Equations of Kinematics

Five kinematic variables:

1. displacement, x
2. acceleration (constant), a
3. final velocity (at time t), v
4. initial velocity, v
o

5. elapsed time, t

Constant Velocity Motion
No Forces

If no external forces are acting, velocity is
constant
position changes, at a steady (constant) rate
Constant velocity indicates the instantaneous
velocity at any instant during a time interval is the
same as the average velocity during that time
interval
Mathematical equation:


v
x
=
D x
D t
=
x
f
- x
i
D t
or x
f
= x
i
+v
x
D t
Particle Under Constant
Velocity, Graph
The graph represents the motion of a particle
under constant velocity
The slope of the graph is the value of the
constant velocity
The y-intercept is x
i


Constant Velocity
This is graphed as a flat line on a velocity time
graph.

The first set of graphs show an object traveling in
a positive direction.
The second set of graphs show an object
traveling in a negative direction.

Speeding Up and Slowing
Down
The graphs on the left represent an object
speeding up.
The graphs on the right represent an object that
is slowing down
What is constant
acceleration??
The constant acceleration is a special case of
accelerated motion. There are vast instances of
motions, which can be approximated to be under
constant force and hence constant acceleration.
Two of the most important forces controlling
motions in our daily life are force due to gravity
and friction force.
Motion with Constant
Acceleration

The average velocity of an object during a
time interval t is


The acceleration, assumed constant, is

Motion at Constant
Acceleration
In addition, as the velocity is increasing at a
constant rate, we know that


Combining these last three equations, we
find:

Motion with Constant
Acceleration

We can also combine these equations so as
to eliminate t:

We now have all the equations we need to
solve constant-acceleration problems.

Graphical Motion with
Constant Acceleration
A change in the acceleration affects the
velocity and position
Note especially the graphs when a = 0

Graphical Look at Motion:
acceleration time curve
The zero slope indicates a constant acceleration

Graphical Look at Motion:
velocity time curve
The slope gives the acceleration
The straight line indicates a constant
acceleration

The words slowing down uniformly implies
that the car has a constant acceleration. The
distance of travel is found form




A car slows down uniformly from a speed of 21.0 m/s to rest in
6.00 s. How far did it travel in that time?
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
v v
t v x x
v v
v but
t v x x
t v x x
+
= =
+
=
=
+ =
( )
0
0
21.0m s 0m s
6.00 sec 63.0 m
2 2
v v
x x t
+ +
= = =
| |
|
\ .