LESSON 2: UNIFORM ACCELERATION d

AND FREE FALL MOTION s= t

Where s stands for speed, d is for distance,
Distance and Displacement and t is time.

Distance can be defined as total length
moved. If you run around a circular track,
you have covered a distance equal to the
circumstance of the track. Distance is a
scalar, which means it has no direction
associated with it.
SI unit: meter per second (m/s)
Example
Anton wants to exercise so he ran 200m
in 90s. Find her average speed.

Displacement, however, is a vector,

We have to find her average speed for the
representing a change in position.
whole run. The distance and time is known
Displacement is defined as the straight-line
so we can simply substitute the given to the
distance between two points.
equation
d
The displacement is denoted by the symbol s= t
△ x , and is given by
200 m
△x = x − x s= s = 2.22m/s
90 s
Where the initial position of the car is
labeled x and the final position is △ x Velocity
. The Greek △ stands for “change in” or
final quantity minus the initial quantity. The terms speed and velocity are
interchangeable. Speed is scalar quantity
Speed and Velocity while velocity is a vector quantity. Hence,
the velocity gives considerably more
information than speed.

Average speed is the total distance divided

by the total time, average velocity is the
change in position or the displacement
divided by the change in time:

Displacement
velocity=
Change∈Time

Average speed is defined as the total △d

velocity=
distance a moving objects covers divided by △t
the total time it takes to cover that distance. SI unit: meter per second (m/s)
Speed, which is always positive since speed A vector quantity is a quantity that is fully
is scalar quantity but the average velocity of described by both magnitude and direction.
an object in one dimension can either be On the other hand, a scalar quantity is a
positive or negative, depending on the sign quantity that is fully described by its
of the displacement. magnitude. The emphasis of this unit is to
understand some fundamentals about
Velocity-Time Graphs vectors and to apply the fundamentals in
order to understand motion and forces that
On a velocity-time graph a horizontal (flat) occur in two dimensions.
line indicates the object is travelling at a
constant speed. A straight diagonal line Examples of vector quantities that have
indicates the object's velocity is changing. In been previously discussed include
the graph on the left, the line sloping displacement, velocity, acceleration, and
upwards shows the object is accelerating force.
and the line sloping downwards in this case
towards v = 0, shows it is decelerating. The
negative value of the gradient gives the
negative value for the acceleration (or
deceleration), BUT, a negative value does
not always mean slowing down! See the
next section on 'DIRECTION VECTORS' for
elaboration.

In contrast to vectors, ordinary quantities

that have a magnitude but not a direction
are called scalars.

For example, displacement, velocity, and

acceleration are vector quantities, while
speed (the magnitude of velocity), time, and
mass are scalars.

VECTOR ADDITION

Two vectors can be added together to

VECTORS determine the result (or resultant). Recall in
Newton's laws of motion, that the net force
experienced by an object was determined
by computing the vector sum of all the
individual forces acting upon that object.
That is the net force was the result (or
resultant) of adding up all the force vectors.
During that unit, the rules for summing
vectors (such as force vectors) were kept
relatively simple.
Observe the following summations of two
force vectors:
The Pythagorean Theorem
The Pythagorean theorem is a useful
method for determining the result of adding
two (and only two) vectors that make a right
angle to each other. The method is not
applicable for adding more than two
vectors or for adding vectors that are not at
90-degrees to each other. The Pythagorean
theorem is a mathematical equation that
relates the length of the sides of a right
triangle to the length of the hypotenuse of
a right triangle.
Sample Problem:
Jake leaves the base camp and hikes 15
km, north and then hikes 15 km east.
Determine Jake's resulting displacement.
Using Trigonometry to Determine a
Vector's Direction
The direction of a resultant vector can often
be determined by use of trigonometric
functions. Most students recall the meaning
of the useful mnemonic SOH CAH TOA
from their course in trigonometry. SOH CAH
TOA is a mnemonic that helps one
remember the meaning of the three
common trigonometric functions - sine,
cosine, and tangent functions. These three
functions relate an acute angle in a right
triangle to the ratio of the lengths of two of
the sides of the right triangle.