2𝑔𝑡 ; 𝑦 = 1/2𝑔𝑡
at maximum x, y = -y

2 2 2𝑦
− 𝑦 = 0 − 1/2𝑔𝑡 ; 𝑦 = 1/2𝑔𝑡 , therefore the total time of flight is 𝑡 = 𝑔
at 𝑥 = 𝑥𝑚𝑎𝑥 total
𝑇
time of flight; 𝑥 = 𝑣𝑜𝑡

Summary of Formulas
 SAMPLE PROBLEMS - PROJECTILE

1. The froghopper, Philaenus spumarius, holds the world record for insect jumps. When leaping
at an angle of 58o above the horizontal, some of the tiny critters have reached a maximum height
of 58.7 cm above the level ground (see Nature, Vol.424, July 31, 2003, p. 509). What was the
take-off speed for such leap? What horizontal distance did the froghopper cover for this
world-record leap?

2. A body is projected from the ground at an angle of 30° with the horizontal at an initial speed
of 39.0 m/s.
a) What is the original horizontal component of the velocity?
b) What is the original vertical component of the velocity?
c) How long will it take for the object to return to the ground?
d) What maximum height will the object reach?
e) What is the range of the projectile?

3. A marble, rolling with a speed of 2.0 m/s, rolls off the edge of a level table and hits the floor
1.28 s later.
a) How high was the table?
b) How far from the edge of the table does the marble land?
4. A lovesick lad wants to throw a bag of candy and love notes into the open window of his
girlfriend’s bedroom 10.0 m above. Assuming it just reaches the window, he throws the love gifts
at 60.0o to the ground:
a.) At what velocity should she throw the bag?
b.) How far from the house is he standing when he throws the bag?