2 Distance, velocity and acceleration Constant speed and constant velocity ‘The statement that the speed of a car is 40 kilometres per hour (written 40km/h or 40km h~') means that, if the speed remains unchanged, the car ‘yi travel 40km in each hour. The speed of the car is then said to be taiform ot constant, At the same speed the car would travel 80 km in 2 hours, 120km in 3 hours, etc. Thus: distance travelled = speed x time or S=VXE ‘The velocity of a car is a measure of the speed at which it is travelling ina particular direction. Ifa car has constant, or uniform velocity, then both the speed and the direction of motion of the car remain unchanged. ‘Thus the velocity of a car may be stated as 50kmh! due north and the speed of this car is then $0kmh-'. So it is seen that speed is a scalar quantity, whereas velocity is a vector quantity and distance travelled in a particular direction = velocity x time taken or s=vxt The distance travelled in a particular direction may be referred to as the displacement of the body from some fixed point. The letter v is used to denote both speed and velocity. This need cause no confusion provided that the difference between them is remembered, and it is clearly understood which is being used in a particular example. In most cases, only linear motion will be considered, ie. motion along a straight line. Therefore, the velocity can only be in one of two directions. The direction of the velocity can then be distinguished by the use of positive and negative. Forexample: Sms"! denoted by velocity of Sms“ — Sms"! denoted by velocity of -Sms"! ecole Change of units The car which is travelling at 40 kmh” is, of course, travelling a certain ‘umber of metres each second.Understanding mechanics: chapter 2 18 Example 1 Express a speed of 40 km he! in ms” ole “t 40% 40kmho! = 40x 1000m hr 60x 60 10 a speed of 115ms~!. 'A speed of 40km h~! is equivalent t Use of s = vt is of the quantities involved When the relationship 5 = vf 1S used, the unit: tl S 4 must be consistent. If the speed is in km hv!, the time must be in hours an‘ the distance will then be in km. Example 2 Find the distance travel speed of 15km he, Fond also the time taken by this body to travel 200, y= 1Skmhr! t= 3 minutes = 4h Using s= vt gives: s=i5sxt s=4km or 750m Jled in 3 minutes by a body moving with a constant m at the same speed. The distance travelled is 750m. To find the time taken to travel 200m s=200m 9 y= 15kmh! _ 15x 1000 gt = 60 x 60 Using s= 08 gives: 200 =28 xt where 1 is measured in seconds 1=48s The time taken to travel 200m at 15kmh"! is 48s. Average speed In practice the speed and velocity of a body are seldom constant. When a See a in eae it is unlikely that its speed is constant. It is at for part of the time the car is travelli , fe th x avelling at more th a = a , a a some of the time the car’s speed is less than 4okm nt refer tot : hal e average speed, or the average velocity of aDistance, velocity and acceleration 19 average speed = {tal distance travelled total time taken and average velocity = $018! distance travelled in a particular direction total time taken The distance travelled in a particular direction can more conveniently be referred to as the displacement from some fixed initial position. Example 3 ‘A, Band C are three points, in that order, on a straight road with ‘aB = 40km and BC = 90km. ‘Awoman travels from A to B at 10kmh~! and then from B to Cat 1Skmbe! Calculat (@) the time taken to travel from A to B () the time taken to travel from B to C (0) the average speed of the woman for the journey from A to C. (a) Using s=vt for A to B gives: +40 km--=——90 km——> eee 40=10x1 A B c —> —> t=4h 10km ho 15kmh=* The time taken to travel from A to Bis 4h. (b) Using s=vt for Bto C gives: 9 =15 x1 1=6h The time taken to travel from B to Cis 6h. total distance travelled for A to C gives: total time taken zi e (© Using average speed = y= 40+90 446 v=13kmh! The average speed for the whole journey is 13 kmh, Example 4 ‘Arman walks 400m due east in a time of 190s, and then 100m due west in a time of 50s, Calculate: (2) his average () his average velocity, for the whole journey,20 (a) Using average speed = Understanding mechanics: chapter 2 total distance total time 400 + 100 average speed = ———— ae 190 + 50 = =25ms"! The average speed is 245ms"!. (b) Using avernge velocity — “isplacement total time average velocity = 70 =1ims! E ‘The average velocity is 1}ms~! east. Exercise 2A 1, 2 3. 4. 5. 6. 2 1 = Express a speed of 36kmh~ in ms“. Express a speed of 81 kmh~! in ms“. Express a speed of 35ms~! in kmhv!. Express a speed of 22ms~! in kmh! Express a speed of 6km min“ in ms~ . A body travelling at a constant speed covers a distance of 200m in 8 seconds. Find the speed of the body. A body travelling at a constant speed covers a distance of 3km in 2 minutes. Find the speed of the body. . Find the distance travelled in 5 seconds by a body moving with a constant speed of 3-2ms7. Find the distance travelled in 2 minutes by a body moving with a constant speed of 6kmh"'. Find the time taken by a body, moving with a constant speed 3:Sms“!, to travel a distance of 21 m. . At time f= 0 a body passes through a point A and is moving with a constant velocity of 4mst. (a) Find how far the body is from A when t=3s. (b) What is the value of t when the body is 22m from A? . The spacecraft Voyager IT travels at a constant velocity of 80000 km h-!. Find the distance the spacecraft travels in: (a) hour (b) 1S minutes (¢) I second. gives: gives: 400 m E+ 100 mW 13. 18. 300 mE 240 The speed of sound is 340ms!. Find the distance travelled in one minute by an aircraft flying at Mach 2 (Le. twice the speed of sound). The speed of light is 3 x 10° ms7!. If the distance from the Sun to the Earth is 1-5 x 10®km, find how long it takes light from the Sun to reach the Earth. . If it takes 5 seconds for the sound of thunder to reach my ears, how far am I fra the place that it actually occurred? (Speed 0 sound is 340ms~!,) If an athlete runs a 1500 metre race in 3 minutes 33 seconds, find his average speed for the race. . A, Band C are three points lying in that order on a straight road with AB = Skm and BC = 4km. A man runs from A to Be 20kmh*! and then walks from B to C at 8kmh7!. Find: (a) the total time taken to travel from A toc (b) the average speed of the man for the journey from A to C. ‘A man walks 150m due north, in a time of 70s, and then 50m due south, in a time of 30s. Find: (a) his average speed (b) his average velocity.2 Distance, velocity and acceleration 1c speed of 10ms ', then from B to 19, Acaris driven from Town A to Town B, an av ne of 45, and then returns to B. The 4okm away, at an average speed of Cinat cokmhe!. The car is at B for 10 minutes average speed for the whole journcy is and is then driven back to A, Saal Find (a) Find the average speed for the journey (a) the average speed of the body in the BA if the average speed for the second stage of the motion complete journey is 60kmh-!, (eae) (b) What is the average velocity of the car (b) the average speed of the body in moving for the complete journey? ia ee a fs (©) the time taken for the third stage of the 20, A, Band C are three points lying in that motion (i.e. C ~+ B) order on a straight line with AB = 60m and (d) the average velocity for the complete AC = 80m. A body moves from A to B at motion Lj notation In the first chapter, vectors were expressed using the i-j notation. Both the position and the velocity of a body can be given in this vector form. Position vector Using a suitable origin O, the position of a body at P may be given as the vector OP, where: OF = (ai + opm. ‘ This is the position vector of the body. As before, the vector may be denoted by a single letter, say, r= OB =(ai+ dpm The distance of P from the origin O and the ol direction of OB may then be found: distance OP = | OP | or |r| =e +h) ' (ai + b)) m b and the direction of OP is given by tan 0 = a Velocity vector The velocity vector v can be expressed in the same way, Ifthe velocity vector of a body at P is given by: y=(l+d)ms"', ia the body has a velocity of ems”! in the direction of the unit vector i, and dms~' in the direction of the unit vector i22 Understanding mechanics: chapter 2 Example 5 The point O is the origin and the points P and Q have position vectors (Ti ~ 24j) m and (13i — 16j)m respectively. Find: (a) the distance OP (b) the vector PO (©) the distance PQ. @ ‘OP = (7i- 24j)m distance OP = | OP | = y(7? + (-24)*) = 25m The distance OP is 25m. (b) Since OP + PQ = 0G PG = 00 - OF = (13i — 16) - (Ti — 24)) = (1+ 8m The vector PQ is (6i + 8j)m. (©) From (b) PQ =(6i+8))m distance PQ =| PQ | = V6 +82) = 10m The distance PQ is 10m. Example 6 A particle P has an initial position vector (3i + 2) + 4k)m. If the particle moves with a constant velocity of (Si+j— 3k)ms™', find: (a) the position vector of P after time t, (b) the position vector of P after 3 seconds, (a) Position vector after time sis given by: ¥(t) = (3i + 2j + 4k) + Si +j— 3k) r() = (3+ Si+(2 +0] + (4—3nk. The position vector of P after time ¢ is: [B+ 501+ 2+ Oj+ (4 - 3k] m. (b) After 3 seconds: 1(3) = 181 + 5j — Sk: After 3 seconds the position vector is (18i + Sj — 5k) m.Exercise 2B 1, The point A has position vector (71 + 24 Find how far A is from the origin, oe 2. ‘The points B and C have position vectors (Bi 15j)m and (Si — 12}) m respectively. Find: : (a) how far B is from the origin (6) how far C is from the origin © BCA in vector form (i.e. i-j notation) @ [BC |. ‘The point O is the origin and points A, B and C have position vectors (31 — » Find: (a) the distance OA» (b) the distance OB (©) the distance OC (@ the vector AB (© the vector BC (f) the vector CB (g) the distance AB (h) the distance BC. 4, Find the speed of a body moving with velocity (6i — 8jms~!. 5, Find the speed of a body moving with velocity (7i— 24j)ms7!. 6. Find the speed of a body moving with velocity (-4i + jms“, 7, Find the speed of a body moving with velocity (41 — 10j + k)ms~!, 8. Find the speed of a body moving with velocity (31 — j - 7k)ms~'. 9. Particle A has velocity (Si + 2)ms~! and particle B has velocity (—4i + 4j)ms~, Which particle has the greater speed? 10. A body moving with a velocity (2i+ aj)ms7! has a speed of 5-2ms"! Find the two possible values of a. 11. A body moving with a velocity of (61+ (6+ 7)j}Jms~! has a speed of 17ms Find the two possible values of b. 12. A particle has an initial position vector of (Si+ 3))m. W the particle moves with a constant velocity of (2i + 4))ms~" find its position vector after: (a) 1 second (b) 2 seconds, 4j + 5k)m, (Bi + 8)— 3k)m, and (4i + 3k)m respectively, 15. 17. 19, EEE EE Distance, velocity and acceleration 23 . A particle has an initial position vector of (Si+ 4pm If the particle moves with a constant velocity of (2i— jms“, find its position vector after: (a) 3seconds —_(b) 5 seconds |. A particle has an initial position vector of (Zi + 5j)m. The particle moves with a constant velocity of (ai + 5j)ms~' and after 3 seconds has a position vector of (10i — j)m. Find the values of a and 6. Find the speed of a body which is moving with a constant velocity of (Si— 12{)ms"!. If the body is initially at a point with Position vector (i + 6j) m, find the position vector of the body 3 seconds later and its distance from the origin at that time. 3. A particle has an initial position vector (4i + 3j + 9k) m. The particle moves with a constant velocity of (3i— 2j— Sk)ms~!. Find: (@) the position vector of the particle at time 1 (b) the position vector of the particle after 5 seconds. How far is the particle from the origin after 5 seconds? A particle has an initial position vector (ai + bj + ck)m. The particle moves with a constant velocity of (3i-+j+4k)ms~! and after 2 seconds has a position vector (i+j+ 1k)m. Find the values of a, b and c. How far is the particle from the origin after 3 seconds? A particle has an initial position vector (Ti — 6 + 3k) m with respect to an origin O. For the next two seconds the particle moves with a constant velocity of (41 — 6k)ms!. The particle then moves with a constant velocity (ai +j+ck)ms™!, reaching O after a further three seconds. Find the values of a, 6 and c. At time ¢ = 0 two particles A and B have position vectors (2i + 3j — 4k)m and (Bi + 6k) m respectively. A moves with constant velocity (—i + 3j + 5k)ms~' and B with constant velocity vm s~'. Given that when ¢ = 5 seconds B passes through the point that A passed through one second earlier, find v.24 Understanding mechanics: chapter 2 Uniform acceleration formulae When the motion of a body is being considered, the letters w, v, a, rand s usually have the following meanings: v = final velocity u = initial velocity 1 = time interval or time taken a = acceleration 5 = displacement Consider a car travelling in a straight line. If initially its velocity is Sms~' and 3 seconds later its velocity is 1] ms™', the car is said to be accelerating. Acceleration is a measure of the rate at which velocity is changing. In this example, the velocity increases by 6ms™' in 3s, If the acceleration a is assumed to be uniform, then it is 6ms~' in 3s, or 2ms™! each second, which is written 2ms~?. In general: change in velocity acceleration = ———— time interval or Hence veutat —...{I] If the acceleration is uniform, then the average velocity is the average of the initial and final velocities, ie. uty average velocity = displacement _ 5 But average velocity = : Y= "Time taken s_uty t 2 7 s-“m pl Substituting the value of v from equation [1] into equation [2] gives: (ututant 2 s=utt+jar «2 Substitute for 1 from equation [1] into equation [2]. Equation [1] is rewritten as:Distance, velocity and acceleration 25 and substituted into equation [2:5 — “+¥) (v-¥) 2 @ siving das =F — at Hence Pawt2as 4] ‘These four formulae are very important and should be committed to memory: veutat sett Remember these only apply 2 to motion involving seutttar uniform acceleration, v=w+2as Distance and displacement In the above formulae, 5 represents displacement. In practice, s is also used to denote distance because distance and displacement are often equal. There need be no confusion provided that care is taken in any particular question. When the direction of motion of a body remains unchanged, then the distance travelled and the displacement are equal. If the direction of motion changes part way through the motion, then the distance travelled and the displacement will not be equal. Suppose a body moves 15km due east and then 10km due west: distance moved = 15km+10km = 25km displacement from initial position = 15km E+10km W = 5km E Example 7 A body moves along a straight line from A to B with uniform acceleration 4ms~. The time taken is 12s and the velocity at B is 25ms7!. Find: (a) the velocity at A (b) the distance AB. Given a= 3 ms“ t=12s \ we need to find: (a) u (b) s v=25ms! . @ Use vew+at 25 = ut (3)(12) =17ms The velocity at A is 17ms~!.26 Understanding mechanics: chapter 2 (b) Use s=ur+ tar or Psi? + 2as ors= a = (17)(12) +4 (3)(2P (28) = (1 +2(9)s = ws 28 = 204448 625 = 289445 = 252m y= 252m = 252m The distance AB is 252m. Example 8 A cyclist travelling downhill accelerates uniformly at Ims™. If his initial velocity at the top of the hill is 3ms~"', find: (a) how far he travels in 8s (b) how far he travels before reaching a velocity of 7ms“!. (a) Given a= 1-Sms™* u=3ms" we need to find s cen | Use s=ut+ far = 38) + 401-58) = 24448 s=72m In 8s the cyclist travels 72m. (b) Given a@=1-5ms? we need to find s The distance travelled is 134 m. Retardation Ifa body moving at 12ms~ is subsequently moving at 2ms~', the body is, said to be subject to a retardation, ie. a negative acceleration. If the change in velocity takes place over a period of 45, the retardation is 10ms' in 4s or 2 ms~ and the acceleration is -24 ms~. Example 9 A stone slides in a straight line across a horizontal sheet of ice. It passes a point A with velocity 14ms~!, and the point B 21s later. Assuming the retardation is uniform and that AB = 30m, find: (a) the retardation (b) the velocity at B (©) how long after passing A the stone comes to rest.Distance, velocity and acceleration 27 (a) Given w= 14ms"! 258 We need to find retardation 30m Let acceleration = a Use s=utttar 30 = (14)(2-5) + 4.(a)(2.5)? 30 = 35+ = —1-6ms~, i. a retardation or ‘The retardation is 1-6ms~2, (b) Let velocity at B= v From part (a) retardation = 1.6ms~? or a= —1-6ms~ Use P=w +2as = (14? +.2( — 1-6)(30) = 196 - 96 v=10ms"! ‘The velocity of the stone at B is 10ms~!. 14ms —1-6ms? we need to find ¢ v= 0 when the stone comes to rest (©) Given u+at 144 (-1-6)t 8-758 The stone is at rest 8-75 after passing A. Exercise 2C Questions 1 to 20 involve a body moving with uniform acceleration along a straight line from point A to point B. initial final velocity velocity ae acceleration —_ : A eo, rs distance > 1. Initially at rest, acceleration = 4ms~, + 4, Initial velocity = 3ms~, time taken = 8s, Find the distance. final velocity = Sms~', time taken = 10s. 2. Initial velocity = 3ms!, Find the distance. acceleration = 2ms~?, time taken = 6s. Find the final velocity. + 5. Initial velocity = 3ms~', 3. Initially at rest, acceleration = 2ms"*, final velocity = Sms“, distance = 2m. lime taken = 45, Find the distance. Find the acceleration.28 Understanding mechanics: chapter 2 * 6. Final velocity = 27ms~!, Bp e . Initial velocity = 7m . Initial velocity = 8ms~, time taken = 2s. final velocity = 3ms~', distance = 5m. Find the acceleration. Distance = 28 m, acceleratio time taken = 4. Find the initial velocity. Distance = 201, initial velocity = 3ms~', final velocity Initial velocity = 6ms"', final velocity = 8ms“', acceleration = 0-5ms~*. Find the distance. Initial velocit; final velocity = 50ms"!, time taken = 16s. Find the acceleration. Distance = 500m, initial velocity = Ims~', time taken = 10s. Find the acceleration, Initial velocit final velocity acceleration |. Initial velocity = 30ms"', final velocit 10ms~ acceleration acceleration = 1ms~?, distance = 12m. Find the time taken. Distance = 60m, final velocity = 8ms~', time taken = 12s. Find the initial velocity. Initial velocity = Sms“, final velocity = 36kmh-', acceleration = 14 ms~?. Find the distance. . Acceleration = 0-5ms~?, final velocity = 162kmh~!, time taken = | minute. Find the initial velocity. 19, Acceleration = 2ms~*, final velocity = 10ms~', time taken = 2s. Find the distance. 20. Distance = 132m, time taken = 12s, acceleration = —1ms~?, Find the final velocity. 21. A train starts from rest and accelerates uniformly, at 1-Sms~?, until it attains a speed of 30ms~'. Find the distance the train travels during this motion and the time taken. 22. A cheetah can accelerate from rest to 30ms"! in a distance of 25m. Find the acceleration (assumed constant). 7ms-', Find the time taken. 4ms~. Find the time taken. 23, The manufacturer of a new car claims can accelerate from rest to 90 km h~' in, 10 seconds. Find the acceleration (assum, constant). _ 24, In travelling the 70cm along a rifle barry bullet uniformly accelerates from its init, state of rest to a muzzle velocity of 210ms~!. Find the acceleration involveq and the time for which the bullet is in the barrel. 25, According to the Highway Code, a car travelling at 20ms~! requires a minim, braking distance of 30m. What retardat, is this and what length of time will it take? 26. A car is initially at rest at a point O. The g moves away from O in a straight line, accelerating at 4ms~?. Find how far the cg is from O after: (a) 2 seconds (b) 3 seconds. How far does the car travel in the third second? 27. A body moves along a straight line uniformly increasing its velocity from 2ms to 18ms™! ina time interval of 10s. Find the acceleration of the body during this tin: and the distance travelled. A particle is projected away from an origin O with initial velocity of 0-25ms~!. The particle travels in a straight line and accelerates at 1-5ms~?. Find: (a) how far the particle is from O after 3 seconds (b) the distance travelled by the particle during the fourth second after projection. 29. At time = 0, a body is projected from at origin O with an initial velocity of 10ms" The body moves along a straight line with a constant acceleration of -2ms~>. (a) Find the displacement of the body from O when ¢ equals 7 seconds. (b) How far from O does the body come '0 instantaneous rest and what is the valvt of ¢ then? - (c) Find the distance travelled by the body" during the time interval 1 = 0 to 1=7 seconds,he 30. - 32. 4 of? A, Band C are three points lying in that order ona straight line. A body is projected from B towards A with speed 3ms~!. The y experiences an acceleration of I ms~? towards C. If BC = 20m, find the time taken to reach C and the distance travelled by the body from the moment of projection until it reaches C, ‘Acar is being driven along a road at a steady 25ms~' when the driver suddenly notices that there is a fallen tree blocking the road 65 metres ahead. The driver immediately applies the brakes giving the car constant retardation of Sm s~*. How far in front of the tree does the car come to rest? If the driver had not reacted immediately and the brakes were applied one second Jater, with what speed would the car have hit the tree? A train travels along a straight piece of track between two stations A and B. The train starts from rest at A and accelerates at 1-25ms~ until it reaches a speed of 20ms~'. It then travels at this steady speed for a distance of 1-56km and then Free fall under gravity 33. 35. Distance, velocity and acceleration 29 decelerates at 2ms~? to come to rest at B. Find: (a) the distance from A to B (b) the total time taken for the journey (©) the average speed for the journey. A particle travels in a straight line with uniform acceleration. The particle passes through three points A, B and C lying in that order on the line, at times = 0, t= 2s and 1 = 5s respectively. If BC = 30m and the speed of the particle when at Bis 7ms"', find the acceleration of the particle and its speed when at A. |. A, Band C are three points which lie in that order on a straight road with AB = 95m and BC = 80m. A car is travelling along the road in the direction ABC with constant acceleration ams~®. The car passes through Awwith speed ums~', reaches B five seconds later, and C two seconds after that. Find the values of u and a. ‘Acar A, travelling at a constant velocity of 25ms~', overtakes a stationary car B. Two seconds later car B sets off in pursuit, accelerating at a uniform 6ms~?. How far does B travel before catching up with A? The uniform acceleration formulae developed in the last section may be used when considering the motion of a body falling under gravity. In such cases the ‘acceleration of the body is 9-8ms~? and this is commonly referred to as 'z, the acceleration due to gravity. If the motion is vertically upward, the body will be subject to a retardation of 9-8 ms™. In fact the magnitude of g varies slightly at different places on the Earth’s . surface, but for our purposes it can 98 ms, Arrow convention -In any particular example, care is vectors involved are all the same. + y= 25ms~! 7 implies that the initial velocity is 25ms~! upwards a=98ms7? | implies a downward acceleration of 9:8 ms"? - 4 = -98ms~ T be taken as having the constant value of is needed to ensure that the directions of the Before substituting numerical values in the uniform acceleration formulae, the arrows of the vectors involved must all be in the same direction. | eee eo30 Understanding mechanics: chapter 2 Example 10 A brick is thrown vertically downwards from the top ofa building and has an initial velocity of 1-Sms~'. If the height of the building is 195 m, find: (a) the velocity with which the brick hits the ground (b) the time taken for the brick to fall. (a) Given uw : s we need to find: (a) v (b) ¢ “st a=98ms? | ye Use w= w+ 2as Fa (15)+ 29.) 22) : or The hits the ground with a downward velocity of 19-5ms~!. (b) Use v=u+at 19-5 = 1-5+9-8¢ t= 18 184s 98 The brick hits the ground after 1-84s. Example 11 A ball is thrown vertically upwards with a velocity of 14-7ms~! from a platform 19-6m above ground level. Find: (a) the time taken for the ball to reach the ground (b) the velocity of the ball when it hits the ground. Given w= 14-7ms"' Tf .8ms~? | \ weneedtofind (a)¢ (b) 5=196m| (a) Use s =19.6 = 14.714 4(-9.8)2 -4=3-2 P-3-4=0 (40+ =0 ie t=4s or -Is The ball reaches the ground after 45. (b) Use v=u+at 4-7 + (—9.8)4 = 14.7 — 39.2 ~24-5ms", ie. 24-5ms-! | v ‘The ball hits the ground with a downward velocity of 24-5ms~!Y Example 12 Distance, velocity and acceleration 31 A particle is projected vertically upwards with a velocity of 34-3ms~!. Find how long after projection the particle is at a height of 49m above the point of projection for: (a) the first time (b) the second time. a=98ms~ | = -9.8ms~ Given u=343ms"' t s=49m Use s=ut+jar 49 = 3431-1 09.892 P-7t+10=0 (@- St-2) =0, ie. t=5s or \ we need to find #. 2s The particle is 49m above the point of projection: (a) after 2s () after 5s. Exercise 2D tock 1. A book falls from a shelf 160.cm above the floor. Find the speed with which the book strikes the floor. 2. Astone is dropped from a position which is ~ 40 metres above the ground. Find the time taken for'the stone to reach the ground. GA stone is,dropped from the top of a tower and falls to the ground below. If the stone hits the ground with a speed of 14ms"", find the height of the tower. 4, A ball is thrown vertically downwards from the top of a tower and has an initial speed of 4ms™!, If the ball hits the ground 2 seconds later, find: (a) the height of the tower (b) the speed with which the ball strikes the ground. 5. A stone is projected vertically upwards from ground level with a speed of 21 ms~'. Find the height of the stone above ground: (a) I second after projection (b) 2 seconds after projection (©) 3 seconds after projection. A ball is thrown vertically upwards with speed 28 ms~! from a point which is | metre above ground level. Find: (a) the speed the ball will have when it returns to the level from which it was projected (b) the height above ground level of the highest point reached. 7. A ball is thrown vertically upwards from a point A, with initial speed of 21 ms~', and is later caught again at A. Find the length of time for which the ball was in the air. 8. A ball is kicked vertically upwards from ground level with an initial speed of 14ms!. Find the height above ground level of the highest point reached and the total time for which the ball is in the air. @ A stone is thrown vertically upwards with a speed of 20ms~' from a point at a height h metres above ground level. If the stone hits the ground 5 seconds later, find h. A stone is projected vertically upwards from ground level at a speed of 24:5ms~!, Find how long after projection the stone is at a height of 19.6m above the ground: (a) for the first time (b) for the second time. For how long is the stone at least 19-6m above ground level? 3.32 Understanding mechanics: chapter 2 ) A ball is held 1.6m above a concrete floor and released. The ball hits the floor and rebounds with half the speed it had just prior to impact. Find the greatest height the ball reaches after: (a) the first bounce (b) the second bounce. 12. A body is projected vertically upwards from ground level at a speed of 49 ms~'. Find the length of time for which the body is at least 78-4 m above the ground. 1. S A bullet is fired vertically upwards at a speed of 147ms7'. Find the length of time Graphical representation Consider the motion of a body which accelerates uniformly from a speed u to a speed v in time ¢ and then maintains constant speed v. Plotting velocity on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis, we can draw a velocity-time graph . The acceleration of the body is defined as the rate of change of velocity, u . v= : . ie. a=*—" and so the acceleration during the time interval 0 — ¢ will be the gradient or slope of the line AB. From soe) - 34 for which the bullet is at least 93 the level of projection. 14. A body is projected vertically w a speed of 14ms~!, Find the heehee @ body above the level of projection after” (a). 1 second of motion ' (b) 2 seconds of motion. Find the distance travelled by the body the 2nd second of motion. 4 @& Two stones are thrown from the same p, at the same time, one vertically upward, (! with speed 30ms~', and the other vertcy downwards at 30m". Find how far ap, the stones are after 3 seconds. : Om ato, velocity ° i) 7 time 1 it can be seen that the distance travelled by the body during the time interval 0 — ¢ is represented by the area OABC, i.e. the area ‘under’ the graph for that part of the motion. Example 13 The velocity-time graph shown is for a body which starts from rest, accelerates uniformly to a velocity of 8ms~' in 2 seconds, maintains that velocity for a further 5 seconds, and then retards uniformly to rest. The entire journey takes 11 seconds. Find: (a) the acceleration of the body during the initial part of the motion (b) the retardation of the body during the final part of the motion (©) the total distance travelled by the body. > co velocity (ms~!) ep usuar)]e e 12345678 910n time (s)Distance, velocity and acceleration (a) The initial acceleration is given by the gradient of the line OA: | increase from © to A_ gradient of OA = ©! horizontal inc1 from O to A “The initial acceleration is 4ms~2, (b) The acceleration during the final part of the moti i gradient of the line BC: monee Ee vertical increase from B to C gradient of BC = horizontal increase from B to C ‘The final retardation is 2ms~?. (@) The total distance travelled is given by the area OABC. This is a trapezium, and so: en DASE a 2 = 64 ‘The total distance travelled is 64m. Setting up a mathematical model of a real situation In an earlier part of this chapter we considered free fall under gravity. In that section we used the value of 9:8ms~ for the acceleration due to gravity, but pointed out that in fact g varied slightly dependent upo? focation. We simplified the real situation, in which the acceleration due to gravity may not quite equal 9-8ms~*, by adopting a more convenient and sufficiently accurate model that assumed g to be 9-8ms-? everywhere on and close to the Earth's surface. Similarly when we say that choosing to neglect the smal in reality. Our simplified mat small variations. Likewise when we choose to neglect wind resistance we are again adopting a simplified mathematical model of the situation. In this way we avoid complications without seriously affecting the acceptability of the answer. If we draw a velocity-time graph for the motion of a cyclist, we are choosing to display our mathematical model graphically. Certain assumptions may be made in our model. For example, we may draw a horizontal line on our graph to show the cyclist travelling with constant velocity, whereas in reality the cyclists speed probably varied slightly during this time, a car travels with constant speed we are | variations in speed that will probably occur hematical model chooses to neglect these 3334 Understanding mechanics: chapter 2 A good mathematical model of a real situation will make any assumptions necessary to allow appropriate mathematics to be used while at the same time not making the model so different from the real situation as to make it useless. ‘As with most models, these mathematical models simplify the real situation, making it more manageable, while still retaining those features of the real situation that are considered to be most significant. The model will lose some small details that exist in the real situation but can still allow useful calculations and predictions to be made. The validity of the model can then be checked by comparing the outcomes as predicted by the model with the real-life outcomes. Note. As the above paragraphs point out, we have been using mathematical models of the real world already in this book in order to solve problems. In such cases we did not state all of the assumptions we were making in order to solve each question. However, if a question specifically asks you to “set up the model” you should clearly state any assumptions you are going to make, as the next example demonstrates. Example 14 A road engineer for a local council needs to find a safe distance between road humps on a 30 miles per hour stretch of road. The engineer knows that the maximum safe speed to travel over the humps is $ miles per hour and must allow for the motorist who will reach a speed of 30 miles per hour between humps. From previous research the engineer knows that the average family car has an average acceleration of 3ms~? and a deceleration of 6-5ms~2, Set up a model for the above situation and use the model to estimate a safe distance between humps. Step 1 Set up the model Smph 30mph_ —_-Smph SN i yt Assume that the car is a particle. e Assume that there are no resistive forces such as air resistance and friction. e Assume that the car will travel throughout the motion with constant acceleration and then constant deceleration. Assume the road surface is horizontal. Step 2 Apply the mathematics Using the conversion 1 mph ~ 4ms! gives: 22mst 3m so! s 133ms! 22ms"! 1m —+—ym—ed