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Physics – Motion
Instructions: This booklet can be used while watching videos. Keep filling the sheet as the videos proceed.
1. Introduction
a. Concept of Rest and Motion
Question 1.A person travelling with you in a bus is at rest. Do you agree with the statement?
Motion is one of the most important topics in physics. You can say that physics or natural enquiry essentially
began with „motion‟. We see a lot of objects around us that are moving. For instance, we see cars running on
roads, birds flying etc. While other objects like buildings appear to be at rest. But the same buildings seem to be
in motion if viewed from a moving car. Don't forget that even if you appear to be standing still, the Earth is
moving around the Sun, and the Sun is moving around our galaxy. The galaxy itself is speeding around at great
speeds, even at speed greater than speed of light.
Question 2. Let‟s say a thief is running on a train with 12 km/h. The police car is moving with 80km/h. If speed
of the train is 60 km/h then what is the speed of thief w.r.t police car?
Did You Know?
Aristotle noted that objects given an initial push along the ground
(or on a tabletop) always slow down and stop. Consequently,
Aristotle argued, the natural state of an object is to be at rest.
Galileo, the first true experimentalist, re-examined horizontal
motion in the 1600’s and found it was not true!
So when do we say that a body is moving? Does it have to do anything with the observer? Or is it an absolute
term?
b. Frame of Reference
Motion is a relative term. There is nothing as ‘absolute motion’. We inherently assume that we are at rest and
we try to measure motion relative to us. An object is said to be at rest with respect to another object if it does
not change its position with respect to the other object. If it changes its position, then it is said to be in motion.
Motion of a body is observed by attaching a frame of reference to an observer and we measure the change in
position of the body relative to that frame.

Figure 1: Frame of Reference

For example, suppose a person A is standing on a cart, which is moving with constant velocity, and he throws a
ball vertically upwards. Now we analyze the motion of ball. If the cart itself is our reference frame, the motion
of ball is straight line as observed by A. But if our reference frame is attached to ground, the motion of the ball
is somewhat curved as seen by observer B. Now that we know what a reference frame is and how to determine
whether an object is moving or not, let us quantify this motion.
2. Distance and Displacement
Motion is basically change in position of a body with time. This change in position can be measured using:
Distance
Displacement
Suppose a person wants to go from point A to point B. There can be different ways to do so. He can take the
path ACB or ADB or AEB.
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Figure 2: Distance and Displacement

The lengths of paths ACB, ADB or AEB are the actual length of path that the person has to cover. This is
represented by distance. Distance is the length of actual path traversed by a body. It is a scalar quantity having
only magnitude, and no direction. On the other hand, to reach at point B by covering the least distance, he must
take the path ADB. Displacement is the shortest distance between the initial and final positions. It is a vector
quantity, having both magnitude and direction.
Did You Know?
An instrument called odometer measures the distance travelled by vehicles.
About 15 BC, the Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius mounted a large
wheel of known circumference in a small frame; when it was pushed along
the ground by hand it automatically dropped a pebble into a container at
each revolution, giving a measure of the distance traveled. It was, in effect,
the first odometer.
Question 3. A car is moving in a circular path of radius 2 m. Calculate both the distance and the magnitude of
the displacement of the car after i) one complete revolution ii) one-half revolution iii) one-fourth revolution.
What can you conclude about the relationship between distance and displacement?
3. Time, Average Speed and Velocity
For a moving body, apart from distance and displacement, it is also important to know how fast the body is
moving. This introduces the concept of speed and velocity.
a. Speed, Average Speed and Instantaneous Speed
Speed of a body is the rate of change of distance with time

When a body covers equal distances in equal intervals of time, it is said to have a uniform speed; else it has a
non-uniform or variable speed.
Speed is a scalar quantity. To specify the speed of an object, we require only its magnitude. Its SI unit is m/s.
Now we are going to learn how instantaneous speed differs from average speed! When a cop pulls you over for
speeding, it‟s because of your instantaneous speed, or speed at which you were driving at that particular instant.
This is different from your average speed, which takes into account how long it took you to complete your
journey and the distance you traveled. In the course of entire journey you might have over-sped, sometimes you
might have halted. However, measuring average speed assumes that you travelled at the same speed for the
entire trip.

Question 4. I went to a shop with a constant speed of 30 m/s and came back with 20 m/s. What is my average
speed of travel?
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Did You Know?

On Saturn, wind speeds can reach as high as 1609 km/h, which is just
about as fast as a speeding bullet. The highest wind speed ever recorded
on Earth during a hurricane was in 1996, during Tropical Cyclone
Cynthia when gusts reached 408 km/h.
b. Velocity
Sometimes speed is not sufficient to describe motion of a body. The rate of motion will be more complete if it
also involves the direction of motion. For this, we define a new term called “velocity”. Velocity is basically the
speed of a body moving in a definite direction.
Velocity can be defined as displacement per unit time. It is a vector quantity having both magnitude as well as
direction.

Just as in case of speed, here also we have average and instantaneous velocity.

For a body whose velocity is changing at a uniform rate, the average velocity is given by the arithmetic mean of
initial velocity and final velocity for a given period of time.




Misconception: The average velocity is given by arithmetic mean of initial and final velocities.
Clarification: The average velocity is given by arithmetic mean of initial and final velocities only
when it is changing at a constant rate or the acceleration is constant.
Question 5. Under what conditions would the speed of a body be equal to the magnitude of velocity?
Question 6. A train takes 2 hrs to reach station B from station A and 3 hrs. to return back to A. Stations A and B
are separated by a distance of 400 km. What is the average speed and velocity of the train?
4. Acceleration
If a body is in non-uniform motion, its velocity does not remain constant. Acceleration is the rate of change of
velocity with respect to time. It is a vector quantity.

This is the average acceleration over a period of time . Its unit is m/s2.It is quite possible that the instantaneous
acceleration will be different at different points of time. If the velocity increases with time, the body is said to
be accelerated. Else it is said to be decelerated (or retarded). Deceleration is also known as negative
acceleration.
Misconception: Acceleration always occurs in the same direction, as an object is moving.
Clarification: Acceleration need not be in the same direction as motion. It can be at any angle to the
velocity.
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Did You Know?

The thrill of roller coasters is not due to their speed, but rather
due to their accelerations and to the feelings of weightlessness
and weightiness that they produce. Roller coasters are all about
acceleration; that's what that make them thrilling!
Question 7. Two cars, LaFerrari and McLaren P1 are having a competition for highest speed. Laferrari can
accelerate with 20 m/s2 till 5 seconds and McLaren with 17 m/s2 up to 6 seconds. Who wins?
When a body falls freely under gravity, the acceleration produced in the body is called the acceleration
due to gravity (g). The average value of ’g’ near earth’s surface is 9.8 m/s2 or 10 m/s2 and it always act towards
center of earth.
Question 8. A car is moving with a velocity of 40 m/s. The brakes are applied to retard it at a rate of 2m/s2.
What will be its velocity after 5 s of applying the brakes?
Did You Know?
The value of acceleration due to gravity is not constant. It varies
with depth as well as altitude. Even on earth’s surface, it is more at
the poles compared to the equator.
5. Motion Visualized
Till now we have described motion mathematically. But this mathematical representation does not help us
visualize the motion; hence we switch to the graphical approach, which uses the coordinate system to represent
the motion. Independent variable (time) is measured on the x-axis while the dependent variable (displacement,
velocity, acceleration etc.) is measured on the y-axis. Basically it shows the variation of dependent quantity
with independent quantity.

Figure 3: Graphical Representation of a Quantity

Question 9. What do you mean by slope of a graph? What is its physical significance?
a. Displacement-Time Graph
The slope of the displacement-time graph gives the velocity of the object.
i) Body at Rest

Figure 4: Body at Rest

Question 10.How will the displacement time graph of two bodies – one having greater velocity and the other
having lesser velocity look like?
ii) Body moving with non-uniform velocity
Instantaneous velocity at A = tan θ
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Figure 5: Body moving with positive acceleration

Question 11. Make velocity-time and displacement-time graph of a car which was initially moving with 40 m/s
and has been applied brakes which gives it a retardation of 5 m/s2.

b. Velocity-Time Graph
The slope of the velocity-time graph gives the acceleration of the object.

i) Uniform Velocity

Figure 6: Uniform Velocity

(ii) Uniform Acceleration

Figure 7: Uniform Acceleration

The area under the velocity-time graph gives the displacement during that time.

Figure 8: Area under Velocity-Time Graph

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Question 12.The following graph shows the velocity-time graph of a body. Plot the corresponding displacement
-time and acceleration-time graphs. Also find the net displacement and net distance travelled by the body.

6. The Equations of Motion

For bodies moving with a constant acceleration, the motion is guided by the following three
equations:

Figure 9: Body with Uniform Acceleration

First equation of motion:

Second equation of motion:

Third equation of motion:

Motion can either be 1-D (in a straight line), 2-D (in a plane) or 3-D (if it moves in space).
Misconception: If an object has zero velocity, its acceleration is also zero.
Clarification: Not necessarily. Think about a ball at the top of its motion when thrown upwards.
It is very important to note that the equations of motions can only be used when acceleration is constant.
Question 13.A balloon starts from the ground and moves vertically upwards with an acceleration of 2m/s2.
After 5s, a stone is released from the balloon. Find the time taken by the stone to reach the ground.
7. Uniform Circular Motion
Uniform circular motion can be described as the motion of an object in a circle at a constant speed. As an object
moves in a circle, it is constantly changing its direction. At all instances, the object is moving tangent to the
circle.
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Figure 10: Uniform Circular Motion

Misconception: The velocity of a body is constant in uniform circular motion.

Clarification: The speed of a body is constant in uniform circular motion; not the velocity.
Question 14.A constant force is required on the body for it to do circular motion. Justify the statement.
Did You Know?
The acceleration of a body in uniform circular motion is called
centripetal acceleration. Centripetal simply means “center
seeking”! It is always directed towards the center and is directly
proportional to square of velocity.
Question 15.A cyclist goes around a circular track once every 2 minutes. If radius of the circular track is 110 m,
calculate the speed of cyclist. What is his average velocity?
Question 16.A flood relief jet flying at 2 km height and moving at a speed of 200 m/s drops a food packet. A
car is 1 km in front of the jet. If it starts from rest, with what constant acceleration car should it be driven so as
to catch the food packet? Take ‘g’ as 10 m/s2.

Instructions: Solve these problems after watching the videos.

1. A body covers some distance along a curved path. Can it have a zero average velocity?
2. A body covered a distance of „x‟ meters along a semicircular path. Calculate the magnitude of displacement
of the body and the ratio of the distance covered to the displacement?
3. A boy runs for 10 minutes at a uniform speed of 18 km/h. At what speed should he run for the next 20
minutes so that the average speed becomes 12 km/h?
4. How does average velocity differ from instantaneous velocity? Explain with a velocity time graph.
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5. David goes from his home to school at a uniform speed of m/s and returns back at m/s. If the distance
between his home and school is meter, find his average speed and average velocity.
6. Brakes are applied to a car so as to produce a retardation of 5 m/s2. If the car takes 1.5 s to stop after applying
the brakes, calculate the distance travelled by it?
7. A person walks along the sides of a square field each side is 200 m long. What can be the maximum and
minimum displacement of the person?
8. Two stones are thrown vertically upwards simultaneously with their initial velocities and respectively. Prove
that the heights reached by them would be in the ratio of.
9. Which of the two bodies (A and B) has
A) Greater velocity B) Greater acceleration

10. A body starts from rest and moves with a uniform acceleration of 5 m/s2 for 5 s and then it moves with a
constant velocity for 4 s. Later it slows down and comes to rest in 5 s. Draw the velocity graph for the motion of
the body. Also calculate its net displacement.
11. The velocity-time graph of a body is shown below.

How can we calculate its average velocity? Can we use the formula to calculate the
average velocity?
12. A cyclist moving on a circular track of radius 50 m completes one revolution in 4 minutes. What is his
A) Average speed B) Average velocity
in one full revolution?
13. A ball is dropped from a building of height metres. Calculate the distance travelled by it in second.
14. Differentiate between
A) Distance and displacement B) Speed and velocity
15. What can you say about the speed, velocity and acceleration of a body undergoing uniform circular motion?
16. Which of the following quantities can be obtained from a velocity-time graph?
I. Velocity
II. Displacement
III. Acceleration
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) I and III
D) I, II and III
17. In which of the following cases will the displacement be equal to distance?
A) Earth revolving around sun
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B) Pendulum moving to and fro

C) Car moving in a straight line
D) None of these
18. If the displacement of a body is directly proportional to square of time, the object moves with
A) Uniform velocity
B) Uniform acceleration
C) Increasing acceleration
D) Decreasing acceleration
19. The maximum height to which a body will rise if thrown with an initial velocity is
A)
B)
C)
D)
20. Slope of an acceleration-time graph gives us
A) Velocity
B) Displacement
C) Jerk
D) None of these
H.O.T.S.
1. We drive a distance of 1 km at 16 km/h. Then we drive an additional distance of 1 km at 32
km/h. What is our average speed?
2. How high (in meters) can a human throw a ball if he can throw it with initial velocity 90
mph?
(1 mile = 1,609 m). Take „g‟as 9.8 m/s2
3. A speedboat increases its speed uniformly from 20 m/s to 30 m/s in a distance of 200m. Find
(a) the magnitude of its acceleration and
(b) the time it takes the boat to travel that distance.
4. An astronaut jumps from an airplane. After he has fallen 20 m, his parachute opens. Now he
falls with a retardation of 2 m/s2 and reaches the earth with a velocity of 4.0 m/s. What was
the initial height of the airplane? Take ‘g’as 10 m/s2.
5. Albert is riding his scooter with a velocity of 90 km/h when he sees an old woman crossing
the road 30 m away. He immediately steps hard on the brake to get the maximum deceleration
of 10 m/s2. How far will he go before stopping, before he hit the old woman?
SOLUTION
1. Yes
2. Distance travelled = π r = x
Displacement =2r = 2 x/ π
Ratio: π r / 2 r = π / 2
3. Total time taken = 10 + 20 = 30 minutes = 0.5 hr
Average speed = 12 km/h
Total distance = speed x time = 6 km
First part distance = 18 x 10/60 = 3 km
Hence, he has to cover next 3 km in 20 minutes i.e 9 km /hr.
5. Time taken to go there, t1 = d/u
Time taken to come back, t2 = d/v
Total distance travelled, x = 2d
6. Brakes are applied to a car so as to produce a retardation of 5 m/s2. If the car takes 1.5 s to
stop after applying the brakes, calculate the distance travelled by it?
Final velocity, v = u + at => 0 = u – 5x1.5 => u = 7.5 m/s
Displacement, s = u . t + (0.5) . a . t. t
= 7.5 x 1.5 - 2.5 x 1.5 x 1.5
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= 2.5 x 1.5 ( 3 – 1.5)

= 9.375 m
7. Maximum displacement = diagonal = 200√2
Minimum displacement = same position = 0
12.
13. The distance travelled by it in sec =
Distance travelled in „n‟ seconds – Distance travelled in (n-1)
seconds
=
15. Speed is constant but velocity changes every instant as it has constant acceleration.
16. D
17. C
18. B
19. C
20. C
H.O.T.S.
1. 64 / 3 m/s or, 21.33 m/s
2. 82.55 m
3. a) 5/4 or 1.25 m/s2 b) 8 s
4. 116 m
5. 31.25 m. Woman gets hit.