Kinematic Equations and Problem-Solving

The four kinematic equations that describe the mathematical relationship between the parameters that
describe an object's motion were introduced in the previous part of Lesson 6. The four kinematic
equations are:

In the above equations, the symbol d stands for the displacement of the object. The symbol t stands
for the time for which the object moved. The symbol a stands for the acceleration of the object. And
the symbol v stands for the instantaneous velocity of the object; a subscript of i after the v (as in vi)
indicates that the velocity value is the initial velocity value and a subscript of f (as in vf) indicates
that the velocity value is the final velocity value.
In this part of Lesson 6 we will investigate the process of using the equations to determine unknown
information about an object's motion. The process involves the use of a problem-solving strategy that
will be used throughout the course. The strategy involves the following steps:
a.

Construct an informative diagram of the physical situation.

b.

Identify and list the given information in variable form.

c.

Identify and list the unknown information in variable form.

d.
Identify and list the equation that will be used to determine unknown information
from known information.
e.
Substitute known values into the equation and use appropriate algebraic steps to
solve for the unknown information.
f.

Check your answer to insure that it is reasonable and mathematically correct.

The use of this problem-solving strategy in the solution of the following problem is modeled in
Examples A and B below.

Example A
Ima Hurryin is approaching a stoplight moving with a velocity of +30.0 m/s. The light turns yellow,
and Ima applies the brakes and skids to a stop. If Ima's acceleration is -8.00 m/s2, then determine
the displacement of the car during the skidding process. (Note that the direction of the velocity and
the acceleration vectors are denoted by a + and a - sign.)
The solution to this problem begins by the construction of an informative diagram of the physical
situation. This is shown below. The second step involves the identification and listing of known
information in variable form. Note that the vf value can be inferred to be 0 m/s since Ima's car comes
to a stop. The initial velocity (vi) of the car is +30.0 m/s since this is the velocity at the beginning of
the motion (the skidding motion). And the acceleration (a) of the car is given as - 8.00 m/s2. (Always
pay careful attention to the + and - signs for the given quantities.) The next step of
thestrategy involves the listing of the unknown (or desired) information in variable form. In this case,
the problem requests information about the displacement of the car. So d is the unknown quantity.
The results of the first three steps are shown in the table below.

Diagram:

Given:

Find:

vi = +30.0 m/s
vf = 0 m/s
a = - 8.00 m/s

d = ??

The next step of the strategy involves identifying a kinematic equation that would allow you to
determine the unknown quantity. There are four kinematic equations to choose from. In general, you
will always choose the equation that contains the three known and the one unknown variable. In this
specific case, the three known variables and the one unknown variable are vf, vi, a, and d. Thus, you
will look for an equation that has these four variables listed in it. An inspection of the four equations
above reveals that the equation on the top right contains all four variables.

Once the equation is identified and written down, the next step of the strategy involves substituting
known values into the equation and using proper algebraic steps to solve for the unknown information.
This step is shown below.
(0 m/s)2 = (30.0 m/s)2 + 2*(-8.00 m/s2)*d
0 m2/s2 = 900 m2/s2 + (-16.0 m/s2)*d
(16.0 m/s2)*d = 900 m2/s2 - 0 m2/s2
(16.0 m/s2)*d = 900 m2/s2
d = (900 m2/s2)/ (16.0 m/s2)
d = (900 m2/s2)/ (16.0 m/s2)
d = 56.3 m
The solution above reveals that the car will skid a distance of 56.3 meters. (Note that this value is
rounded to the third digit.)
The last step of the problem-solving strategy involves checking the answer to assure that it is both
reasonable and accurate. The value seems reasonable enough. It takes a car a considerable distance
to skid from 30.0 m/s (approximately 65 mi/hr) to a stop. The calculated distance is approximately
one-half a football field, making this a very reasonable skidding distance. Checking for accuracy
involves substituting the calculated value back into the equation for displacement and insuring that
the left side of the equation is equal to the right side of the equation. Indeed it is!

Example B
Ben Rushin is waiting at a stoplight. When it finally turns green, Ben accelerated from rest at a rate of
a 6.00 m/s2 for a time of 4.10 seconds. Determine the displacement of Ben's car during this time
period.
Once more, the solution to this problem begins by the construction of an informative diagram of the
physical situation. This is shown below. The second step of the strategy involves the identification and
listing of known information in variable form. Note that the vi value can be inferred to be 0 m/s since
Ben's car is initially at rest. The acceleration (a) of the car is 6.00 m/s2. And the time (t) is given as

4.10 s. The next step of the strategy involves the listing of the unknown (or desired) information in
variable form. In this case, the problem requests information about the displacement of the car.
So d is the unknown information. The results of the first three steps are shown in the table below.
Diagram:

Given:

Find:

vi = 0 m/s
t = 4.10 s
a = 6.00 m/s

d = ??
2

The next step of the strategy involves identifying a kinematic equation that would allow you to
determine the unknown quantity. There are four kinematic equations to choose from. Again, you will
always search for an equation that contains the three known variables and the one unknown variable.
In this specific case, the three known variables and the one unknown variable are t, vi, a, and d. An
inspection of the four equations above reveals that the equation on the top left contains all four
variables.

Once the equation is identified and written down, the next step of the strategy involves substituting
known values into the equation and using proper algebraic steps to solve for the unknown information.
This step is shown below.
d = (0 m/s)*(4.1 s) + 0.5*(6.00 m/s2)*(4.10 s)2
d = (0 m) + 0.5*(6.00 m/s2)*(16.81 s2)
d = 0 m + 50.43 m
d = 50.4 m
The solution above reveals that the car will travel a distance of 50.4 meters. (Note that this value is
rounded to the third digit.)
The last step of the problem-solving strategy involves checking the answer to assure that it is both
reasonable and accurate. The value seems reasonable enough. A car with an acceleration of 6.00
m/s/s will reach a speed of approximately 24 m/s (approximately 50 mi/hr) in 4.10 s. The distance
over which such a car would be displaced during this time period would be approximately one-half a
football field, making this a very reasonable distance. Checking for accuracy involves substituting the
calculated value back into the equation for displacement and insuring that the left side of the equation
is equal to the right side of the equation. Indeed it is!
The two example problems above illustrate how the kinematic equations can be combined with a
simple problem-solving strategy to predict unknown motion parameters for a moving object. Provided
that three motion parameters are known, any of the remaining values can be determined. In the next
part of Lesson 6, we will see how this strategy can be applied to free fall situations. Or if interested,
you can try some practice problems and check your answer against the given solutions.

Vectors and Direction

A study of motion will involve the introduction of a variety of quantities that are used to describe the
physical world. Examples of such quantities include distance, displacement, speed, velocity, acceleration,
force, mass, momentum, energy, work, power, etc. All these quantities can by divided into two categories vectors and scalars. A vector quantity is a quantity that is fully described by both magnitude and direction.
On the other hand, a scalar quantity is a quantity that is fully described by its magnitude. The emphasis of
this unit is to understand some fundamentals about vectors and to apply the fundamentals in order to
understand motion and forces that occur in two dimensions.
Examples of vector quantities that have been previously
discussed include displacement,velocity, acceleration, and force.
Each of these quantities are unique in that a full description of the
quantity demands that both a magnitude and a direction are listed.
For example, suppose your teacher tells you "A bag of gold is
located outside the classroom. To find it, displace yourself 20
meters." This statement may provide yourself enough information
to pique your interest; yet, there is not enough information
included in the statement to find the bag of gold. The displacement required to find the bag of gold has not
been fully described. On the other hand, suppose your teacher tells you "A bag of gold is located outside the
classroom. To find it, displace yourself from the center of the classroom door 20 meters in a direction 30
degrees to the west of north." This statement now provides a complete description of the displacement
vector - it lists both magnitude (20 meters) and direction (30 degrees to the west of north) relative to a
reference or starting position (the center of the classroom door). Vector quantities are not fully described
unless both magnitude and direction are listed.
Vector quantities are often represented by scaled vector diagrams.
Vector diagrams depict a vector by use of an arrow drawn to scale in
a specific direction. Vector diagrams were introduced and used in
earlier units to depict the forces acting upon an object. Such
diagrams are commonly called as free-body diagrams. An example of
a scaled vector diagram is shown in the diagram at the right. The
vector diagram depicts a displacement vector. Observe that there are
several characteristics of this diagram that make it an appropriately
drawn vector diagram.

a scale is clearly listed

a vector arrow (with arrowhead) is drawn in a

specified direction. The vector arrow has a head and a tail.

the magnitude and direction of the vector is clearly

labeled. In this case, the diagram shows the magnitude is 20
m and the direction is (30 degrees West of North).

Conventions for Describing Directions of Vectors

Vectors can be directed due East, due West, due South, and due North. But
some vectors are directednortheast (at a 45 degree angle); and some vectors
are even directed northeast, yet more north than east. Thus, there is a clear
need for some form of a convention for identifying the direction of a vector that
is not due East, due West, due South, or due North. There are a variety of
conventions for describing the direction of any vector. The two conventions that
will be discussed and used in this unit are described below:
a.
The direction of a vector is often expressed as an angle of
rotation of the vector about its "tail" from east, west, north, or south.
For example, a vector can be said to have a direction of 40 degrees
North of West (meaning a vector pointing West has been rotated 40
degrees towards the northerly direction) of 65 degrees East of South (meaning a vector pointing
South has been rotated 65 degrees towards the easterly direction).
b.
The direction of a vector is often expressed as a counterclockwise angle of rotation of the
vector about its "tail" from due East. Using this convention, a vector with a direction of 30
degrees is a vector that has been rotated 30 degrees in a counterclockwise direction relative to
due east. A vector with a direction of 160 degrees is a vector that has been rotated 160 degrees
in a counterclockwise direction relative to due east. A vector with a direction of 270 degrees is a
vector that has been rotated 270 degrees in a counterclockwise direction relative to due east.
This is one of the most common conventions for the direction of a vector and will be utilized
throughout this unit.

Two illustrations of the second convention (discussed above) for identifying the direction of a vector are
shown below.

Observe in the first example that the vector is said to have a direction of 40 degrees. You can think of this
direction as follows: suppose a vector pointing East had its tail pinned down and then the vector was rotated
an angle of 40 degrees in the counterclockwise direction. Observe in the second example that the vector is
said to have a direction of 240 degrees. This means that the tail of the vector was pinned down and the
vector was rotated an angle of 240 degrees in the counterclockwise direction beginning from due east. A
rotation of 240 degrees is equivalent to rotating the vector through two quadrants (180 degrees) and then
an additional 60 degrees into the third quadrant.

Representing the Magnitude of a Vector

The magnitude of a vector in a scaled vector diagram is depicted by the
length of the arrow. The arrow is drawn a precise length in accordance with
a chosen scale. For example, the diagram at the right shows a vector with a
magnitude of 20 miles. Since the scale used for constructing the diagram
is 1 cm = 5 miles, the vector arrow is drawn with a length of 4 cm. That is,
4 cm x (5 miles/1 cm) = 20 miles.
Using the same scale (1 cm = 5 miles), a displacement vector that is 15
miles will be represented by a vector arrow that is 3 cm in length. Similarly,
a 25-mile displacement vector is represented by a 5-cm long vector arrow.
And finally, an 18-mile displacement vector is represented by a 3.6-cm long
arrow. See the examples shown below.

In conclusion, vectors can be represented by use of a scaled vector diagram. On such a diagram, a vector
arrow is drawn to represent the vector. The arrow has an obvious tail and arrowhead. The magnitude of a
vector is represented by the length of the arrow. A scale is indicated (such as, 1 cm = 5 miles) and the
arrow is drawn the proper length according to the chosen scale. The arrow points in the precise direction.
Directions are described by the use of some convention. The most common convention is that the direction
of a vector is the counterclockwise angle of rotation which that vector makes with respect to due East.