MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE (Rectilinear Motion)

Motion is apparent in widely ranging phenomena. Historically, motion was one of the first phenomena to be
studied carefully. Some progress was made in the understanding of motion in ancient times, particularly by the
philosophers of classical Greece, but it was not until the Renaissance that the basic laws of motion were discovered. Many
individuals made important contributions, but two stand above the rest: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and Isaac Newton
(1642-1727).
Motion is defined as the continuous change in the position of a body. The study of the motion of a body
irrespective of the causes is the branch of mechanics called Kinematics, which comes from a Greek word meaning
“motion”.
In our study of motion we will be using a particle (an object whose dimensions are negligible for the problem at
hand and whose position is represented by a mathematical point) as a model, which is actually a very small body.
However, larger bodies like a car or a sled can be represented by the particle if all parts of it can be considered to be
moving in the same way or it does not rotate or change its shape while moving.
We start our study with the simplest type of motion a body can undergo. This is called rectilinear motion or
motion along a straight line. For the analysis, we will be considering the line of motion as a coordinate axis, i.e. the x-axis
if the line of motion is horizontal or the y-axis if the line of motion is vertical.

BASIC CONCEPTS:

1. POSITION (x) of the body. This is to indicate the location of the body at any time as it moves. It is the distance
from a given reference point along the path at any time.
 Usually given as a function of time like X = (10 m/s2)t2 etc..

 The reference point should not be confused with the starting point although sometimes they are considered the
same for convenience.
 In cases where the line of motion is the y-axis, position is denoted by (y)

2. DISPLACEMENT (X) - this is the change in the position of the body during a certain length of time
  the Greek letter “delta” () stands for “change in” a quantity.

X = X2 - X1

where x1 - is the initial position or position at time t1

x2 - is the final position or position at time t2

 Displacement is different from distance traveled in the sense that displacement is a vector quantity directed
from the initial to the final position. However in rectilinear motion, the magnitude of the displacement is the
same as the distance traveled.

3. Time instant (t) and Time Interval (t)

Time instant is a point in time, i.e. at the time 5 seconds after starting or time 2 seconds before it stops, etc.
Time interval is a length of time, i.e. during the first 10 seconds or during the time from t 1 = 5 seconds to t 2 = 10
seconds etc.

4. Velocity of the body. Generally, the velocity is the rate of change in the position of the body. From this, it can be seen
how fast a body is moving including its direction of motion.

Average Velocity (vav) is the velocity of a body taken during a time interval or between tw0 points along its path.

Displacement X
vav = ---------------------- = -------
Time Interval t

Instantaneous Velocity (v) is the velocity of a body at a particular time instant or point along its path.

5. Acceleration of the body is the rate of change in the velocity of the body. A body is said to be accelerating when the
velocity is changing. This can happen in the form of a change in the magnitude of the velocity i.e. the body moves faster
and faster or slower and slower, or in the form of a change in the direction. In rectilinear motion however, acceleration
can happen mostly in the form of a change in magnitude (except at the instant when the body reverses its direction).
 Average acceleration (aav) is the acceleration of the body taken during a time interval or during a certain
displacement.

Change in velocity v
aav = -------------------- = -------------
Time interval t

Instantaneous acceleration (a) is the acceleration at a given time instant or point along its path.

Examples:
1. A car travels a straight road so that its distance from reference point is given by the equation X(t) = (2.4 m/s 2)t2 –
(0.12 m/s3)t3. Calculate: a) the average velocity of the car for the time interval t = 0s, and t = 10s; b) Calculate the
instantaneous velocity of the car at t = 0s, t = 5s, and t = 10s; c) How long after starting from rest is the car at rest
again?

2. A turtle crawls along the x-axis. The equation for the turtle’s position as a function of time is given by X(t) = 50
cm + (2 cm/s)t – (0.0625 cm/s2)t2. Calculate: a) initial position, initial velocity and initial acceleration; b) at what
time t is the turtle’s velocity equal to zero; c) How long after starting does it take the turtle to return to its starting
point? d) at what times t is the turtle a distance of 10 cm from its starting point? what are the magnitude and
direction of velocity of the turtle at these times?

Uniformly Accelerated Rectilinear Motion or UARM

UARM is one common type of rectilinear motion. In this type of motion, the change in velocity for consecutive equal
time intervals is constant. For example, if the change in velocity during the first 5 sec is 20 m/s, the change in velocity
during the second 5 sec will also be 20 m/s, so also during the third 5 sec and so on. The body therefore can be observed
to be moving faster or slower at a uniform rate.
If the acceleration is in the same direction as the velocity the body moves faster. In this case the acceleration is
considered to be positive relative to the velocity. If the acceleration is opposite to the velocity the body moves slower. In
this case the acceleration is said to be negative relative to the velocity.
Basic Equations used for Analyzing UARM:

To simplify the equations, it will be assumed here that initially (at t = 0), the position X = 0,
Thus the time interval t will be the same as time instant t because ti = 0 and tf = t.

The displacement X will also become same as position X because Xi = 0 and Xf = X at time instant t.

Therefore vav = X/t = X/t and since vav = (vi + vf)/2 then

X = (vi + vf) t / 2

In UARM, the average acceleration is equal to the instantaneous acceleration therefore

a = aav = (vf - vi) / t

The two equations above are considered as the basic equations for analyzing UARM. Any problem involving UARM can
already be solved or analyzed by just using these 2 equations. However, in many instances, the two will always be used
together to solve even only a single quantity. Therefore there is a need for additional equations that will enable us to solve
for a quantity directly using only one equation. To obtain these additional equations, we simply solve the two basic
equations simultaneously by elimination of a particular unknown quantity. That’s why these additional equations are
called derived equations.

If vf is eliminated from the basic equations,

X = vi(t) + (1/2)at2

If vi is eliminated,

X = vf (t) - (1/2)at2

If t is eliminated

vf2 = vi2 + 2aX

Thus, there are 5 equations for analyzing UARM, each one having its own particular application.

Examples:
1. Determine the average speed of a car that travels 80 km/hr for 2 hr, 100 km/hr for 1 hr and at 30 km/hr for 0.5 hr?

2. You normally drive on a freeway at an average speed of 105 km/hr, and the trip takes 2 hr and 20 min. On a
Friday afternoon, however, heavy traffic slows you down and you drive the same distance at an average speed of
only 70 km/hr. How much longer does the trip take?
3. A car moving with constant acceleration covers the distance between two points 60 m apart in 6s. Its velocity as it
passes the second point is 15 m/s. (a) what is its velocity at the first point? (b) What is the acceleration?
 4. A subway train starts from rest at a station and accelerates at a rate of 1.6 m/s 2 for 14 s. It then runs at constant
speed for 70 s after which it slows down at a rate of 3.5 m/s 2 until it stops at the next station. Find the total
distance covered.
5. A freight train moving at an initial speed of 40 m/s puts on its breaks, producing a deceleration of 0.5 m/s 2. (a)
How long will it take the train to travel the next 100 m? (b) At what speed will it be traveling the end of this 100
m?

Free Falling Bodies:

An excellent example of motion with (nearly) constant acceleration is a free falling body. A body, which is dropped
from a roof of a building, is a freely falling body if there is no air resistance. However, there is a more accurate meaning
of a free falling body. It is a body such that the only force acting on it is the pull of gravity. This implies that there is no
air resistance or air friction, for air friction is considered a force acting on a moving body.
The motion of falling bodies has been studied with great precision. When the effects of air can be neglected, Galileo is
right; all bodies at a particular location fall with the same downward acceleration, regardless of their size or weight. (The
constant acceleration of a free falling body is called the acceleration due to gravity.) If the distance of the fall is small
compared to the radius of the earth, the acceleration is constant.
In the following discussion we use an idealized model in which we neglect the effects of the air, the earth’s rotation, ,
and the decrease of acceleration with increasing altitude.

Formulas:

1. y = ½ (vi + vf)t vf - vi
2. y = vit + ½ gt2 4. g = ------------
t
 vf2 – vi2
3. y = ----------- 5. y = vft – ½ gt2
2g

Where:
y = vertical displacement of the free falling body
g = constant acceleration due to gravity
vf = final velocity
vi = initial velocity
t = time elapsed

Note: for convenience, the following concept should be applied:

 The value of acceleration due to gravity “g” is always negative (g = -9.81 m/s 2; g = -32.2 ft/s2; g = - 981 cm/s2)
 Velocities directed upward are positive, while velocities directed downward are negative.
 If the vertical displacement “y” is above the reference point (starting point) of the free falling body, it is positive,
otherwise it is negative.
 The velocity at the highest point of a free falling body thrown vertically upward is zero.

Examples:

1. How fast must a ball be thrown vertically upward to reach a height of 12 m from the point where it was thrown?
How long will it take for the ball to go back to its original position?
2. A ball is thrown vertically downward from the top of a building, leaving the thrower’s hand with a velocity of 35
ft/s. (a) what will be the velocity after falling for 2 s? (b) How far will it fall in 2 s? (c) What will be its velocity
after falling 40 ft? (d) If the point where the ball leaves the thrower’s hand is 150 ft above the ground, in how many
seconds will the ball strike the ground? (e) What will be the velocity of the ball just before it strikes the ground?
3. An object is thrown nearly vertically upward from a point near the edge of a tall building. It just misses the edge on
the way down and passes a point 50 m below its starting point 6 seconds after it leaves the thrower’s hand. Air
resistance may be ignored. (a) What is the initial speed of the object? (b) How high does it rise above its starting
point?

4. A British parachutist bails out at an altitude of 150 m and accidentally drops his monocle. If he descends at a
constant velocity of 6 m/s, how much time separates the arrival of the monocle on the ground to the arrival of the
parachutist himself?

Assignment # 3

1. An apple is thrown vertically downward from a cliff 48 m high and reaches the ground 2 s later. What was the
apples initial velocity?
2. A champagne bottle is held upright 1.2 m above the floor as the wire around its cork is removed. The cork then pops
out, rises vertically and falls to the floor 1.4 s later. (a) What height above the bottle did the cork reach? (b) What
was the cork’s initial velocity? (c) What is its velocity jus before it strikes the ground?
3. Someone throws an object vertically upward with a velocity of 6.15 m/s from the top of a tall building; the thrower
leans over the edge so that the object will not strike the building on the return trip. (a) What is the velocity of the
object when it has traveled 30 m? (b) How long does it take to travel this distance?
4. A baseball thrown vertically upward is caught at the same height 3.2 s later. Determine (a) the initial velocity of the
ball and (b) its maximum height above its starting point.

5. A rock is dropped down a dark well and a splash is heard 3 sec later. Taking into account the time required for
sound to travel up the well, calculate the distance to the water in the well. The sound travels at a constant speed of
340 m/s.