Kinematics-Description of Motion
a. Define the term Motion
b. Explain ways of describing motion
c. Differentiate distance from displacement, speed from velocity, and
average speed from instantaneous speed.
d. Give an operational definition of acceleration;
e. Derive kinematic equations and apply them in solving motion problems
f. Perform graphical analysis of motion.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In physics, motion is the change in the position of an object over time.
Motion is mathematically described in terms
of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and time. The
motion of a body is observed by attaching a frame of reference to an
observer and measuring the change in position of the body relative to that
frame.
If the position of an object is not changing relatively to a given frame of
reference, the object is said to be at rest, motionless, immobile, stationary,
or to have a constant or time-invariant position with reference to its
surroundings. As there is no absolute frame of reference, absolute
motion cannot be determined. Thus, everything in the universe can be
considered to be in motion.
Motion applies to various physical systems: to objects, bodies, matter
particles, matter fields, radiation, radiation fields, radiation particles,
curvature and space-time. One can also speak of motion of images,
shapes and boundaries. So, the term motion, in general, signifies a
continuous change in the positions or configuration of a physical system in
space. For example, one can talk about motion of a wave or about motion
of a quantum particle, where the configuration consists of probabilities of
occupying specific positions.
The main quantity that measures the motion of a body is momentum. An
object's momentum increases with the object's mass and with its velocity.
The total momentum of all objects in an isolated system (one not affected
by external forces) does not change with time, as described by the law of
conservation of momentum. An object's motion, and thus its momentum,
cannot change unless a force acts on the object.
You can describe the motion of an object by its position, speed, direction,
and acceleration.
Motion Is Relative
An object is moving if its position relative to a fixed point is changing.
Even things that appear to be at rest move. When we describe the motion of one
object with respect to another, we say that the object is moving relative to the
other object.
•  A book that is at rest, relative to the table it lies on, is moving at about 30
kilometers per second relative to the sun.
•  The book moves even faster relative to the center of our galaxy.
The racing cars in the Indy 500 move relative to the track.
When we discuss the motion of something, we describe its motion relative to
something else.
•  The space shuttle moves at 8 kilometers per second relative to Earth below.
•  A racing car in the Indy 500 reaches a speed of 300 kilometers per hour relative
to the track.
•  Unless stated otherwise, the speeds of things in our environment are measured
relative to the surface of Earth.
Although you may be at rest relative to Earth’s surface, you’re moving about
100,000 km/h relative to the sun.
A hungry mosquito sees you resting in a hammock in a 3-meters-per-second
breeze. How fast and in what direction should the mosquito fly in order to hover
above you for lunch?
Answer: The mosquito should fly toward you into the breeze. When above you it
should fly at 3 meters per second in order to hover at rest above you.
How can you tell if an object is moving? You can calculate the speed of an object
by dividing the distance covered by time.
Before the time of Galileo, people described moving things as simply “slow” or
“fast.” Such descriptions were vague. Galileo is credited as being the first to
measure speed by considering the distance covered and the time it takes.
Speed
Speed is how fast an object is moving.
Any combination of units for distance and time that are useful and convenient are
legitimate for describing speed:
•  miles per hour (mi/h)
•  kilometers per hour (km/h)
•  centimeters per day
•  light-years per century
A cheetah is the fastest land animal over distances less than 500 meters and can
achieve peak speeds of 100 km/h.
We will primarily use the unit meters per second (m/s) for speed. If a cheetah
covers 50 meters in a time of 2 seconds, its speed is 25 m/s.
Instantaneous Speed
A car does not always move at the same speed. You can tell the speed of the car
at any instant by looking at the car’s speedometer.
The speed at any instant is called the instantaneous speed.
The speedometer gives readings of instantaneous speed in both mi/h and km/h.
Average Speed
In a trip by car, the car will certainly not travel at the same speed all during the trip.
The driver cares about the average speed for the trip as a whole.
The average speed is the total distance covered divided by the time.
Average speed can be calculated easily:
For example, a distance of 240 kilometers during a time of 4 hours is an average
speed of 60 km/h:
If a cheetah can maintain a constant speed of 25 m/s, it will cover 25 meters every
second. At this rate, how far will it travel in 10 seconds? In 1 minute?
Answer: In 10 s the cheetah will cover 250 m, and in 1 min (or 60 s) it will cover
1500 m.
The speedometer in every car also has an odometer that records the distance
traveled. If the odometer reads zero at the beginning of a trip and 35 km a half
hour later, what is the average speed? 70 Km per hour
Velocity
Speed is a description of how fast an object moves; velocity is how fast and in
what direction it moves.
In physics, velocity is speed in a given direction.
•  When we say a car travels at 60 km/h, we are specifying its speed.
•  When we say a car moves at 60 km/h to the north, we are specifying its velocity.
A quantity such as velocity that specifies direction as well as magnitude is called a
vector quantity.
•  Speed is a scalar quantity.
•  Velocity, like force, is a vector quantity.
Constant Velocity
Constant speed means steady speed. Something with constant speed doesn’t
speed up or slow down.
Constant velocity means both constant speed and constant direction.
Constant direction is a straight line, so constant velocity means motion in a straight
line at constant speed.
Changing Velocity
If either the speed or the direction (or both) is changing, then the velocity is
changing.
•  Constant speed and constant velocity are not the same.
•  A body may move at constant speed along a curved path but it does not move
with constant velocity, because its direction is changing every instant.
The car on the circular track may have a constant speed but not a constant
velocity, because its direction of motion is changing every instant.
The speedometer of a car moving northward reads 60 km/h.
It passes another car that travels southward at 60 km/h. Do both cars have the
same speed? Do they have the same velocity?
Answer: Both cars have the same speed, but they have opposite velocities
because they are moving in opposite directions.
Acceleration
You can calculate the acceleration of an object by dividing the change in its
velocity by time.
We can change the state of motion of an object by changing its speed, its direction
of motion, or both. Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity is changing.
In physics, the term acceleration applies to decreases as well as increases in
speed.
The brakes of a car can produce large retarding accelerations, that is, they can
produce a large decrease per second in the speed. This is often called
deceleration.
Change in Direction Acceleration also applies to changes in direction. • It is
important to distinguish between speed and velocity. • Acceleration is defined as
the rate of change in velocity, rather than speed. • Acceleration, like velocity, is a
vector quantity because it is directional.
Accelerate in the direction of velocity–speed up
Accelerate against velocity–slow down
Accelerate at an angle to velocity–change direction
Change in Speed
When straight-line motion is considered, it is common to use speed and velocity
interchangeably.
When the direction is not changing, acceleration may be expressed as the rate at Michael is driving his sports car at 30m/s when he sees a dog on the road ahead.
which speed changes. He slams on the brakes and comes into stop in 3.0 seconds.What was the
Speed and velocity are measured in units of distance per time. acceleration of Michaels car? a=(vf-vi)/t=(0-30m/s)/3.0s=-10m/s2
•  Acceleration is the change in velocity (or speed) per time interval.
•  Acceleration units are speed per time. Albert is riding his scooter at a velocity of 80 km/h, when he sees an old woman
•  Changing speed, without changing direction, from 0 km/h to 10 km/h in 1 crossing the road 45m away. He immediately steps hard on the brakes to get the
second, acceleration along a straight line is 10 km/hr.s maximum deceleration of 7.5 m/s2. How far will he go before stopping? Will he hit
Suppose a car moving in a straight line steadily increases its speed each second, the old woman?d=(vf2-vi2)/2a = (0)-(22m/s)2/2*(-7.5m/s2)=32.92m
first from 35 to 40 km/h, then from 40 to 45 km/h, then from 45 to 50 km/h. What is
its acceleration? Answer: The speed increases by 5 km/h during each 1-s interval
in a straight line. The acceleration is therefore 5 km/h•s during each interval.
In 5 seconds a car moving in a straight line increases its speed from 50 km/h to 65
km/h, while a truck goes from rest to 15 km/h in a straight line. Which undergoes
greater acceleration? What is the acceleration of each vehicle?
Answer: The car and truck both increase their speed by 15 km/h during the same
time interval, so their acceleration is the same.

Summary of Kinematic Equations

Type of motion Behavior of physical Equations
quantities
Stationary Object or Object Constant displacement d=constant, v=0,a=0
at rest Zero velocity
Zero acceleration
Constant velocity or uniform Increasing or decreasing d=vt,v=Dd/Dt,a=0
velocity displacement
Constant velocity
Constant speed
No change in direction
Zero acceleration
Constant acceleration or Increasing or decreasing d=(vit + at2/2)
uniformly accelerated displacement d=(vf2-vi2)/2a
motion Increasing or decreasing a=constant=(vf-vi)/t
magnitude of velocity
Constant speed but
changing direction
Constant acceleration

Kinematics in One Dimension

Kinematics-Study of Motion
Distance-Total distance traveled from start to finish. Displacement Straight line
distance between the start point and ending point of the problem.
Speed-A scalar quantity (no direction specified) that shows the rate that distance d
is covered.
~ Instantaneous The speed at an instant in time. Right now. Your
speedometer reading when you glance it at.
~ Average The total distance divided by the total time for the entire trip.
~ Constant If the same speed is maintained over the entire trip
Velocity-A vector quantity consisting of magnitude and direction. Displacement x
divided by time.
Acceleration-Change in velocity (change in speed and/or direction)
Kinematic Equations
You can only use the constant velocity equation when there is no acceleration. If
acceleration is present (Question contains terms such as: starts from rest, final
velocity of, accelerates, comes to rest, etc.), then you must use the three
Kinematic equations in the highlighted boarder boxes below.

Problem Solving Strategy

1. Draw a picture (Mental or on Paper)
2. List known and unknown variables.
a) Caution; some may be extraneous, and are not necessary to solve the problem.
b) Often either the starting or ending point is at rest, meaning a value of zero.
3. Do necessary conversions.
4. Choose an equation that can be solved with the known variables.
a) This equation may or may not be the answer you are looking for.
b) It may provide a new variable for use in another equation.
c) This may lead to a succession of equations.

Rachel watches a thunderstorm from her window. She sees the flash of lightning
bolt and begin counting the seconds until she hears the clap of thunder 5.0
seconds later. Assume that the speed of the sound in air is 340 m/s and the light
was seen instantaneously. How far away was the lightning bolt?
d=v*Dt=(340m/s)*(5s)=1700m

A car starts from rest and attains a speed of 50m/s in 15 seconds. How far has the
car traveled in 15 seconds? d=v*t=((vi+vt)/2)*t=((0+50/2)/2)*15=375m