CHAPTER THREE

3. Kinematics in One and Two Dimensions

Motion is one of the significant topics in physics. Everything in the universe moves. It might only be a
small amount of movement and very-very slow, but movement does happen. Even if you appear to be
standing still, the Earth is moving around the sun, and the sun is moving around our galaxy.

 ―An object is said to be in motion if its position changes with time‖.

 When a body does not change its position with time, we can say that the body is at rest.

There are two branches in physics that examine the motion of an object.

1. Kinematics is the study of motion, without regard to the forces responsible for the motion. In
kinematics, we describe the motion of an object by analyzing its position, velocity and acceleration.
2. Dynamics is the study of motion which includes kinematics along with the forces present that
influence the motion. With dynamics, we introduce the ideas of force and mass. A special case of
dynamics is called statics, and is the study of those problems in which the forces balance and there is no
motion in the system.

The concept of motion is a relative one and a body that may be in motion relative to one reference
system may be at rest relative to another.

For example, a woman driving a car is not in motion relative to the car, but she is in motion relative to
an observer standing on the side of the road.

Reference frame, also called frame of reference, in dynamics, system of graduated lines symbolically
attached to a body that serve to describe the position of points relative to the body.

We‘ll begin our study of kinematics in one dimension; the generalization to two or three dimensions is
fairly straightforward. Studies of dynamics and statics will come later.

3.1. Kinematics in One Dimensions

A formal study of physics begins with kinematics. The word ―kinematics‖ comes from a Greek word
―kinesis‖ meaning motion, and is related to other English words such as cinema (movies) and
―kinesiology‖ (the study of human motion). Kinematics is the branch of mechanics that describes the
motion of objects without reference to the causes of motion (i.e., forces). Kinematics is concerned on
analyzing kinematical quantities used to describe motion such as velocity, acceleration, displacement,
time, and trajectory. Objects are in motion all around us. Planets moving around the sun, car moving
along a road, blood flowing through veins, etc., are some examples of motion.

Position, Distance and Displacement

Position: - The location of an object with respect to a chosen reference point.

Distance

 is the length of the path a particle takes from its initial position to its final position.
 is a scalar quantity that can be denoted by any English alphabet s, d…
 is always indicated by a positive number.
 depends upon the path i.e. it changes according to the path taken.

Displacement

 the shortest distance between the start and end of the motion with particular direction.
 is the change in an object‘s position.
 is a vector quantity as it depends upon both magnitude and direction.
 can be positive, negative, and even zero.
 does not depend upon the path and it only depends upon the initial and final position of the body.
Note: - The SI unit of both distance and displacement is meter (m).

Examples:

1. Find the distance and displacement referring to the following diagrams

2. A boy walks 12 m due east, 16 m to west and then 8 m due east. What is
A) the total distance
B) the displacement covered by the boy?
3. You stand at the front door of your house. The street is 10 m away from the front door. You
walk to the street and back again.
A) What is the distance you have walked?
B) What is your displacement?

Speed and Velocity

Speed

The rate at which an object covers a certain distance

Speed = V=

Velocity

Velocity is the rate of change of position.

⃗
Velocity = ⃗ =
Average speed and velocity
Average speed

Average speed (symbol Vav) is the total distance travelled divided by the time taken for the
journey.

Average Speed =

Vav = ST/ t

Average velocity

Average velocity (symbol ⃗ av) is the displacement for the whole motion divided by the time
taken for the whole motion.

Average Velocity =

⃗
⃗ av =

Instantaneous speed and velocity

Instantaneous velocity:

We have now seen two ways to describe how fast something moves: average velocity and
average speed, both of which are measured over a time interval Δt. However, the phrase ―how
fast‖ more commonly refers to how fast a particle is moving at a given instant—its instantaneous
velocity (or simply velocity) v.

Instantaneous velocity: - velocity at a given instant in time

The velocity at any instant is obtained from the average velocity by shrinking the time interval Δt
closer and closer to 0.

Instantaneous speed

The instantaneous speed:-It is the magnitude of the instantaneous velocity

Instantaneous speed: - speed at a given instant in time

Note: - The SI unit of both speed and velocity is m/s. (1m/s = 3.6 km/h)

Example

1. A motorist travels a distance of 300km in 6hr. what is the average speed of the motorist
in m/s.
 2. James walks 720 m away from home in 3 minutes. He then turns around and walks back
home along the same path, also in 3 minutes. Calculate James‘ average speed and average
velocity.

3. A bus travelling at a speed of 120km/hr east wards continues its journey steadily on a
straight level road for 3 hours. What is the actual displacement of the bus after 3 hours?

4. A car travelled 40km east in 1hr and then travelled 80km north in 2hrs. Calculate
(a) its average speed, and
(b) its average velocity

5. A particle is moving along a straight line so that its position at time t seconds is given by
S(t) = 4t2 − t meters. Find
a. the average velocity of the particle over the time interval [1, 2].
b. the instantaneous velocity of the particle at t = 2?

6. A person walks first at a constant speed of 5m/s along the straight line from point A to
point B, and then back along the same line from B to A at a constant speed of 3m/s
a. What is his average speed over the entire trip
b. What is his average velocity over the entire trip

Average and Instantaneous Accelerations

If the velocity of a particle changes with time, then the particle is said to be accelerating.

Average acceleration: is the change in velocity ( ) of an object divided by the time interval
during which that change occurs.
⃗
=

The SI unit of acceleration is m/s2.

It is important to note that it is a change in velocity not a change in speed. A change in velocity
might be:

 getting faster
 getting slower
 changing direction.

Since velocity is a vector, acceleration is also a vector.

Acceleration can be negative or positive.

The direction of the acceleration and the velocity are the same, the object is speeding up.

If velocity and acceleration is in opposite direction, then the object is slowing down.

An acceleration of 8 m/s2 means the object will be increasing its velocity by 8 m/s every single
second.
Alternatively, an acceleration of –9 m/s2 means the velocity decreases by 9 m/s every single
second.

Example

1. A train starts from rest to a velocity of 40 m/s in 5 seconds. Calculate the acceleration of
the train.
2. A car accelerates from initial velocity of 2 m/s to a final velocity of 10 m/s in 4 seconds.
Calculate the acceleration of the car.
3. A bus accelerates uniformly from an initial velocity of 20 m/s to a final velocity of 5 m/s
in 3 seconds. Calculate the acceleration of the bus.
4. A bus is going 30 m/s and stops in 5 second. Calculate the acceleration of the bus.
5. An aircraft decelerates at 0.5 m/s2. After 8 minutes its velocity has dropped to 160 m/s.
Find its initial velocity.

Instantaneous acceleration: -The limit of average acceleration as approaches zero.

Example

1. A particle is in motion and is accelerating. The functional form of the velocity is

V (t) = (20t – 5t2) m/s. Find the instantaneous acceleration at t = 1, 2, 3, and 5 s.
2. Let X (t) = t 3 − 45t denote the distance (in meters) to the right of the origin of a particle at
time t second. Find
a. the average velocity of the particle on the intervals [2, 4].
b. the instantaneous velocity of particle at t= 4
c. the average acceleration of the particle on the intervals [2, 4].
d. find the instantaneous acceleration of the particle at t = 4

Uniform motion

In uniform motion

 The distance/displacement changes at the same rate throughout the motion.

 Average velocity over any time interval is equal to the instantaneous velocity at any
instant of time
 The acceleration is zero

Motion with Constant Acceleration

For motion with constant acceleration

 The velocity changes at the same rate throughout the motion.

 Average acceleration over any time interval is equal to the instantaneous acceleration at
any instant of time.
Equations of Motion for Uniform Acceleration

This section is about solving problems relating to uniformly accelerated motion. In other word,
motion at constant acceleration

The following are the variables that will be The five equations are
used in this section

u = initial velocity (m/s) at t = 0 s v = u + at

v = final velocity (m/s) at time t ∆x =
∆x = displacement (m)
∆x = ut + at2
t = time (s)
a = acceleration (m/s2) v2 = u2 + 2a∆x
∆x = vt - at2

Example

1. A motorcycle, travelling east, starts from rest, moves in a straight line with a constant
acceleration and covers a distance of 64 m in 4 s. Calculate
a. its acceleration
b. its final velocity
2. A track covers 40m in 8.5s while smoothly slowing down to a final speed of 2.8m/s. Find
a. Its original speed
b. its acceleration
3. A jet plane lands with a speed of 100m/s and slows down at a rate of 5m/s2 as it comes to
rest.
a. What is the time interval needed by the jet to come to rest?
b. Can this jet land on an airport where the runway is 0.8km long?
4. An object moves along the x – axis with constant acceleration 5m/s2. At time t = 0 it is at x =
6m and has velocity u = 3m/s .
a. Find the position and velocity at time t = 2s.
b. Where is the body when its velocity is 6m/s?
5. A motorcycle has a uniform acceleration of 4 m/s. Assume the motorcycle has an initial
velocity of 20 m/s. Determine the velocity and displacement at the end of 12 s.
6. A train brakes from 40 m/s to a stop over a distance of 100 m.
a) What is the acceleration of the train?
b) How much time does it take the train to stop?
7. A truck is travelling at a constant velocity of 10 m/s. when the driver sees a child 50 m in
front of him in the road. He hits the brakes to stop the truck. The truck accelerates at a rate of
-1.25 m/s2. His reaction time to hit the brakes is 0.5 seconds. Will the truck hit the child?
Free Fall Motion

The motion of an object near the surface of the Earth under the only control of the force of
gravity is called free fall. In the absence of air resistance, all objects fall with constant
acceleration, g, toward the surface of the Earth. On the surface of the Earth, the generally
accepted value is g = 9.8 m/s2. The acceleration due to gravity varies with latitude, longitude and
altitude on Earth‗s surface. And it is greater at the poles than at the equator and greater at sea
level than a top mountain. There are also local variations that depend upon geophysics. The
value of 9.8 m/s2, with only two significant digits, is true for most places on the surface of the
Earth up to altitudes of about 16 km.

For freely falling bodies the motion is vertical along y- axis so that is replaced by g and x is
replaced by y in the equations of motion for rectilinear motion.

Example:

1. A body is released from rest and falls freely. Compute its position and velocity after 1 and 2s.
Take the origin at the elevation of the starting point, the y-axis vertical, and the upward
direction as positive.
2. A stone is thrown from the top of a building with an initial velocity of 20m/s straight upward.
The building is 50m high, and the stone just misses the edge of the roof on its way down.
Determine (a) the time needed for the stone to reach its maximum height,
(b) the maximum height,
(c) the time needed for the stone to return to the level of thrower,
(d) the velocity of the stone at this instant, and
(e) the velocity and the position of the stone at

Review question
Conceptual Questions

1. If the velocity of a particle is nonzero, can the particle‘s acceleration be zero? Explain.
2. If the velocity of a particle is zero, can the particle‘s acceleration be nonzero? Explain.
3. If a car is traveling eastward, can its acceleration be westward? Explain.
4. A ball is thrown vertically upward.
(a) What are its velocity and acceleration when it reaches its maximum altitude?
(b) What is the acceleration of the ball just before it hits the ground?
Problems

1. A cyclist goes south at 15km/hr for 10km and then west at 20km/hr for 10 km. Find his
average speed and his average velocity.
2. A car travels east at 40km/hr for 30min, and then north at 30km/hr for 30min.
a. What distance did it travel?
b. What was its displacement?
c. Calculate its average speed.
d. Calculate its average velocity.
3. A body accelerates uniformly from 16m/s to 20m/s while covering a distance of 72m
calculate
a. Its uniform acceleration.
b. The time taken.
4. A body falls freely from rest for 6 seconds. Find
a. The height covered.
b. The final speed of the body.
c. The distance covered in the last 2 seconds.
5. A ball is dropped from a height of 50m above the ground.
a. How long does it take to reach the ground?
b. What is its speed just before it hits the ground?
6. A stone is flung down from the top of a cliff with a velocity of 6.3m/s and reach the bottom
in 3 seconds. How high is the cliff, and with what velocity does the stone hit the ground?