Lecture 2

Physics I

Chapter 1 and 2

Kinematics in One Dimension

I like speed!!
Kinematics?
–Hmm!...Not so much

Course website:
https://sites.uml.edu/andriy-danylov/teaching/physics-i/

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Today we are going to discuss:

 Distance/Displacement: Section 1.3

 Speed/Average velocity: Section 1.4

 Instantaneous velocity: Section 2.2

 Average Acceleration: Section 1.5

 Instantaneous Acceleration: Section 2.7

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Mechanics

There are three branches of Mechanics:

 Kinematics Motion Forces
 Statics Motion Forces
Motion
 Dynamics Motion Forces

Kinematics describes motion of objects

we are not interested in reasons (forces) of a motion

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Kinematics

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Frames of Reference
 Before starting solving any problem, we have to define a coordinate system (a frame of
reference) to describe position and motion of an object
 In this class, we will base problems in a Cartesian coordinate system.
We will have 1D and 2D problems
 We have freedom to choose direction of an axis.
 For 1 dimensional (1D) motion (motion in a straight line), it’s better to align the x-axis along a
motion direction.
 For falling bodies, we tend to describe position using the y-axis

One dimensional (1D) problem Two dimensional (2D) problem

y-axis
5

origin
Negative direction Positive direction x-axis
-5 5
-x origin +x

1 2 3 4 5 x
-5

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Distance vs. Displacement

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Distance vs. Displacement

Distance (scalar):
the total path length traveled by an object

Displacement (vector):
how far an object is from its starting point

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
ConcepTest Roller Coaster

What would be your displacement after a

complete roller coaster?
 ConcepTest Walking the Dog

You and your dog go for a walk to the park.

On the way, your dog takes many side trips to
chase squirrels or examine fire hydrants. A) yes
When you arrive at the park, do you and your B) no
dog have the same displacement?

Yes, you have the same displacement. Because you and your dog had
the same initial position and the same final position, then you have (by
definition) the same displacement.

Follow-up: have you and your dog traveled the same distance?
ConcepTest Odometer
Does the odometer in a car A) distance
measure distance or B) displacement
displacement?
C) both

If you go on a long trip and then return home, your odometer does not measure
zero, but it records the total miles that you traveled. That means the odometer
records distance.

Follow-up: how would you measure displacement in your car?

 Distance vs. Displacement (1D)
Distance is a scalar
Displacement is a vector
– A vector has both magnitude and direction (or sign in 1-D)

Displacement = final position – initial position

Distance = 70+30 =100 m

x1 x2
20 40 60 70 X (m)

Displacement =x2- x1=+40 m

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Distance vs. Displacement (1D)

Distance = 20 m Distance = 20 m

x2 x1
xx11 x2

Displacement = 30-10= + 20 m Displacement = 10-30= -20 m

negative

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Speed and Velocity

Even Hollywood feels that there is a difference between these two terms 

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Average Speed and Average Velocity

Speed is a scalar
distance travelled
average speed 
time elapsed
(Speed: Distance traveled per
unit time interval)

Velocity is a vector
displaceme nt
average velocity 
time elapsed
(Velocity: Displacement of an object per
unit time interval)

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Graphs: Average velocity

20

15 x2
position (m)

10
∆x
5
x1
0 ∆t
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
t1 time (s)
t2

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Average velocity does not tell the whole story…
we also need:

Instantaneous Velocity

If you watch a car’s speedometer, at any instant of time, the

speedometer tells you how fast the car is going at that instant.

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Instantaneous velocity

20

15
position (m)

10

5
goes to 0
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
t1 time (s)

Instantaneous velocity
PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov
Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Instantaneous velocity

 Graphically, instantaneous velocity is the slope of the x vs t plot

at a single point

 Mathematically, the instantaneous velocity is the derivative of

the position function

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Silly example: Finding instantaneous velocity from position (graphically)

Turning point
Moves forward
Moves backward

v2 (max speed)
>0 v1 (slow speed)

v3=0 (turning point)

Gentler slope ≡ lower velocity v positive
Steeper slope ≡ higher velocity

It flies back.
v4 negative
A test to find a turning point: velocity changes its sign

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 ConcepTest Relay baton
Which one of the following x-vs-t graphs could be a
reasonable representation of the motion of a baton in a
relay race being passed from one runner to the next?

The End of the Class

Correct

Saboteur

Doc Brown
superman in a time
(infinite velocity) machine
 Finding Position from a Velocity Graph
∙ x ∙
∙ Let’s integrate it:

∙ Geometrical meaning
of an integral is an area

Initial Total displacement

position displacement
The total displacement ∆s is called the “area under the velocity curve.”
(the total area enclosed between the t-axis and the velocity curve).

Example The displacement is the shaded area

∆
v(t)

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 ConcepTest Position from velocity
A) 20 m
Here is the velocity graph of an object
that is at the origin (x = 0 m) at t = 0 s. B) 16 m

At t = 4.0 s, the object’s C) 12 m

position is
D) 8 m

E) 4 m

Displacement = area under the curve

 Acceleration

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Acceleration
Velocity can also change with time: acceleration
change of velocity
average acceleration 
time elapsed

Instantaneous acceleration

If we are given x(t), we can find both velocity v(t) and acceleration a(t) as a
function of time

Speeding up: acceleration Slowing down: deceleration

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov
Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Example 2-7: Acceleration given x(t).

A particle is moving in a straight line so

that its position is given by the relation

x = (2 m/s2)t2 + (3 m).
Calculate
(a) its average acceleration during the time
interval from t1 = 1 s to t2 = 2 s,
(b) its instantaneous acceleration as a
function of time.

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Thank you

PHYS.1410 Lecture 2 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 ConcepTest Speedometer
A) velocity
Does the speedometer in a car B) speed
measure velocity or speed? C) both

D) neither

The speedometer clearly measures speed, not velocity. Velocity is a

vector (depends on direction), but the speedometer does not care
what direction you are traveling.