3.

0: LINEAR DYNAMICS

3.1: LINEAR MOTION

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 ENABLING OBJECTIVES
1. Define the following terms:

1.1. Distance and displacement.

1.2. Speed and velocity.

1.3. Acceleration.

2. Solve simple problems on distance, displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration.

3. Carry out an investigation into distance-time graph, calculate the gradient and its speed:

3.1. Plot velocity-time on a graph and:

3.1.1. Calculate the gradient and interpret it as acceleration.

3.1.2. Calculate the area under the curve and interpret it as the distance travelled.

4. Describe the effect of force on acceleration:

4.1. Describe acceleration due to gravity.

4.1.1. Explain the acceleration of the free fall of a body near to Earth.

4.1.2. Determine experimentally the acceleration due to gravity.

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 DISTANCE & DISPLACEMENT

DISTANCE:
• The total length of travel irrespective of the
direction of motion.
•It is a scalar quantity.
S.I. Units: metre (m)

DISPLACEMENT:
• The shortest distance from the initial to the final
position of a point.
•Thus, it is the length of an imaginary straight path.
•It is a vector quantity.
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 SPEED & VELOCITY

SPEED:
• The distance moved by the object per unit time. 1
S.I. Units: m/s OR ms
•It is a scalar quantity.

VELOCITY:
• The distance travelled by the object per
unit time in a specific direction.
•It is also defined as the rate of change of
displacement.
•It is a vector quantity.
 ACCELERATION
a  acceleration
•The rate of change of velocity. vu
a  u  initial _ velocity
•It is a vector quantity. t v  final _ velocity
•There is acceleration only when velocity changes. t  time _ taken
•Constant velocity = 0 acceleration.
•If the velocity is increasing, the object is accelerating (acceleration).
•If the velocity is decreasing, the object is decelerating (deceleration or
retardation).
•S.I. unit is m / s 2 OR ms 2
 CLASSWORK:
1) A cyclist travels 10 km due East and then makes a U-turn back to travel a further distance of 8
km. The whole journey takes 2 hours. Calculate:
a) the distance travelled by the cyclist;
b) the speed of the cyclist;
c) the displacement of the cyclist;
d) the velocity of the cyclist.
2) Calculate the acceleration of:
a) a saloon car which achieves a velocity of 90 km/h (25 m/s) in 10 s after starting from rest.
b) a sports car which achieves the same velocity of 90 km/h (25 m/s) in 6 s after starting from
rest.
3) The driver of a car brakes when the car in travelling at 30 m/s. The velocity of the car is
reduced to 10 m/s after 5 s. What is its acceleration?

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DISTANCE/DISPLACEMENT-TIME GRAPH
SPEED/VELOCITY-TIME GRAPH
 AREA UNDER THE CURVE (GRAPH)

•The distance moved by the object per unit time.

•The area under a speed/velocity-time graph will give the total
distance travelled.
 EFFECT OF FORCE ON ACCELERATION
•An object is in “free fall” if the only force acting on it is the weight of the
force due to gravity.
•Falling object can only be in free fall if there is no air resistance.
•The acceleration due to gravity is denoted by ‘g’ and its value is
2
approximately 10
m / s
•ALL objects (regardless of their mass and size) will fall at the same
speed/velocity when there is no air resistance. If they are released from
the same height, they will reach the ground at the same time.

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 CLASSWORK:
1) The graph below shows the speed/velocity-time graph of a moving lift.
a) What is the maximum speed/velocity of the lift?
b) For how many seconds does the lift move?
c) How much speed/velocity does the lift gain in the first 10 seconds? What is its
acceleration?
d) what is the deceleration of the lift in the last 5 seconds?

2) The diagram shows the speed/velocity-time graph for a journey of a boy from his house
to school. Look at the shape of the graph and describe the type of motion in each stage.
 CLASSWORK:
3) The speed/velocity-time graph shows a car travelling along a straight road.
a) What is the distance travelled during the first 10 s?
b) What is the total distance travelled?
c) What is the time taken for the whole journey?
d) What is the speed/velocity for the whole journey?