Physics for Engineers

MOTION IN ONE DIMENSION PART 1

Instructor: Engr. Aquim P. Bordomeo, CIT University

 Dynamics
• The branch of physics involving the motion of an object and
the relationship between that motion and other physics
concepts
• Kinematics is a part of dynamics
“kinema” means movement
➢In kinematics, you are interested in the description of
motion
➢Not concerned with the cause of the motion
 Quantities in Motion
• Any motion involves three concepts
➢Displacement
➢Velocity
➢Acceleration
• These concepts can be used to study objects in motion
 Position
• Defined in terms of a
frame of reference
➢A choice of coordinate axes
➢Defines a starting point for
measuring the motion
(or any other quantity)
➢One dimensional, so
generally the x- or y-axis
Section 2.1
 Distance vs Displacement
An object goes from one point in space to another. After the
object arrives at its destination, the magnitude of its
displacement is _______ the distance it traveled.
a. either greater than or equal to
b. always greater than
c. always equal to
d. either smaller than or equal to
e. always smaller than
f. either smaller or larger than
Section 2.1
 Distance vs Displacement
An object goes from one point in space to another. After the
object arrives at its destination, the magnitude of its
displacement is _______ the distance it traveled.
a. either greater than or equal to
b. always greater than
c. always equal to
d. either smaller than or equal to
e. always smaller than
f. either smaller or larger than
 Distance vs Displacement
Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how much ground an
object has covered" during its motion.
Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to "how far out of
place an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.
➢Defined as the change in position
𝛥𝑥 = 𝑥𝑓 − 𝑥𝑖
• f stands for final and i stands for initial
➢Units are meters (m) in SI
 Displacement Examples

From A to B
xi = 30 m
xf = 52 m
x = 22 m
➢The displacement is positive, indicating the motion was in
the positive x direction
 Displacement Examples

From C to F
xi = 38 m
xf = -53 m
x = -91 m
➢The displacement is negative, indicating the motion was in the
negative x direction
Displacement, Graphical
 Displacement Isn’t Distance

The displacement of an object is not the same

as the distance it travels.
Example: A student will walk “x” distance and
return.
• How far did he/she walk?
• What was his/her displacement?
 Speed
• The average speed of an object is defined as the total
distance traveled (regardless of path taken) divided by
the total time elapsed
total distance
Average speed =
elapsed time
x
v =
t

➢Speed is a scalar quantity

 EXAMPLE1
Estimate the average speed of the Apollo aircraft in
meters per second, given that the craft took five
days to reach the Moon from the Earth. The Moon
is 3.8 x 108 m from the Earth.
 Velocity
• It takes time for an object to undergo a displacement
• The average velocity is the rate at which the displacement
occurs
∆𝑥 𝑥𝑓 − 𝑥𝑖
𝑣𝑎𝑣𝑒 = =
∆𝑡 ∆𝑡
• Velocity can be positive or negative
t is always positive
• Average speed is not the same as the average velocity
 Speed vs. Velocity

Which has a greater average speed?

The car on the blue path will have a greater average speed since
the path length it traveled is larger.
 Speed vs. Velocity

Which has a greater average velocity?

Cars on both paths have the same average velocity since they had
the same displacement in the same time interval
 Graphical Interpretation of Velocity

• Velocity can be determined from a position-time graph

• Average velocity equals the slope of the line joining the
initial and final points on the graph
• An object moving with a constant velocity will have a
graph that is a straight line
 Average Velocity, Constant

• The straight line indicates

constant velocity
• The slope of the line is
the value of the average
velocity
 Average Velocity, Non Constant

• The motion is non-

constant velocity
• The average velocity is
the slope of the straight
line joining the initial and
final points

Section 2.2
 EXAMPLE2

Starting from the front door of your ranch house, you walk 60 m
due east to your windmill, and then you turn around and slowly
walk 40 m west to a bench where you sit and watch the sunrise. It
takes you 28 s to walk from your house to the windmill and then
36 s to walk from the windmill to the bench. For the entire trip
from your front door to the bench. For the entire trip from your
front door to the bench, what are
a. your average speed
b. your average velocity
 Instantaneous Velocity

• The limit of the average velocity as the time interval

becomes infinitesimally short, or as the time interval
approaches zero
∆𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑣 = lim =
∆𝑡→0 ∆𝑡 𝑑𝑡
• The instantaneous velocity indicates what is happening
at every point of time
– The magnitude of the instantaneous velocity is what you
read on a car’s speedometer
Instantaneous velocity is the tangent line at any
given point

• Draw a tangent line

through B
• The instantaneous
velocity at B is the
slope of that line
 Finding velocity on an x-t graph
At any point on an x-t graph, the instantaneous x-velocity is equal
to the slope of the tangent to the curve at that point.
 EXAMPLE3

A cheetah is crouched 20 m to the east of an

observer. At time t=0 , the cheetah begins to run
due east toward an antelope that is 50 m to the east
of the observer. During the first 2.0 s of the attack,
the cheetah’s coordinate x varies with time
𝑚 2
according to the equation 𝑥 = 20 𝑚 + 5 2 𝑡 .
𝑠
 EXAMPLE3

(a) Find the cheetah’s displacement between t1 = 1s & t2 = 2s

(b) Find its average velocity during that interval.
(c) Derive a general equation for the cheetah’s instantaneous
velocity as a function of time and use it to find vx at t =1s
and t = 2s
EXAMPLE3
 Acceleration
• Changing velocity means an acceleration is
present
• Acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity
∆𝑣 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖
𝑎= =
∆𝑡 ∆𝑡
• Units are m/s² (SI), cm/s² (cgs), and ft/s² (US Cust)
 Average Acceleration
• Vector quantity
• When the object’s velocity and acceleration are in
the same direction (either positive or negative),
then the speed of the object increases with time
• When the object’s velocity and acceleration are in
the opposite directions, the speed of the object
decreases with time
 Relationship Between Acceleration
and Velocity

• Uniform velocity (shown by red arrows

maintaining the same size)
• Acceleration equals zero
 Relationship Between Velocity and
Acceleration

• Velocity and acceleration are in the same direction

• Acceleration is uniform (violet arrows maintain the same
length)
• Velocity is increasing (red arrows are getting longer)
• Positive velocity and positive acceleration
 Relationship Between Velocity and
Acceleration

• Acceleration and velocity are in opposite directions

• Acceleration is uniform (violet arrows maintain the same length)
• Velocity is decreasing (red arrows are getting shorter)
• Velocity is positive and acceleration is negative
Motion Diagram Summary
 Negative Acceleration
• A negative acceleration does not necessarily mean
the object is slowing down
• If the acceleration and velocity are both negative,
the object is speeding up
• “Deceleration” means a decrease in speed, not a
negative acceleration
 Instantaneous and Uniform Acceleration

• The limit of the average acceleration as the time

interval goes to zero
∆𝑣 𝑑𝑣
𝑎 = lim =
∆𝑡→0 ∆𝑡 𝑑𝑡
• When the instantaneous accelerations are always
the same, the acceleration will be uniform
–The instantaneous accelerations will all be equal to
the average acceleration
 Graphical Interpretation of Acceleration

• Average acceleration is the slope of the line

connecting the initial and final velocities on a
velocity vs. time graph
• Instantaneous acceleration is the slope of the
tangent to the curve of the velocity-time graph
Graphical Interpretation of Acceleration

Section 2.3
 True or False?
1. A car must always have an acceleration in the same
direction as its velocity.
FALSE
2. It’s possible for a slowing car to have a positive acceleration.
TRUE
3. An object with constant nonzero acceleration can never stop
and remain at rest.
TRUE
Section 2.3
 Motion with Constant Acceleration
By definition,
𝑑𝑣 𝑓 𝑓
𝑣 = 𝑎𝑡
|𝑖 |𝑖
𝑎=
𝑑𝑡 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 = 𝑎 𝑡𝑓 − 𝑡𝑖
𝑑𝑣 = 𝑎𝑑𝑡 at 𝒕𝒊 = 𝟎 and 𝒕𝒇 = 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕 ,
𝑓 𝑓
න 𝑑𝑣 = 𝑎 න 𝑑𝑡 𝑣 − 𝑣𝑖 = 𝑎𝑡
𝑖 𝑖
𝑣 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆
 Motion with Constant Acceleration

𝑣 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
න 𝑑𝑥 − න 𝑑𝑥𝑖 = 𝑎 න 𝑡𝑑𝑡
𝑣−𝑣𝑖 = 𝑎𝑡 1 2
∆𝑥 − ∆𝑥𝑖 = 𝑎 𝑡
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥𝑖 2
− = 𝑎𝑡 1 2
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 ∆𝑥 = ∆𝑥𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1 2
𝑑𝑥 − 𝑑𝑥𝑖 = 𝑎𝑡 1 2
𝑑𝑡 ∆𝑥 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡
2
𝑑𝑥 − 𝑑𝑥𝑖 = 𝑎𝑡𝑑𝑡 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆
 Motion with Constant Acceleration
𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑣 1
𝑎= 𝑎= ⋅𝑣 𝑎∆𝑥 = 𝑣𝑓 2 − 𝑣𝑖 2
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑥 2
𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑥 𝑎𝑑𝑥 = 𝑣𝑑𝑣 2𝑎∆𝑥 = 𝑣𝑓 2 − 𝑣𝑖 2
𝑎= ⋅
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑥 𝑎 න 𝑑𝑥 = න 𝑣𝑑𝑣 𝑣𝑓 2 = 𝑣𝑖 2 + 2𝑎∆𝑥
𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑥
𝑎= ⋅ 𝑓 𝑓 at any time t ,
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑡 𝑎 න 𝑑𝑥 = න 𝑣𝑑𝑣
𝑑𝑣 𝑖 𝑖
1 𝑣 2 = 𝑣𝑖 2 + 2𝑎∆𝑥
𝑓 2 𝑓
𝑎= ⋅𝑣 𝑎𝑥 |𝑖 = 𝑣 |𝑖 𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕
𝑑𝑥 2
 EXAMPLE4

A burglar was driving 25 m/s North. After seeing

a police car, he accelerated for 5 seconds at 6
m/s2. What was his final velocity?
 EXAMPLE5
Suppose the burglar was originally driving 35 m/s
and was 60 m/s after accelerating for 5 seconds.
What was his acceleration?
 EXAMPLE6
A car traveling east at 40.0 m/s passes a trooper
hiding at the roadside. The driver uniformly reduces
his speed to 25.0 m/s in 3.50 s. (a) What is the
magnitude and direction of the car’s acceleration as
it slows down? (b) How far does the car travel in the
3.5-s time period?
 EXAMPLE7
Tom is 10m behind Jack. Tom is running 7m/s and Jack is running
3m/s. When will Tom catch Jack? Where will he catch him?
 EXAMPLE8

A turtle crawls along a straight line, which we

will call the x-axis with the positive direction to
the right. The equation for the turtle’s position
as a function of time is
𝑐𝑚 𝑐𝑚 2
𝑥 𝑡 = 50 𝑐𝑚 + 2 𝑡 − 0.0625 2 𝑡
𝑠 𝑠
 EXAMPLE8
(a) Find the turtle’s initial velocity, initial position, and
initial acceleration.
(b) At what time t is the velocity of the turtle zero?
(c) How long after starting does it take the turtle to return
to its starting point?
(d) At what time t is the turtle a distance of 10.0 cm from
its starting point? What is the velocity (magnitude and
direction) of the turtle at each of these times?
 LET’S PRACTICE
1. A certain car is capable of accelerating at a rate
of 10.60 m/s2. How long does it take for this car
to go from a speed of 55 mi/h to a speed of 60
mi/h?.
Answer: 0.21 seconds
 LET’S PRACTICE
2. A steam catapult launches a jet aircraft from the
aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, giving it a speed of
175 mi/h in 2.50 s. (a) Find the average acceleration
of the plane. (b) Assuming the acceleration is
constant, find the distance the plane moves.
Answer: a. 0.02 mi/s2 b. 0.06 mi
 LET’S PRACTICE

3. A truck covers 40.0 m in 8.50 s while smoothly

slowing down to a final velocity of 2.80 m/s. (a) Find
the truck’s original speed. (b) Find its acceleration.
Answer: a. 6.6 m/s b. -0.45 m/s2
 LET’S PRACTICE
4.

Answer: a. 12 m/s b. 0 m/s, 15 m/s, 12 m/s

c. 13.33 s
 LET’S PRACTICE

Answers: a. 0.5 m/s2 b. 0 m/s2, 1 m/s2

 LET’S PRACTICE
6.

Answer: 7.42 m/s2

 LET’S PRACTICE

Answer: a. 675 m/s2 b. 0.067 s

 LET’S PRACTICE

8. Speedy Sue, driving at 30.0 m/s, enters a one-lane

tunnel. She then observes a slow-moving van 155 m ahead
traveling at 5.00 m/s. Sue applies her brakes but can
accelerate only at -2.00 m/s2 because the road is wet. Will
there be a collision? State how you decide. If yes,
determine how far into the tunnel and at what time the
collision occurs. If no, determine the distance of closest
approach between Sue’s car and the van.
Answer: 11.4 s, 212 m from the original position of Sue’s car
 ACTIVITY #2

1. A car travels in the +x direction on a straight and level road.

For the first 4 seconds of its motion, the average velocity is
6.25 m/s. How far does the car travel in 4 seconds?
2. Starting from a pillar you run 200 m east at an average
speed of 5 m/s and then run 280 m west at an average of 4
m/s to a post. Calculate
a. your average speed from pillar to post and
b. your average velocity from pillar to post
 ACTIVITY #2
3. An antelope moving with constant acceleration covers the
distance between 2 points 70 meters apart in 7 seconds. Its
speed as it passes the 2nd point is 15 m/s.
a. What is its speed at the first point?
b. What is its acceleration?
4. A bird is flying due east. Its distance from a tall building is
given by 𝑥 𝑡 = 28 𝑚 + 12.4 𝑚 𝑡 − 0.045 𝑚 𝑡3
𝑠 𝑠3
a. What is the velocity of the bird when t = 8 seconds?
b. What is the acceleration of the bird when t = 8 seconds?