MOTION IN ONE DIMENSION

(1D)
ENPHYS14G – Physics for Engineers
KINEMATICS

DEALS WITH CONCEPTS THAT ARE NEEDED TO DESCRIBE

MOTION WITHOUT REGARD TO WHAT CAUSED IT.

Three types of motion:

Translational (car moving down a highway)
Rotational (Earth’s spin on its axis)
Vibrational (back-and-forth movement of the pendulum)
KINEMATICS: Translational Motion

PARTICLE MODEL:
 describing the moving object as a particle regardless of
its size
 a particle is a point-like object – that is, an object with
mass but having infinitesimal size
KINEMATICS: Translational Motion

POSITION, x
 is the location of the particle with respect to a chosen
reference point that can be considered as the origin of a
coordinate system

FRAME OF REFERENCE
 is a choice of coordinate axes that defines the starting point
for measuring any quantity
KINEMATICS: Translational Motion

TABLE 1: Position of the Car at

Various Times
Position
A 0 30
B 10 52
C 20 38
D 30 0
E 40
F 50
DISPLACEMENT, ∆𝑥

 the change in position of a moving

object in some time interval
∆𝑥 = 𝑥𝑓 − 𝑥𝑖
 Distance, the length of the path
followed by a particle, is a scalar
quantity while displacement is a vector
quantity.
AVERAGE SPEED, 𝒗

 is the total distance traveled divided by the total time elapsed:

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑑
𝑣= =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡

In day-to-day usage, the terms speed and velocity are

interchangeable.
In physics, however, there’s a clear distinction between them: Speed
is a scalar quantity, having only magnitude, while velocity is a vector,
having both magnitude and direction.
AVERAGE VELOCITY, 𝑣

 is the displacement divided by the time interval:

∆𝑥 𝑥𝑓 − 𝑥𝑖
𝑣= =
∆𝑡 𝑡𝑓 − 𝑡𝑖
 the average velocity of an object during the time interval ∆𝑡 is
equal to the slope of the straight line joining the initial and the final
points on the graph of the object’s position vs. time.
INSTANTANEOUS VELOCITY, 𝑣

 The instantaneous velocity indicates how fast an object moves and

the direction of the motion at each instant of time.
 The limit of the average velocity as the time interval becomes
∆𝑥
infinitesimally small: 𝑣 = lim
∆𝑡→0 ∆𝑡

INSTANTANEOUS SPEED
 a scalar quantity defined as the magnitude of the instantaneous velocity.
 Like average speed, instantaneous speed, usually called “speed”, has no
direction associated with it and hence carries no algebraic sign.
 EXAMPLE 1:

Find 𝑣 from point A to point B.

Position of the
Car at Various
Times
Posit 𝑡(𝑠) 𝑥(𝑚)
ion
A 0 30
B 10 52
C 20 38
D 30 0
E 40 −37
F 50 −53
AVERAGE ACCELERATION, 𝑎

 is the change in velocity divided by the time interval:

∆𝑣 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖
𝑎= =
∆𝑡 𝑡𝑓 − 𝑡𝑖
 When the object’s velocity and acceleration are in the same
direction, the speed of the object increases with time, and
conversely.
INSTANTANEOUS ACCELERATION, 𝑎

 is the limit of the average acceleration as the time interval goes to

zero:
∆𝑣
𝑎 = lim
∆𝑡→0 ∆𝑡

 It is equal to the slope of the tangent to the velocity vs. time graph
at that time.
EXAMPLE 2:

 A baseball player moves in a

straight-line path in order to
catch a fly ball hit to the
outfield. His velocity as a
function of time is shown in
Figure B. Find his instantaneous
acceleration at points A, B,
and C.
 KINEMATICS

Example
A particle moves along the x-
axis according to the
equation 𝑥 = 2.00 +
3.00𝑡 − 1.00𝑡 2 , where 𝑥 is in
meters and 𝑡 is in seconds. At
𝑡 = 3.00 𝑠, find:
(a) the position of the particle,
(b) its velocity, and
(c) its acceleration.
MOTION DIAGRAMS

 A motion diagram is a
representation of a moving object
at successive time intervals, with
velocity and acceleration vectors
sketched at each position.
 The time intervals between
adjacent positions in the motion
diagram are assumed equal.
MOTION WITH CONSTANT ACCELERATION

 When an object moves with constant acceleration, the instantaneous

acceleration at any point in a time interval is equal to the value of the average
acceleration over the entire time interval.
𝑎=𝑎
Equations for Motion in a Straight Line Under Constant Acceleration
EXAMPLE 3:

A jet lands on an aircraft carrier at 140 mi/h (=63 m/s).

a) What is its acceleration (assumed constant) if it stops in
2.0 s due to an arresting cable that snags the airplane
and brings it to a stop?
b) If the plane touches down at position Xi=0, what is the
final position of the plane?
 EXAMPLE 3:
A jet lands on an aircraft carrier at 140 mi/h (=63
m/s).
a) What is its acceleration (assumed constant) if it b) If the plane touches down at
stops in 2.0 s due to an arresting cable that position Xi=0, what is the final
snags the airplane and brings it to a stop? position of the plane?
EXAMPLE 4:

A speedboat moving at 30.0 m/s

approaches a no-wake buoy marker 100
m ahead. The pilot slows the boat with a
constant acceleration of -3.50 𝑚 𝑠 2 by
reducing the throttle.
(a) How long does it take the boat to
reach the buoy?
(b)What is the velocity of the boat when it
reaches the buoy?
 EXAMPLE 4:

A speedboat moving at 30.0 m/s

approaches a no-wake buoy marker 100
m ahead. The pilot slows the boat with a
constant acceleration of -3.50 𝑚 𝑠 2 by
reducing the throttle.
(a)(b)What is the velocity of the boat
when it reaches the buoy?
(b)How long does it take the boat to
reach the buoy?
 EXAMPLE 5:

A truck covers 40.0 m in 8.50 s while

smoothly slowing down to a final
speed of 2.80 m/s.
(a) Find its acceleration.
(b) Find its original speed.
 Free Falling Objects

 When air resistance is negligible, all objects dropped under

the influence of gravity near Earth’s surface fall toward
Earth with the same constant acceleration.
 In the idealized case where air resistance is negligible, such
motion is called free fall.
 The expression freely falling object doesn’t necessarily refer
to an object dropped from rest.
 A freely falling object is any object moving freely under the
influence of gravity alone, regardless of its initial motion.
 Objects thrown upward or downward and those released
from rest are all considered freely falling.
 Free Falling Objects

FREE FALL ACCELERATION, (g)

 The value of g decreases with increasing altitude,
and varies slightly with latitude, as well.
 At Earth’s surface, the value of g is approximately
9.80 𝑚 𝑠 2 .
 Neglecting air resistance and assuming that free-
fall acceleration doesn’t vary with altitude over
short vertical distances, then the motion of a
freely falling object will be the same as motion in
one dimension under constant acceleration.
Free Fall Equations

𝒈 = 𝟗. 𝟖𝟏 𝒎 𝒔𝟐

𝟏 𝒗 = 𝒗𝒐 − 𝒈𝒕

𝟏 𝟐
𝟐 ∆𝒚 = 𝒗𝒐 𝒕 − 𝒈𝒕
𝟐

𝟑 𝒗𝟐 = 𝒗𝒐 𝟐 − 𝟐𝒈∆𝒚
EXAMPLE 6:

A golf ball is released from rest at the top of a very tall

building. Neglecting air resistance, calculate the position
and velocity of the ball after 1.00 s, 2.00 s, and 3.00 s.
 EXAMPLE 6:

A golf ball is released from rest

at the top of a very tall building.
Neglecting air resistance,
calculate the position and
velocity of the ball after 1.00 s,
2.00 s, and 3.00 s.
 EXAMPLE 7

A stone thrown from the top of a building is given an initial

velocity of 20.0 m/s straight upward. The building is 50.0 m
high, and the stone just misses the edge of the roof on its
way down, as shown in ,the Figure. Using 𝑡𝐴 = 0 as the time
the stone leaves the thrower’s hand at position
𝑨 determine:
a) the time at which the stone reaches its maximum
height,
b) the maximum height,
c) the time at which the stone returns to the height from
which it was thrown,
d) the velocity of the stone at this instant, and
EXAMPLE 7
A stone thrown from the top of a building is given an initial velocity of 20.0 m/s
straight upward. The building is 50.0 m high, and the stone just misses the edge of
the roof on its way down, as shown in ,the Figure. Using 𝑡𝐴 = 0 as the time the stone
leaves the thrower’s hand at position 𝑨 determine:

a) the time at which the stone reaches

its maximum height,
EXAMPLE 7
A stone thrown from the top of a building is given an initial velocity of 20.0 m/s
straight upward. The building is 50.0 m high, and the stone just misses the edge of
the roof on its way down, as shown in ,the Figure. Using 𝑡𝐴 = 0 as the time the stone
leaves the thrower’s hand at position 𝑨 determine:

B) the maximum height

EXAMPLE 7
A stone thrown from the top of a building is given an initial velocity of 20.0 m/s
straight upward. The building is 50.0 m high, and the stone just misses the edge of
the roof on its way down, as shown in ,the Figure. Using 𝑡𝐴 = 0 as the time the stone
leaves the thrower’s hand at position 𝑨 determine:

C) the time at which the stone returns to the

height from which it was thrown
EXAMPLE 7
A stone thrown from the top of a building is given an initial velocity of 20.0 m/s
straight upward. The building is 50.0 m high, and the stone just misses the edge of
the roof on its way down, as shown in ,the Figure. Using 𝑡𝐴 = 0 as the time the stone
leaves the thrower’s hand at position 𝑨 determine:

D) the velocity of the stone at this instant,

and
 EXAMPLE 8:

An object is thrown straight

down from the top of a building
at a velocity of 20 m/s. It hits
the ground with a velocity of 40
m/s.
a) How high is the building?
b) How long was the object in
air?