Unit 4.

Physics: Movement

1. What is movement? Maths glossary

2. Magnitudes of movement
3. Units
4. Uniform linear motion IES MAESTRO HAEDO
Dpto. Física y Química
Prof. Ángel Viñas San Narciso
 Key words for glossary
1. Cross out: Tachar, anular
2. Known/unknown: Conocido/desconocido
3. Straight line: Linea recta
4. In motion: En movimiento
5. To convert: Transformar/convertir
6. Correspond to: Corresponde a
7. At rest: En reposo
8. Spent: Gastado / empleado
9. Straight: Recto / directo
10. To remain: Permanecer
11. Unless: A menos que
12. Even: Incluso
13. Isolate: Aislar
14. To cover: Cubrir
 PHYSICAL MAGNITUDES AND THEIR FORMULAE
Magnitudes Symbol S.I. Unit Formula
Distance covered e Meter (m) e = xf – xi
Time t Second (s) t = tf – ti
Velocity v m/s
= =
Acceleration a m/s2
= =
1. How to solve any Physics problem: steps
1. Read the problem carefully: identify the known (the ones given in the
problem) and the unknown (ones we have to calculate) magnitudes.
2. List the known magnitudes at the left side of your paper: use their
symbols and set them equal to the value given followed by their units.
3. List the unknown magnitude(s) below: use their symbol(s) and set them
equal to question tag (=?).
4. Convert values of the known magnitudes to SI units (if required)
5. List formula that you think might be applicable to this problem.
6. Pick the right formula(s) and write it to the right of the list of magnitudes.
7. Isolate the unknown magnitude at the left term of the equation (if
required).
8. Substitute the symbols of the known magnitudes with their values in the
equation.
9. Solve the equations
10. Keep repeating the last step for each unknown magnitude in turn.
11. Put a box, circle, or underline your answer to make your work neat.
 Example one. (1-3). Read the problem carefully:
identify the known and the unknown magnitudes
A car at rest starts moving covering a distance of 25 km in
20 minutes. What are the initial and final velocities? What is the
average acceleration?
Known magnitudes:
Distance covered: e = 25 km

Initial time: ti = 0 min

Final time: tf= 20 min

Unknown magnitudes:
Initial velocity: vi = ?
Final velocity: vf = ?
Acceleration: a = ?
 (4). Convert values of the known magnitudes to SI
units (if required)
Known magnitudes:
e = 25 km;
1000 𝑚 25 𝑘𝑚 ∙ 1000 𝑚 𝑘𝑚
25 𝑘𝑚 = = 25000 m = 25000 m
1 𝑘𝑚 1 𝑘𝑚 𝑘𝑚
ti = 0 min
tf= 20 min;
60 𝑠 20 min ∙ 60 𝑠
20 min = = 1200 s
1 𝑚𝑖𝑛 1 𝑚𝑖𝑛
Unknown magnitudes:
Initial velocity: vi = ?
Final velocity: vf = ?
Acceleration: a = ?
 (5-6). List formula and
Pick the right one. Write it to the right of the list of
magnitudes.
Known magnitudes: = =
1. e = 25000 m
2. ti = 0 s
3. tf= 1200 s

Unknown magnitudes:
1. Initial velocity: vi = ?
2. Final velocity: vf = ? = =
3. Acceleration: a = ?
(8). Substitute the symbols of the known magnitudes
with their values in the equation
Known magnitudes: = =
1. e = 25000 m
2. ti = 0 s 25000 𝑚 − 0 𝑚
=
3. tf= 1200 s 1200 𝑠 − 0 𝑠

Unknown magnitudes:
1. Initial velocity: vi = ?
2. Final velocity: vf = ? = =
3. Acceleration: a = ?
 (9). Solve the equations

Known magnitudes: = =
1. e = 25000 m
2. ti = 0 s 25000 𝑚 − 0 𝑚 25000 𝑚 𝑚
= = = 20.83
3. tf= 1200 s 1200 𝑠 − 0 𝑠 1200 𝑠 𝑠

Unknown magnitudes:
1. Initial velocity: vi = ?
2. Final velocity: vf = ? = =
3. Acceleration: a = ?
 (8-9). Solve the equations

Known magnitudes: = =
1. e = 25000 m
2. ti = 0 s 25000 𝑚 − 0 𝑚 25000 𝑚 𝑚
= = = 20.83
3. tf= 1200 s 1200 𝑠 − 0 𝑠 1200 𝑠 𝑠

Unknown magnitudes:
1. Initial velocity: vi = ?
2. Final velocity: vf = ? = =
3. Acceleration: a = ?
𝑚 𝑚
20.83 𝑠 −0 𝑠 20.83 𝑚/𝑠 = 0.017 𝑚
= =
1200 𝑠 𝑠 2
1200 𝑠 −0 𝑠
 Example two: using graphs
Look at the graph and answer to the following questions:
a) What distance will it cover in 10 s?
b) What acceleration does the object travels at
the first two seconds?
2. What is the movement?
a) Systems of reference
− A system of reference: is any definite point from
where we observe the position of a moving object
over a period of time.
− A body is at rest: when its position in relation to
the chosen system of reference does not change
for a period of time.
− A body is in motion: if its position changes in
relation to the system of reference.
b) Characteristics of movement:
− The position of an object (represented as x):
• It is the place it occupies with respect to the origin
(O), of the chosen system of reference.
• It is measured by the distance between the spot
where the object is at a particular instant (x) and the
origin (O)
− The trajectory of an object: is the line made by
joining all the points corresponding to the
different positions of a moving object over a
period of time.
The trajectory of an object
− Displacement and the distance covered:
• Displacement (d): is the distance, measured in a
straight line, between the initial position (xi) and the
final position (xf), of a moving object.
• Distance covered (e): is the length of the trajectory
made by the moving object from the initial to the
final position.
• The displacement and the distance covered coincide
if the trajectory is a straight line and there is no
change of direction. d ≡ e = xf – xi.
Displacement or distance covered (trajectory)?
3. Magnitudes of movement
a) Introduction. Movement can be described using the
following physical magnitudes:
─ Distance covered: e
─ Time (spent covering this distance): t
─ Velocity (speed): v
─ Acceleration: a
b) Speed: is the physical magnitude that measures the
distance covered per unit of time.
− Average speed (vm): is calculated by dividing the
distance covered (e) by the time spent covering this
distance.
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑒
𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = → 𝑣 = =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡

− Instant speed (v): is the speed a moving object has at a

specific moment.
− The unit (in the SI) used to measure the speed is m/s
(metres per second)
c) Acceleration
─ It is the physical magnitude that describes the change
of speed of a body in motion.
─ The acceleration (a) is calculated dividing the variation
of speed (v), by the time spent at this variation (t)
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑣 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖
𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = → 𝑎m = =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡 𝑡𝑓 − 𝑡𝑖

─ The unit (in the SI) used to measure the acceleration is

m/s2 (“m over s squared”)(metres per square second)
d) Types of movement
─ Depending on the trajectory:
• Rectilinear movement: the trajectory is a straight
line.
• Curvilinear movement: the trajectory is a curve.
E.g. circular, elliptical or parabolic movement.
─ Depending on the speed:
• Uniform movement: the speed is constant (v = cte)
and the body has no acceleration (a = 0)
• Accelerated movement: the speed is not constant
and the body has an acceleration (a ≠ 0)
4. Uniform linear motion
a) ULM equation:
─ A body has a Uniform Linear Motion (ULM) if its
trajectory is a straight line and its speed is constant.
─ This is the equation that describes this movement:
𝑒 = 𝑣 ∙ 𝑡 ; 𝑥 − 𝑥0 = 𝑣 ∙ 𝑡 ; 𝒙 = 𝒙𝟎 + 𝒗 ∙ 𝒕
Where e is the distance covered between the initial
position (𝒙𝟎) and the final position (𝒙) during a certain
time (t), and v is the speed constant which the body
moves at.
─ Because the acceleration is zero, there are three
equations for ULM:
𝒙 = 𝒙𝟎 + 𝒗 ∙ 𝒕; 𝑣 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 ; 𝑎 = 0
b) ULM graphs:
─ The results of the experiments that scientists carry out
to understand the connection between two physical
magnitudes are organized in a table of values.
─ Firstly, we change the value of one magnitude to
observe and measure how this affects the value of the
other.
─ Secondly, we draw two axis (X and Y):
• In the horizontal axis (X-axis) we write down the
values, symbol and the unit of the magnitude we
have been changing
• In the vertical axis (Y-axis) we write down the same
for the other magnitude.
─ Then, we add the points that correspond to each pair
of values from the table.
─ Finally, we join those points with a line to make a
graph.
─ For the ULM we use two types of graphs:
• Distance-time graph (e-t):
o In the Y-axis: we represent the distance covered
(e)
o In the X-axis: we represent the time (t)
o We obtain a straight line with a certain slope
• Speed-time graph (v-t):
o In the X-axis: we represent the time (t)
o In the Y-axis: we represent the speed (v)
o We obtain a straight line horizontal to the x-axis
because the speed is constant
5. NON-Uniform motion
a) Introduction: most daily movements are non-uniform
(varied), because the speed varies, and its trajectory is
curvilinear or rectilinear.
b) Free fall:
─ It is due to the effect of the force of gravity (weight) of
the Earth on bodies falling on its surface.
─ Its trajectory is rectilinear.
─ It is non-uniform (varied), because, although it starts
the movement with zero speed, it continues with
upward speed and constant acceleration
𝑣 = 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 ; 𝑎 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 = g = 9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2
c) Braking movement:
─ It is due to the effect of friction (e.g., brakes on a car
wheel).
─ Its trajectory is rectilinear.
─ It is non-uniform (varied), because, although it starts
the movement with a certain speed, it continues with
deceleration and descending speed, until it even
reaches zero.
1. Put the following words in order to define the main concepts used in the study of
motion:

a) Frame reference:
oriented / of / an / axis / called / It / the / consists / origin / the / and / a / called / straight /
point / line

b) Position:
of / object / It / distance / is / the / the / the / reference / the / origin / from / frame / to

c) Displacement:
positions / It / between / difference / the / any / two / is

d) Moveable:
of / a / varies / position / the / that / the / It / body / to / in / origin / regard / reference / is /
frame / its

e) Velocity:
is / which / bodies / of / at / the / measurement / move / rate / It / the

f) Acceleration:
rate / velocity / It / body / the / of / a / the / at / measures / changes / which
2. The position equation of a mobile is x = 4 + 2 t. Answer the following questions:

a) Is it a uniform motion? Why?

b) What is the position of the mobile when we begin to count the time?
c) In what position is the mobile after 1 minute from the initial instant?

3. Given the following sentences about the motion of a body, draw the position-
time or the velocity-time table of values and graphs.

a) The body is initially 20 m ahead of the origin of the frame of reference. It starts
moving with a constant velocity of 4 m/s. Twenty seconds later the body stops.
b) At the beginning of the motion, the body is at rest. Then, five seconds later, the
body starts to move with a constant acceleration of 3 m/s2. Ten seconds after the
beginning of the motion, the body stops accelerating and it moves with a constant
velocity for eight seconds.
4. What is the velocity of A, B and C in the 1st graph? What is the acceleration? What
type of motion is this?
5. What is the value of velocity at 5 seconds (in km/h) for A, B and C in the 1st graph?
6. What are the initial and final velocities of A, B and C in the 2nd graph?
7. What are the initial and final times of A, B and C in the 2nd graph?
8. What is the value of acceleration for A, B and C in the 2nd graph? What type of
motion is this?
9. Build a table of values t/v for A, B and C from the 2nd graph.