Distance

The length an object actually travels.

How far you go.
Scalar

Displacement
The change in position of an object.
Length between start and finish
Vector
 Average Velocity
change in position displacement
average velocity = =
change in time time interval

x x f  xi
vavg  
t t f  ti
 Velocity vs. Speed
• Velocity describes motion with both a
direction and a numerical value
(i.e. magnitude). (vector)

• Speed has no direction, only magnitude.

• Average speed is equal to the total

distance traveled divided by the time
interval. (scalar)

distance traveled
average speed =
time of travel
Sign Conventions for Velocity
Interpreting Velocity Graphically
The instantaneous velocity is the
velocity of an object at some instant or
at a specific point in the object’s path.

The instantaneous
velocity at a given
time can be
determined by
measuring the slope
of the line that is
tangent to that point
on the position-
versus-time graph.
 Acceleration

change in velocity
average acceleration =
time required for change

Units for acceleration are 1 m/s/s or m/s2

This means that every second
you increase your velocity by one m/s.
 Changes in Velocity
• Acceleration is the rate at which velocity
changes over time.

v v f  vi
aavg  
t t f  ti

• An object accelerates if its speed, direction,

or both change.
• Acceleration has direction and magnitude.
Thus, acceleration is a vector quantity.
Acceleration
 Changes in Velocity
• Consider a train moving to the right, so that the
displacement and the velocity are positive.
• The slope of the velocity-time graph is the
average acceleration.
– When the velocity in the positive direction
is increasing, the acceleration is
positive, as at A.
– When the velocity is constant, there is no
acceleration, as at B.
– When the velocity in the positive direction
is decreasing, the acceleration is
negative, as at C.
Graphical Representations of Acceleration
 Practice
• A car accelerates east from rest to a final
velocity of 20 m/s east in a time interval
of 5.0 s. What is the average
acceleration of the car?
 Practice
• A car traveling initially at +3.0 m/s
accelerates to 24 m/s during an interval of
20 s. What is the acceleration during this
time?
 There Are Other Uses for the
Formula

vf = vi + at
Final Velocity = Initial Velocity + Acceleration x Time
 Practice
• A car traveling initially at +3.0 m/s
accelerates at the rate of +1.20 m/s2 for an
interval of 20 s. What is the velocity at the
end of the acceleration?
Velocity and Acceleration
 Objectives
• Relate the motion of a freely falling body to
motion with constant acceleration.

• Calculate displacement, velocity, and time

at various points in the motion of a freely
falling object.

• Compare the motions of different objects in

free fall.
Free Fall
 Free Fall
• Free fall is the motion of a body when only the
force due to gravity is acting on the body.

• The acceleration on an object in free fall is

called the acceleration due to gravity, or free-
fall acceleration.

• Free-fall acceleration is denoted with the

symbols ag (generally) or g (on Earth’s surface).
Free-Fall Acceleration
 Free-Fall Acceleration
• Free-fall acceleration is the same for all
objects, regardless of mass.
• we use the value g = 9.8 m/s2.
• Free-fall acceleration on Earth’s surface is
–9.8 m/s2 at all points in the object’s
motion.
 Free-Fall Acceleration
• Consider a ball thrown up into the air.
– Moving upward: velocity is decreasing,
acceleration is –9.8 m/s2

– Top of path: velocity is zero, acceleration is –

9.8 m/s2

– Moving downward: velocity is increasing,

acceleration is –9.8 m/s2
Velocity and Acceleration of
an Object in Free Fall
 Newton’s First Law
• An object at rest remains at rest, and an
object in motion continues in motion with
constant velocity (that is, constant speed in a
straight line) unless the object experiences a
net external force.

• In other words, when the net total external

force on an object is zero, the object’s
acceleration is zero. (i.e. the change in the
object’s velocity is zero)
 Newton’s Second Law

The acceleration of an object is directly

proportional to the net force acting on
the object and inversely proportional to
the object’s mass.

F = ma
net force = mass  acceleration

F represents the vector sum of all external forces acting

on the object, or the net force.
Newton’s Second Law
Newton’s Third Law
• If two objects interact, the magnitude of the force
exerted on object 1 by object 2 is equal to the
magnitude of the force simultaneously exerted on
object 2 by object 1, and these two forces are
opposite in direction.

• In other words, for every action, there is an

equal and opposite reaction.

• Because the forces coexist, either force can be

called the action or the reaction.
 Action and Reaction Forces
• Action-reaction pairs do not imply that the net
force on either object is zero.
• The action-reaction forces are equal and opposite,
but either object may still have a net force on it.

Consider driving a nail into wood with a hammer. The force that the nail exerts
on the hammer is equal and opposite to the force that the hammer exerts on
the nail.

But there is a net force acting on the nail, which drives the nail into the wood.
Newton’s Third Law
 Weight
• The gravitational force (Fg) exerted on an
object by Earth is a vector quantity,
directed toward the center of Earth.

• The magnitude of this force (Fg) is a scalar

quantity called weight.

• Weight changes with the location of an

object in the universe.
 Weight, continued
• Calculating weight at any location:
Fg = mag
ag = free-fall acceleration at that location

• Calculating weight on Earth's surface:

ag = g = 9.81 m/s2
Fg = mg = m(9.81 m/s2)
 Gravity as a Force
• The gravitational force (Fg) exerted on an
object by Earth is a vector quantity, directed
toward the center of Earth.

• Force is in Newtons
• Masses are in kg
• Distance is in meters
 Gravity as a Force
• The gravitational force constant is G
• G = 6.67 x 10-11 N-m2/kg2

• The masses are simply the mass of the two

gravitational bodies (i.e. your mass and the
earth’s)
• When using G and ME, then it simplifies to g