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UNIVERSITY PHYSICS I

Professor Meade Brooks, Collin College

Chapter 3: MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE


Our universe is full of objects in motion. From the
stars, planets, and galaxies; to the motion of people
and animals; down to the microscopic scale of
atoms and moleculeseverything in our universe
is in motion.
Kinematics involves describing motion through
properties such as position, time, velocity, and
acceleration.
3.1 POSITION, DISPLACEMENT, AND AVERAGE VELOCITY

Position
To describe the motion of an object, you must first be able to
describe its position (x): where it is at any particular time.
These cyclists in Vietnam can be
described by their position relative
to buildings or a canal. Their motion
can be described by their change in
position, or displacement, in a
frame of reference. What is our
most common frame of reference?
Displacement

If an object moves
relative to a frame of
reference, the objects
position changes. This
change in position is
called displacement.

A professor paces left and right while lecturing. Her


position relative to Earth is given by x . The +2.0 m
displacement of the professor relative to Earth is
represented by an arrow pointing to the right.
Displacement x is the change in position of an object:
x = xf x0,
where x is displacement, xf is the final position, and x0 is the
initial position.

Note that the SI unit for displacement is the meter.

We define total displacement xTotal as the sum of the


individual displacements, and express this mathematically
with the equation
xTotal = xi ,
where xi are the individual displacements.
Average Velocity
To calculate the other physical quantities in kinematics we
introduce the time variable. The time variable allows us not
only to state where the object is (its position) during its motion,
but also how fast it is moving. How fast an object is moving is
given by the rate at which the position changes with time.

If x1 and x2 are the positions of an object at times t1 and t2 ,


respectively, the
Displacement between two points
Average velocity = v =
Elapsed time between two points
x x 2 - x1
v=
t t 2 - t1
It is important to note that the average velocity is a vector and
can be negative, depending on positions x1 and x2.
A cyclist rides 3 km west and then turns around and rides 2 km
east.
(a) What is his displacement?
(b) What is the distance traveled?
(c) What is the magnitude of his displacement?
3.2 INSTANTANEOUS VELOCITY AND SPEED
Instantaneous Velocity

The instantaneous velocity of an object is the limit of the


average velocity as the elapsed time approaches zero, or the
derivative of x with respect to t:
d
v(t ) x t
dt
Like average velocity,
instantaneous velocity is a
vector with dimension of
length per time.

The slope at any point gives


the instantaneous velocity.
The position-versus-time graph defines the velocity-versus-
time graph! The object starts out in the positive direction, stops
for a short time, and then reverses direction, heading back
toward the origin. Notice that the object comes to rest
instantaneously, which would require an infinite force. Thus,
the graph is an approximation of motion in the real world.
Speed
In everyday language, most people use the terms speed and
velocity interchangeably. In physics, however, they do not
have the same meaning and are distinct concepts. One major
difference is that speed has no direction; that is, speed is a
scalar. We can calculate the average speed by finding the
total distance traveled divided by the elapsed time:

Total distance
Average speed = s =
Elapsed time

We can calculate the instantaneous speed from the magnitude


of the instantaneous velocity. If a particle is moving along the
x-axis at +7.0 m/s and another particle is moving along the
same axis at 7.0 m/s, they have different velocities, but both
have the same speed of 7.0 m/s.
Calculating Instantaneous Velocity

Consider the motion of a particle in which the position is


x(t) = 3.0t 3t2 m .
a. What is the instantaneous velocity at t = 0.25 s, t = 0.50 s,
and t = 1.0 s?
b. What is the speed of the particle at these times?
3.3 AVERAGE AND INSTANTANEOUS ACCELERATION

Average Acceleration
Average acceleration is the rate at which velocity changes:

v v1 - v 0
a=
t t1 - t 0
Where a is average acceleration, v is velocity, and t is time.
(The bar over the a means average acceleration.)

Because acceleration is velocity in meters divided by time in


seconds, the SI units for acceleration are often abbreviated
m/s2that is, meters per second squared or meters per
second per second. This literally means by how many meters
per second the velocity changes every second. Acceleration is
a vector in the same direction as the change in velocity, v.
Acceleration, a vector, means that the speed of an
object is changing, or its direction is, or both.
4 possible acceleration scenarios:
a) This car is speeding up as it moves toward
the right. It therefore has positive
acceleration in our coordinate system.
b) This car is slowing down as it moves
toward the right. Therefore, it has negative
acceleration in our coordinate system,
because its acceleration is toward the left.
The car is also decelerating: the direction
of its acceleration is opposite to its
direction of motion.
c) This car is moving toward the left, but
slowing down over time. Therefore, its
acceleration is positive in our coordinate
system because it is toward the right.
However, the car is decelerating because
its acceleration is opposite to its motion.
d) This car is speeding up as it moves toward
the left. It has negative acceleration
because it is accelerating toward the left.
However, because its acceleration is in the
same direction as its motion, it is speeding
up (not decelerating).
A racehorse coming out of
the gate accelerates from
rest to a velocity of 15.0 m/s
due west in 1.80 s. What is
its average acceleration?

The negative sign for acceleration indicates that acceleration


is toward the west. An acceleration of 8.33 m/s2 due west
means the horse increases its velocity by 8.33 m/s due west
each second; that is, 8.33 meters per second per second.
Instantaneous Acceleration

Instantaneous acceleration a, or acceleration at a specific


instant in time, is obtained by calculating the average velocity
between two points in time separated by t and letting t
approach zero.
d
a (t ) v t
dt
A particle is in motion and is accelerating. The functional form
of the velocity is v(t) = 20t 5t2 m/s .
a. Find the functional form of the acceleration.
b. Find the instantaneous velocity at t = 1, 2, 3, and 5 s.
c. Find the instantaneous acceleration at t = 1, 2, 3, and 5 s.
d. Interpret the results of (c) in terms of the directions of the
acceleration and velocity vectors.
Getting a Feel for Acceleration
3.4 MOTION WITH CONSTANT ACCELERATION

Kinematic equations can help us describe and


predict the motion of moving objects such as
these kayaks.
What we know
so far:
Substitution gives:

and:
These are all the equations we have derived for
constant acceleration. The correct equation for a
problem should be selected considering the
information given and the desired result.
Summary table of the 4 kinematic equations:

Equation x v vo a t
1 No Yes Yes Yes Yes

2 Yes Yes Yes No Yes

3 Yes No Yes Yes Yes

4 Yes Yes Yes Yes No

Note that xo, the starting point, is almost always


equal to zero for most problems.

These equations are only valid for constant


acceleration!
Problem-Solving Steps
Step 1
Examine the situation to determine which physical principles are
involved. Without a conceptual understanding of a problem, a numerical
solution is meaningless.
Step 2
Make a list of what is given or can be inferred from the problem as
stated.
Step 3
Identify exactly what needs to be determined in the problem.
Step 4
Find an equation or set of equations that can help you solve the
problem.
Step 5
Substitute the knowns along with their units into the appropriate
equation, and obtain numerical solutions complete with units.
Step 6
Check the answer to see if it is reasonable: Does it make sense?
Dragsters can achieve average accelerations of
26.0 m/s2 . Suppose such a dragster accelerates
from rest at this rate for 5.56 s. How far does
it travel in this time?
Suppose a car merges into freeway traffic on a
200-m-long ramp. If its initial velocity is 10.0 m/s
and it accelerates at 2.00 m/s2 , how long does it
take to travel the 200 m up the ramp?
Two-Body Pursuit Problems
Up until this point we have looked at examples of motion
involving a single body. In a two-body pursuit problem, the
motions of the objects are coupledmeaning, the unknown we
seek depends on the motion of both objects. To solve these
problems we write the equations of motion for each object and
then solve them simultaneously to find the unknown.

A cheetah spots a gazelle running past at 10 m/s. At the instant


the gazelle passes the cheetah, the cheetah accelerates from
rest at 4 m/s2 to catch the gazelle. (a) How long does it take
the cheetah to catch the gazelle? (b) What is the displacement
of the gazelle and cheetah?
3.5 FREE FALL Gravity

A hammer and a feather will fall with the same constant


acceleration if air resistance is considered negligible. This is
a general characteristic of gravity not unique to Earth, as
astronaut David R. Scott demonstrated on the Moon in 1971.
VIDEO: Hammer & Feather Drop
The effects of air resistance
are particularly obvious
when dropping a small,
heavy object such as a rock,
as well as a larger light one
such as a feather or a piece
of paper.
However, if the same objects
are dropped in a vacuum,
they fall with the same
acceleration, 9.8 m/s2.
One-Dimensional Motion Involving Gravity

An object falling without air resistance or friction is defined to


be in free-fall. Here are the constant-acceleration equations
for free fall:

The positive y-direction has been chosen to be upwards. If it


is chosen to be downwards, the sign of g would need to be
changed.
Positions and velocities of a
metal ball released from
rest when air resistance is
negligible. Velocity is seen
to increase linearly with
time while displacement
increases with time
squared. Acceleration is a
constant and is equal to
gravitational acceleration.
A person standing on the edge of a high cliff
throws a rock straight up with an initial velocity of
13.0 m/s. The rock misses the edge of the cliff as
it falls back to earth. Calculate the position and
velocity of the rock 1.00 s, 2.00 s, and 3.00 s after
it is thrown, neglecting the effects of air
resistance. How high does it go?

Sketch a graph of:


(a) displacement versus time
(b) velocity versus time
The motion graphs
for the rock in free-fall

Note that the velocity of


the rock is zero at the
peak! What is the
acceleration at this
point?
What does the slope of
the v-vs-t graph mean?
What is special about
the slope?
A chunk of ice breaks off a glacier and falls 30.0
meters before it hits the water. Assuming it falls
freely (there is no air resistance), how long does
it take to hit the water?
Estimate the maximum
hang time of the best
leapers in the NBA.

Hint: The vertical jump of


retired player Spud Webb
(57, 1986 Slam
Dunk Champion)
was about 48
inches!
QUESTION:
Does jumping
with a running
start affect
hang time?

To be answered
next chapter!
3.5 FINDING VELOCITY & DISPLACEMENT FROM ACCELERATION

By taking the derivative of the position function we


found the velocity function, and likewise by taking the
derivative of the velocity function we found the
acceleration function. Using integral calculus, we
can work backward and calculate the velocity function
from the acceleration function, and the position
function from the velocity function.

v(t ) a (t )dt C x(t ) v(t )dt C2


1

We can derive the kinematic equations for a constant


acceleration using these integrals.
A motorboat is traveling at a constant velocity of 5.0 m/s when
it starts to decelerate to arrive at the dock. Its acceleration is
a(t) = (1/4)t m/s2. (a) What is the velocity function of the
motorboat? (b) At what time does the velocity reach zero? (c)
What is the position function of the motorboat? (d) What is the
displacement of the motorboat from the time it begins to
decelerate to when the velocity is zero? (e) Graph the velocity
and position functions.

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