One-dimensional motion

We first will consider one dimensional motion with respect to a coordinate sys-
tem whose origin will be located at the reference point 0. In Section 2.1 you
can learn that the displacement is given a (+) sign if the motion is to the right
and a (−) if the motion is to the left.

Average speed and average velocity

The average speed is defined as the distance traveled divided the elapsed time.
That is,
distance traveled
average speed = .
elapsed time
For example if a car travels 50 km to the right and returns 30 km in 2 hours
then
50 + 30 km
average speed = ,
2 hr
km
average speed = 40 .
hr
The average velocity is defined as
displacement
average velocity = .
elapsed time
In our example:
20 − 0 km
average velocity = ,
2 hr
km
average velocity = 20 ,
hr
where the final position is 20 km and the initial position is 0.

Instantaneous velocity
If an object does not move with constant velocity then we need the concept of
instantaneous velocity to know the velocity at an specific time. It is defined as
dx
v= ,
dt
where the position x(t) is a function of time. For example, if the displacement
of an object is given by
x(t) = 2t + t2 ,
where x(t) is in meters and t in seconds.

v = 2 + 2t,

and the velocity at t = 3 s is v = 8m/s.

1
Acceleration
When the velocity changes we need the concept of acceleration a. We will
consider situations with constant acceleration, then the general definition
dv
a= ,
dt
becomes
∆v
a= .
∆t
Consider a car moving to the right all the time and increasing the speed from 5
m/s to 15 m/s in 4 s, then the acceleration is simply
15 − 5
a= m/s2 ,
4
a = 2.5m/s2 .

Equations of motion
The equations of motion relate the concepts we already discussed. If the accel-
eration is constant the average speed is also defined as
v0 + v1
v̄ = .
2
Since we also have
x1 − x0
v̄ = ,
t
where x0 is the initial position and we took t0 = 0 as the initial time. Then,
combining both equations we get
v0 + v1
x1 = x0 + t,
2
such that replacing the definition
v1 − v0
a=
t
we obtain
1
x1 = x0 + v0 t + at2 .
2
This is the first equation of motion. The second one is

v1 = v0 + at,

such that combining both to eliminate the time variable we get after some
algebra
v12 = v02 + 2a(x1 − x0 ).

2
Therefore, in general the three equations of motion are written
1
x = x0 + v0 t + at2 .
2

v = v0 + at,

v 2 = v02 + 2a(x1 − x0 ).

Exercises

1. Find the average speed en m/s if a car travels 110km in 2 hours.

110,000
|v| = 7200 m/s, |v| = 15.28m/s

2. A ball moves from the position x0 = 0 to the position x1 = 11 en two

minutes and then to position x2 = 6 in 1 minute, where the distances are
in m. Find the average velocity.

x2 −x0 6−0
|v| = t , |v| = 180 m/s, |v| = 0.033m/s

Find the average speed

total distance 17
|v| = t , |v| = 180 m/s, |v| = 0.94m/s

3. A car moves in a straight line according to the equation x(t) = 2 + 3t + 5t2

where distances are in meters and time in seconds. Find: a) the position
at t1 = 1s and t2 = 4s, b) the average velocity between t1 and t2 .

a)
x(t1 ) = 2 + 3 + 5 m, x(t1 ) = 10m
x(t2 ) = 2 + 12 + 80 m, x(t2 ) = 94m

b)
94 − 10
|v| = m/s, |v| = 28m/s
3

Here the result for average velocity and average speed are equivalent, but
the average velocity is a vector and the average speed is a scalar. Since
the acceleration here is constant we could also calculate
v1 + v2
|v| =
2

3
 where
dx1 (t2 )
v1 = , |v1 | = 13m/s
dt
and
|v2 | = 43m/s
then
56
|v| = m/s, |v| = 28m/s.
2
4. A car accelerates from rest to a speed v = 100km/hr in 3sec with constant
acceleration. Find the acceleration in m/s2 .

Since the acceleration is constant, we have

∆v 100.000 − 0
a= , a= m/s, a = 9.26m/s
t 10800
5. A car traveling at 70km/hr slows down at a constant acceleration of
1.1m/s2 . Find

a) The distance that travels

Since the car is slowing down, we have that the acceleration is negative.
Then, a = −1.1m/s2 . We could use

0 − (19.44)2
vf2 = v02 + 2ax, x= m, x = 171.85m
−2.2
where
v0 = 19.44m/s

b) the time it takes to stop

We use vf = v0 + at

vf − v0 0 − 19.44
t= , t= s, t = 17.67s
a −1.1
6. A car driver moving at 96km/hr decides to answer the cellular phone
becoming inattentive to the road during six seconds. Find the distance
traveled during this time

Since the speed is constant, the distance traveled is

x = vt, x = 26.7(6)m, x = 160m.

So, if you do not have a bluetooth in your car, do not answer the phone.

4
7. A driver travels 100km at constant speed of 80km/hr. Then, slow down
at 50km/hr and travels an additional 70km. Find

a) The time it took to travel the 170km

Since the speed is constant we have

x1
t1 =
v1
, and
t1 = 1.25hr = 75min
x2
t2 =
v2
t2 = 1.4hr = 84min
the total time is t = 159min.
b)The average speed in m/s

distance 170, 000m

v= , v= , v = 15.8m/s.
time 9540s

8. An object moves according to the equation x = 2 + 11t − 5t2 . Find

a) The average velocity between t = 1s and t = 3s

First we calculate the velocity

dx
v= , v = 11 − 10t,
dt
Now,
v(t = 1s) = 1m/s,
v(t = 3s) = −19m/s
which means that the object at t = 3s is already moving to the left. Then,

v(t = 1s) + v(t = 3s)

v= , v = −9m/s.
2
b) Find the time when the object is at rest

Set
v = 11 − 10t = 0,
giving t = 1.1s, after this time the object starts moving to the left.

5
9. A sports car moving at constant speed travels 200m in 8s, and then brakes
and comes to a stop in 5s. Find

a) The acceleration

200
The initial speed of the car is v = 8 m/s = 25m/s, and the average
acceleration during braking is
0 − 25
a= m/s2 = −5m/s2 ,
5
which is negative, as expected.

b) The total distance traveled

The distance traveled at constant speed is x1 = 200m. The distance

during braking is

x2 = vt2 + (1/2)at22 , x2 = 25(5) + (1/2)(−5)(5)2 , x2 = 62.5m.

Then, the total distance traveled is x = 262.5m.