Topic 3

Kinematics in One
Dimension
Lecture Outline

3.1 Distance and

Displacement
3.2 Speed and Velocity
3.3 Acceleration
 3.3 Distance and Displacement
• What is the different between distance and displacement?
• Displacement (blue line)
line is how far the object is from its starting point, regardless
of how it got there. (change in position)
• Distance traveled (dashed line)
line is measured along the actual path.
 Distance – Scalar
 Displacement – Vector
The displacement is written:

Movement to the right: Movement to the left:

Displacement is Displacement is
positive. negative.
 3.2 Speed and Velocity
 Speed - how far an object travel in a given time interval
 Average speed – the total distance traveled along its path divided by the
time takes to travel this distance
 Velocity – a vector, signify both of the magnitude (how fast) and direction of
an object
 Average velocity – the total displacement of an object divided by the time
takes to travel to this point

Unit : meter/second (m/s)

 Time taken – 70 s

Average v
 In general

 Positive value – object moving along the +x axis

 Negative value – object moving along the –x axis

 Direction is always the same as the displacement

Example 2-1: Runner’s average velocity.
The position of a runner as a function of time
is plotted as moving along the x axis of a
coordinate system. During a 3.00 s time
interval, the runner’s position changes from x1
= 50.0 m to x2 = 30.5 m, as shown. What was
the runner’s average velocity?
Example 2-2: Distance a
cyclist travels.
How far can a cyclist travel in
2.5 h along a straight road if
her average velocity is 18
km/h?
Instantaneous Velocity

The instantaneous velocity is the average

velocity in the limit as the time interval
becomes infinitesimally short.
 Instantaneous velocity Vs
Average velocity
If an object moves at uniform velocity over
a particular time interval, then
instantaneous velocity = average velocity

60
Velocity (km/h)

40

20

0 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

Time (h)
 Instantaneous velocity Vs
Average velocity (cont.)
 But in many situations, this is not the case.

60
Velocity (km/h)

40
Average velocity
20

0 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

Time (h)
  To better understand instantaneous
velocity, let us consider a graph of x
vs. t

P1Pi slope < P1P2 slope.

What if take the point Pi to be closer and closer to
point P1????
 As we take Δt smaller and smaller, the
average velocity approaches the slope of
the tangent at point P1.
 Instantaneous velocity = slope of tangent
Example 2-3: Given x as a function of t.
A jet engine moves along an
experimental track (which we call
the x axis) as shown. Its position
as a function of time is given by
the equation x = At2 + B, where A
= 2.10 m/s2 and B = 2.80 m.
(a)Determine the displacement of
the engine during the time
interval from t1 = 3.00 s to t2 =
5.00 s.
(b) Determine the average
velocity during this time interval.
(c) Determine the magnitude of
the instantaneous velocity at t =
5.00 s.
3.3 Acceleration

Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity.

In general

(Unit: m/s2)
Example: 5 m/s2 – velocity will increase 5 m/s
in 1 second
Example 2-4: Average acceleration.
A car accelerates along a straight road from
rest to 90 km/h in 5.0 s. What is the magnitude
of its average acceleration?
Example 2-6: Car slowing down.
An automobile is moving to the right along a
straight highway, which we choose to be the
positive x axis. Then the driver puts on the
brakes. If the initial velocity (when the driver
hits the brakes) is v1 = 15.0 m/s, and it takes
5.0 s to slow down to v2 = 5.0 m/s, what was
the car’s average acceleration?
There is a difference between negative
acceleration and deceleration:
Negative acceleration is acceleration in the
negative direction as defined by the coordinate
system.
Deceleration occurs when the acceleration is
opposite in direction to the velocity.
Instantaneous Acceleration
The instantaneous acceleration is the
average acceleration in the limit as the time
interval becomes infinitesimally short.
 Like velocity, acceleration is a rate.
 The velocity is the rate at which the
displacement changes with time
 The acceleration it the rate which the velocity
changes with time
 Acceleration is “rate of rate”
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 = (2.10 m/s2)t2 +
(2.80 m). Calculate
(a)its average acceleration during the time interval
from t1 = 3.00 s to t2 = 5.00 s, and
(b) its instantaneous acceleration as a function of time.
 ConcepTest 2.1 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
1) yes
fire hydrants. When you arrive at the
2) no
park, do you and your dog have the same
displacement?
 ConcepTest 2.1 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. 1) yes
When you arrive at the park, do 2) no
you and your dog have the same
displacement?

Yes, you have the same displacement. Since 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 2.2 Displacement
Does the displacement of an 1) yes
object depend on the 2) no
specific location of the origin 3) it depends on the

of the coordinate system? coordinate system

 ConcepTest 2.2 Displacement
Does the displacement of an
1) yes
object depend on the 2) no
specific location of the origin 3) it depends on the
of the coordinate system? coordinate system

Since the 10 20 30 40 50
displacement is the
x  40  10  30
difference between
two coordinates, the
origin does not
30 40 50 60 70
matter.
x  60  30  30
ConcepTest 2.3 Position and Speed
1) yes
If the position of a 2) no
car is zero, does its 3) it depends on the
speed have to be position

zero?
 ConcepTest 2.3 Position and Speed
1) yes
If the position of a 2) no
car is zero, does its 3) it depends on the
speed have to be position

zero?

No, the speed does not depend on position; it depends on the

change of position. Since we know that the displacement does
not depend on the origin of the coordinate system, an object
can easily start at x = –3 and be moving by the time it gets to x
= 0.
 ConcepTest 2.6a Cruising Along I

You drive for 30 minutes at 1) more than 40 mi/hr

30 mi/hr and then for 2) equal to 40 mi/hr
another 30 minutes at 50
mi/hr. What is your average 3) less than 40 mi/hr
speed for the whole trip?
 ConcepTest 2.6a Cruising Along I

You drive for 30 minutes at 30 1) more than 40 mi/hr

mi/hr and then for another 30 2) equal to 40 mi/hr

minutes at 50 mi/hr. What is your 3) less than 40 mi/hr
average speed for the whole trip?

It is 40 mi/hr in this case. Since the average speed is

distance/time and you spend the same amount of time at
each speed, then your average speed would indeed be 40
mi/hr.
 ConcepTest 2.6b Cruising Along II
You drive 4 miles at 30 1) more than 40 mi/hr
mi/hr and then another 4 2) equal to 40 mi/hr
miles at 50 mi/hr. What is
your average speed for the 3) less than 40 mi/hr
whole 8-mile trip?
 ConcepTest 2.6b
You drive 4 miles at 30
mi/hr and then another 4
miles at 50 mi/hr. What is
your average speed for the
whole 8-mile trip?
Cruising Along II
1) more than 40 mi/hr
2) equal to 40 mi/hr
3) less than 40 mi/hr

It is not 40 mi/hr! Remember that the average speed is

distance/time. Since it takes longer to cover 4 miles at the
slower speed, you are actually moving at 30 mi/hr for a
longer period of time! Therefore, your average speed is
closer to 30 mi/hr than it is to 50 mi/hr.
ConcepTest 2.7 Velocity in One Dimension
If the average velocity is non-zero 1) yes
over some time interval, does
this mean that the instantaneous 2) no

velocity is never zero during the 3) it depends

same interval?
ConcepTest 2.7 Velocity in One Dimension
If the average velocity is non-zero 1) yes
over some time interval, does
this mean that the instantaneous 2) no

velocity is never zero during the 3) it depends

same interval?

No!!! For example, your average velocity

for a trip home might be 60 mph, but if
you stopped for lunch on the way home,
there was an interval when your
instantaneous velocity was zero, in fact!
 ConcepTest 2.8a Acceleration I
1) Yes
If the velocity of a car is
2) No
non-zero (v 0), can the 3) Depends on the velocity
acceleration of the car be
zero?
 ConcepTest 2.8a Acceleration I
1) Yes
If the velocity of a car is
2) No
non-zero (v 0), can the 3) Depends on the velocity
acceleration of the car be
zero?

Sure it can! An object moving with

constant velocity has a non-zero
velocity, but it has zero acceleration
since the velocity is not changing.
 ConcepTest 2.8b
When throwing a ball straight
up, which of the following is
true about its velocity v and
its acceleration a at the
highest point in its path?
Acceleration II
1) both v = 0 and a = 0
2) v  0, but a = 0
3) v = 0, but a  0
4) both v 0 and a  0
5) not really sure
 ConcepTest 2.8b
When throwing a ball straight
up, which of the following is
true about its velocity v and
its acceleration a at the
highest point in its path?
Acceleration II
1) both v = 0 and a = 0
2) v  0, but a = 0
3) v = 0, but a  0
4) both v 0 and a  0
5) not really sure

At the top, clearly v = 0 because the

ball has momentarily stopped. But the y
velocity of the ball is changing, so its
acceleration is definitely not zero!
Otherwise it would remain at rest!!
Follow-up: …and the value of a is…?