Kinematic Quantities and Uniformly

Accelerated Motion
Week 2
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1.Define distance, displacement, speed, and velocity.

2.Distinguish velocity from acceleration.
3.Solve problems related to velocity.
4.Solve problems related to acceleration.
5.Solve problems related to acceleration due to
gravity.
Mechanics – is basically the study of motion. It has
two general parts;
a.) Kinematics – is the mathematical description
of motion.
Ex: position, speed, and acceleration.
b.) ­Dynamics – is the study of the causes of
motion.
Ex: when an object falls, you can say that gravity is the
cause of its falling motion.

Translation – is the term used in physics for motion in

a straight line. It is commonly described by three
quantities: displacement, velocity, acceleration.
DISTANCE vs. DISPLACEMENT
Distance – is the length of the path the body has taken, or the
total length of path taken by an object in moving from its
initial to final position. It is a scalar quantity – it is expressed in
terms of magnitude only. The SI unit for distance is meter.

Displacement – is defined as the “shortest length” between

the initial position and the final position of an object. It is a
vector quantity – it is usually expressed in terms of both
magnitude and direction.
DISTANCE vs. DISPLACEMENT
Example:
1.) Starting from the church, a procession has to take the
following route: 50 m, north; 40 m, east; and 60 m, north. To
go back, it has to follow the same route but in the opposite
direction.
A.) What is the total distance traveled?
Sol’n: total distance traveled = 50 m + 40 m + 60 m + 60 m +
40 m + 50 m = 300 m

B.) What is the total displacement?

Sol’n: The total displacement is zero because the
procession went back to where it started.
DISTANCE vs. DISPLACEMENT
Example:
2.) A man walks 15 m due east and then turns and walks 10 m
due south. He had traveled 25 m. Find the distance and the
displacement he took.

Solving for DISTANCE:

*Just add all the units given.

Sol’n: 15 m + 10 m = 25 m
DISTANCE vs. DISPLACEMENT
B. Solving for DISPLACEMENT
*Apply the rules of addition vectors, then solve for the angle of the
starting point.
Displacement = 15 � 2 + 10 � 2
= 225 �2 + 100 �2
= 225 �2 + 100 �2
= 325 �2 = 18.02 m = 18 m
��������
���� =
��������
−1 10�
� = tan � = tan−1 0.67
15�
� = ��° Hence, he walked in a displacement of 18 m, 34° south of east.
SPEED vs. VELOCITY
Speed – is the distance traveled by a body in a given time. It is
a scalar quantity.

Velocity – is the time rate of change of position. It is the

displacement of as body in a specified time interval. It is a
vector quantity.
∆� � − ��
�= =
∆� � − ��

where ∆� is the change in position and ∆� is the change in time

SI unit used: m/s

SPEED vs. VELOCITY
Average speed – is the total of distance traveled
�
divided by the total time elapsed. ���� =
�

Instantaneous speed – is the speed at a particular

moment in time.

Instantaneous velocity – is the velocity at a specific

instant of time.
SPEED vs. VELOCITY
Example 1: In the 1980s, one of Asia’s fastest running
women was a Filipino athlete named Lydia de Vega. In
the 100­meter dash event in 1986 in Seoul, South
Korea, she was clocked 11.53 s. Find her average
speed.
SPEED vs. VELOCITY
Example 2: A car from rest moves at a distance of 30 m
at 10 seconds time along a straight highway. What is
its velocity?
SPEED vs. VELOCITY
Example 3: How much time it takes for a dog to run
with 10 m/s in a distance of 100 m?
SPEED vs. VELOCITY
Example 4: How far did the horse run when it has a
velocity of 20 m/s at 30 minutes?
1. What is the average speed of the car from 0.0
second to 9.0 seconds?
2. What is the average velocity of the car from
0.0 second to 9.0 seconds?
3. What is the instantaneous speed at t = 9.0 s?
4. What is the instantaneous velocity at t = 9.0 s?
ACCELERATION
Acceleration – is the rate change in velocity. The unit
of acceleration is m/s2.
TECHNIQUE IN SOLVING PROBLEMS IN KINEMATICS:

1. Identify first the four variables – three with known

values and one unknown.
2. Choose the equation that relates these four
variables (three known and one unknown).
3. Then solve for the unknown variable.
ACCELERATION