CHAPTER 2

1D KINEMATICS
Linear Motion

Kinematics definitions
Kinematics branch of physics;
study of motion
Position (x) where you are
located
Distance (d ) how far you have
traveled, regardless of direction
Displacement (x) where you
are in relation to where you
started

Kinematics of Linear motion

Defined as the studies of motion of an
objects without considering the effects
that produce the motion.
There are two types of motion:
Linear or straight line motion (1-D)
with constant (uniform) velocity
with constant (uniform) acceleration, e.g. free fall motion

Projectile motion (2-D)

x-component (horizontal)
y-component (vertical)

Linear motion (1-D)

Distance, d

scalar quantity.
is defined as the length of actual path
between two points.
Q
For example :
P

The length of the path from P to Q is 25 cm.

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Displacement,

vector quantity.
is defined as the distance between initial point and final point in
a straight line.
The S.I. unit of displacement is metre (m).

Example 2.1 :
An object P moves 30 m to the east after that 15 m to the south
and finally moves 40 m to west. Determine the displacement of P
N
relative to the original position.
Solution :
O

30 m

10 m

E
15 m

30 m
5

Distance vs. Displacement

You drive the path, and your odometer
goes up by 8 miles (your distance).
Your displacement is the shorter directed
distance from start to stop (green arrow).
What if you drove in a circle?
start

stop

The magnitude of the displacement is given by

OP 15 2 10 2 18 m
and its direction is
1

2.1.3

15

tan
56 from west to south
10
Speed, v

is defined as the rate of change of

distance.
scalar quantity.
change of distance
speed
Equation:
time interval

d
v
t

Speed, Velocity, &

Acceleration
Speed (v) how fast you go
Velocity (v) how fast and which way;
the rate at which position changes
Average speed ( v ) distance / time
Acceleration (a) how fast you speed
up, slow down, or change direction;
the rate at which velocity changes

Velocity,

is a vector quantity.
The S.I. unit for velocity is m s-1.

Average velocity, vav

is defined as the rate of change of displacement.

Equation:

change of displacement
vav
time interval

s2 s1
vav
t 2 t1
s
vav
t

Its direction is in the same direction of the change in

displacement.
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Instantaneous velocity, v
is defined as the instantaneous rate of change of displacement.
Equation:

limit s
v
t 0 t

ds
v
dt

An object moves in a uniform velocity when

ds
constant
dt
and the instantaneous velocity equals to the average velocity at
any time.
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Speed vs. Velocity

Speed is a scalar (how fast something is
moving regardless of its direction).
Ex: v = 20 mph
Speed is the magnitude of velocity.
Velocity is a combination of speed and
direction. Ex: v = 20 mph at 15 south of west
The symbol for speed is v.
The symbol for velocity is type written in bold:
v or hand written with an arrow: v

Speed vs. Velocity

During your 8 mi. trip, which took 15 min.,
your speedometer displays your
instantaneous speed, which varies
throughout the trip.
Your average speed is 32 mi/hr.
Your average velocity is 32 mi/hr in a SE
direction.
At any point in time, your velocity vector
points tangent to your path.
The faster you go, the longer your velocity
vector.

s1

The gradient of the tangent to the curve at point Q

= the instantaneous velocity at time, t = t1

t1
Therefore

Gradient of s-t graph = velocity

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Acceleration,

vector quantity.
The S.I. unit for acceleration is m s-2.

Average acceleration, aav

is defined as the rate of change of velocity.

change of velocity
Equation:

aav

time interval
v2 v1
aav
t 2 t1
v
aav
t

Its direction is in the same direction of motion.

The acceleration of an object is uniform when the magnitude of
velocity changes at a constant rate and along fixed14direction.

Acceleration

Acceleration how fast you speed up,

slow down, or change direction; its
the rate at which velocity changes.
Two
t (s) examples:
v (mph)
t (s)
v (m/s)
0

55

34

57

31

59

28

61

25

a = +2 mph / s

m/s
a = -3 s

= -3 m / s 2

Instantaneous acceleration, a
is defined as the instantaneous rate of change of velocity.
Equation:

limit v
a
t 0 t
2

dv d s
a
2
dt dt

An object moves in a uniform acceleration when

dv
constant
dt

and the instantaneous acceleration equals to the average acceleration

at any time.
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Velocity & Acceleration Sign Chart

VELOCITY
A
C
C
E
L
E
R
A
T
I
O
N

Moving forward;

Moving backward;

Speeding up

Slowing down

Moving forward;

Moving backward;

Slowing down

Speeding up

Example

Acceleration due to Gravity

Near the surface of the

Earth, all objects
accelerate at the same
rate (ignoring air
resistance).

a = -g = -9.81
m/s2

This acceleration
vector is the
same on the way
up, at the top,
and on the way
down!

9.81 m/s2

Interpretation: Velocity decreases by 9.81 m/s each second,

meaning velocity is becoming less positive or more
negative. Less positive means slowing down while going
up. More negative means speeding up while going down.

Deceleration, a
is a negative acceleration.
The object is slowing down meaning the speed of the object
decreases with time.

v1

The gradient of the tangent to the curve at point Q

= the instantaneous acceleration at time, t = t1
0

Therefore

t1

Gradient of v-t graph = acceleration

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Graphical methods
Displacement against time graph (s-t)

Gradient increases
with time

Gradient = constant
0

s (a) Uniform velocity

(b) The velocity increases with time

(c)
P

Gradient at point R is negative.

Gradient at point Q is zero.

The direction of
velocity is changing.

The velocity21is zero.

Velocity versus time graph (v-t)

v
Uniform velocity

Uniform
acceleration

A
0

t1 (a) t2

t1

(b) t2

t1

t2 (c)

Area under the v-t graph = displacement

The gradient at point A is positive a > 0(speeding up)

The gradient at point B is zero a= 0
The gradient at point C is negative a < 0(slowing down)
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From the equation of instantaneous velocity,

ds
v
dt

ds

vdt

Therefore

t2

s vdt
t1

s sha ded area under the v t graph

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Example :
A toy train moves slowly along a straight track according to the
displacement, s against time, t graph in figure below.

s (cm)

10
8
6
4
2
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
t (s)
a. Explain qualitatively the motion of the toy train.
b. Sketch a velocity (cm s-1) against time (s) graph.
c. Determine the average velocity for the whole journey.
d. Calculate the instantaneous velocity at t = 12 s.
e. Determine the distance travelled by the toy 24
train.

Solution :
a. 0 to 6 s

: The train moves at a constant velocity of

6 to 10 s : The train stops.

10 to 14 s : The train moves in the same direction at a
constant velocity of
b.
v (cm s1)
1.50

0.68

10 12 14
25

t (s)

Solution :
vav
c.

d.

s2 s1

t 2 t1

v average velocity from 10 s to 14 s

s2 s1
v
t 2 t1

e. The distance travelled by the toy train is 10 cm.

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Example :
A velocity-time (v-t) graph in figure below shows the motion of a
lift.
v (m s1)
4
2
0
-2

10 15

20 25 30 35 40 45

-4
a. Describe qualitatively the motion of the lift.
b. Sketch a graph of acceleration (m s2) against time (s).
c. Determine the total distance travelled by the lift and its
displacement.
d. Calculate the average acceleration between 20 s27to 40 s.

50

t (s)

Solution :
a. 0 to 5 s : Lift moves upward from rest with a constant
acceleration of
5 to 15 s : The velocity of the lift increases from 2 m s1 to
4 m s1 but the acceleration decreasing to
15 to 20 s : Lift moving with constant velocity of
20 to 25 s : Lift decelerates at a constant rate of
25 to 30 s : Lift at rest or stationary.
30 to 35 s : Lift moves downward with a constant acceleration
of
35 to 40 s : Lift moving downward with constant velocity
of
40 to 50 s : Lift decelerates at a constant rate of
and comes to rest.
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Solution :
2
b. a (m s )
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2

10 15

20 25 30 35 40 45

-0.4
-0.6
-0.8

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50

t (s)

Solution :
1
v
(m
s
)
c. i.
4
2
0
-2

A1
5

A2
10 15

A3
20 25 30 A35 40 45
4
A5

50

t (s)

-4

Total distance area under the graph of v-t

A1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5

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Solution :
c. ii. Displacement

area under the graph of v-t

A1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5

d.

v2 v1
aav
t 2 t1

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THE END

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