Unit A - Activity 4 - Notes

Equations of motion for uniform acceleration

The equations of motion apply providing:
• the motion is in a straight line
• the acceleration is uniform

Note: When using the equations of motion,

• the quantities u, v, s and a are all vector quantities
• a positive direction must be chosen and quantities in the reverse direction must be
given a negative sign
• a deceleration will be negative, for movement in the positive direction.

Derivation of equations of motion

The velocity-time graph for an object accelerating constantly from u to v in time t is
shown below.

velcocity / m s-1 1. From the gradient of the line

v −u
v a=
t
B
u Changing the subject of the
formula gives:
A
time / s v = u + at --------- [1]
t

The displacement s in time t is equal to the area under the velocity-time graph.
2. Using the combined area of A and B.
The area of a trapezium is given by; area = ½(a+b)h, where a and b are the
parallel sides and h is the perpendicular distance between the parallel sides.
In the above graph, a = u, b = v and h = t.

The displacement s after a time t is then given by

u+v
s = t --------- [2]
2

4. Using the sum of the individual areas A and B.

area = area of rectangle A + area of triangle B

1
s = ut + /2(v - u) t

but from equation [1], v – u = at

1
s = ut + /2 (at) t

1
s = ut + /2at2 --------- [3]
4. Using, v = u + at, square both sides:

v2 = (u + at) 2

v2 = u2 + 2uat + a2t2

v2 = u2 + 2a (ut + 1
/2at2)
1
but from equation [3], s = ut + /2at2

v2 = u2 + 2as --------- [4]

Example 1
A car is moving at 15 m s-1, when it starts to accelerate at 2 m s-2. Calculate its velocity
after accelerating at this rate for 4 s.

u = 15 m s-1 use v = u + at
a = 2 m s-2
t=4s v = 15 + (2 x 4)
v=? v = 23 m s-1

Example 2
A space rocket travelling at 20 m s-1 accelerates at 5 m s-2 for 2 s. Calculate how far the
rocket travels during the 2 s.

u = 20 m s-1 use s = ut + 1/2at2

a = 5 m s-2 s = (20 x 2) + (1/2 x 5 x 22)
t=2s s = 40 + 10
s=? s = 50 m

Example 3
A train travelling at 45 m s-1 decelerates to 15 m s-1 at 2 ms –2
. Calculate how far the
train travels while it is decelerating.

u = 45 m s-1 use v2 = u2 + 2as

v = 15 m s-1 152 = 452 – 4s
a = -2 m s-2 4s = 452 - 152
s=? s = 450 m
Acceleration of free fall
The acceleration g produced by the gravitational field of the Earth is always directed
towards the centre of the Earth. It is usual to measure displacement in a direction away
from the centre of the Earth, so for an object falling or being thrown upwards it is a
convention to assume that upwards is the positive direction and downwards is the
negative direction. The acceleration due to gravity is therefore –9.81 m s-2, although the
approximate value –10 m s-2 is sometimes used to make calculations simpler.

Example
A ball is thrown vertically into the air with an initial velocity of 20 m s-1. Calculate its
velocity after 3 s. (Use acceleration due to gravity as 10 m s-2)

u = 20 m s-1 use v = u + at
t=3s v = 20 - (10 x 3)
a = -10 m s-2 v = 20 - 30
v=? v = -10 m s-1
(the negative sign shows that the ball is on its way down)