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Physics 111: Mechanics: Dale Gary
Physics 111: Mechanics: Dale Gary
Lecture 2
Dale Gary
NJIT Physics Department
Motion along a straight line
Motion
Position and displacement
Average velocity and average speed
Instantaneous velocity and speed
Acceleration
Constant acceleration: A special case
Free fall acceleration
x = + 2.5 m
x=-3m
x2 (t2) = - 2.0 m
Δx = -2.0 m - 2.5 m = -4.5 m
x1 (t1) = - 3.0 m
x2 (t2) = + 1.0 m
Δx = +1.0 m + 3.0 m = +4.0 m
Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2013
Distance and Position-time graph
Displacement in space
From A to B: Δx = xB – xA = 52 m – 30 m = 22 m
From A to C: Δx = xc – xA = 38 m – 30 m = 8 m
Distance is the length of a path followed by a particle
from A to B: d = |xB – xA| = |52 m – 30 m| = 22 m
from A to C: d = |xB – xA|+ |xC – xB| = 22 m + |38 m – 52 m| = 36 m
Displacement is not Distance.
Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2013
Velocity
Velocity is the rate of change of position.
Velocity is a vector quantity.
displacement
Velocity has both magnitude and direction.
Velocity has a unit of [length/time]: meter/second. distance
We will be concerned with three quantities, defined as:
Average velocity x x f xi
vavg
t t
Average speed total distance
savg
t
Instantaneous x dx
v lim
velocity t 0 t dt
displacement
Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2013
Average Velocity
Average velocity
x x f xi
vavg
t t
xi
0 t 0 t
ti tf
Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2013
Average Acceleration
Changing velocity (non-uniform) means an
acceleration is present.
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity.
Acceleration is a vector quantity.
v v0 at
2
x v0t 12 at 2 v 2 v0 2ax
v v0 at x v0t 12 at 2 2
v 2 v0 2ax
x x0 v0t 12 at 2 v
2 2
v v0 2a ( x x0 )
t
x x0 12 (v v0 )t
a
x x0 vt at1
2
2
v0
Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2013