Kinematics

PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

DEFINITIONS
• Physics – the science that deals with the relationship between
matter and energy.
• Kinematics – the study of how objects move
There are 2 types of measurements in everyday life:

• Scalars – only have magnitude.

Ex. Mass, time, energy, distance, speed

• Vectors – have a magnitude and direction.

Ex. Weight, velocity, displacement, acceleration.
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
• Frame of reference – a physical part of the world, defined by an
observer, which is used to discuss motion or compare motions.
• Distance – how far an object has traveled; a scalar;
• Position – describes where an object is relative to the frame of
reference; a vector;
• Displacement – the change in an object’s position as it
moves from point A to point B; a vector;
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
• Speed – the distance traveled over a certain period of time; a scalar;

• Velocity – how fast and in what direction; rate of change of position; a vector;

• Instantaneous Velocity – the average velocity during an infinitesimally short time

interval
• Clock reading – instantaneous; exact time you see when you look at a clock; a scalar;

• Time interval – elapsed time between 2 instants of time; a scalar; Δt

Summary
Scalar (Magnitude only) Vector (Magnitude & direction)
• Mass • Weight
• Time • Displacement
• Energy • Acceleration
• Distance • Velocity
• Speed • Position
• Clock reading
REFERENCE FRAMES
Any measurement of position, distance, or speed must be made with respect to a reference frame.

5 𝑘𝑚/ℎ 80 𝑘𝑚/ℎ

Your Speed relative/with respect to the train: 5km/h Train as the reference frame

Your Speed relative /with respect to the ground: 85km/h

Ground as the reference frame
DISPLACEMENT VS. DISTANCE

• Displacement (blue line) is how far the object is from its starting point, regardless of how it got there.
• Distance traveled (dashed line) is measured along the actual path.
DISPLACEMENT
The displacement is written:

Left: Right:
Displacement is positive. Displacement is negative.
SPEED VS. VELOCITY
Speed: how far an object travels in a given time interval

Velocity includes directional information:

EXAMPLE
 INSTANTANEOUS VELOCITY

Instantaneous Velocity
• The average velocity during an infinitesimally short time
interval
• Derivative of the distance

x
v= lim
t →0
t
These graphs show
(a) constant velocity
(b) varying velocity.
EXAMPLE
1. A particle moves along the x-axis according to 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑡 2 − 3𝑡. Compute the
instantaneous velocity of the particle.
a. At 𝑡 = 7 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
b. At 𝑡 = 10 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
 ACCELERATION
Acceleration
• The rate of change of velocity.
ACCELERATION
NEGATIVE ACCELERATION AND DECELERATION
• Negative acceleration is acceleration in the negative direction as defined by
the coordinate system.
• Deceleration occurs when the acceleration is opposite in direction to the
velocity.
QUESTION
a. If the velocity of an object is zero, does it mean that the acceleration is zero?

Answer: No

b. If the acceleration is zero, does it mean that the velocity is zero?

Answer: No
EXAMPLE
An automobile is moving to the right along a straight highway, which we choose to
be the positive 𝒙 axis. Then the driver steps on the brakes. If the initial velocity
𝑚
(when the driver hits the brakes) is 𝑣1 = 15 𝑠 , and it takes 5.0 𝑠 to slow down to
𝑚
𝑣2 = 5 𝑠 . What was the car’s average acceleration?
INSTANTANEOUS ACCELERATION
Instantaneous acceleration
• The average acceleration, in the limit as the time interval becomes infinitesimally short.
• Second derivative of distance

𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑥 2
= = 2
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
EXAMPLE
A particle in motion and is accelerating. A functional form of the
2 𝑚
velocity is 𝑣 𝑡 = 20𝑡 − 5𝑡 𝑠 .
a. Find the functional form of the acceleration
b. Find the instantaneous velocity at 𝑡 = 5 s
c. Find the instantaneous acceleration at 𝑡 = 2 s
Motion at Constant Acceleration
KINEMATIC EQUATIONS FOR CONSTANT ACCELERATION:
𝟏. 𝒗𝒇 = 𝒗𝒊 + 𝜶𝒕
𝟐
𝟐. 𝒗𝒇 = 𝒗𝒊 𝟐 + 𝟐𝜶∆𝒙
𝟏
3. ∆𝒙 = 𝒗𝒊 𝒕 + 𝜶𝒕 𝟐
𝟐
𝒗𝒇 − 𝒗𝒊
𝟒. 𝒗 =
𝟐
Recitation
You are designing an airport for small planes. One kind of airplane that might use this
airfield must reach a speed before takeoff of at least 27.8 m/s (100 km/h ) and can
accelerate at 2m/𝒔𝟐 :
(a) If the runway is 150 m long, can this airplane reach the required speed for takeoff?
(b) If not, what minimum length must the runway have?
Recitation
Recitation

The position of the particle which moves along a straight line is

defined by the relation 𝑥 = 𝑡 3 − 6𝑡 2 − 15𝑡 + 40, where x is
expressed in feet and t in seconds. Determine (a) the time at
which the velocity is zero, (b) the position and distance traveled
by the particle at that time, (c) the acceleration of the particle at
that time, (d) the distance traveled by the particle from t = 4s to t
= 6s.
 FREELY FALLING OBJECTS
• Near the surface of the Earth, all objects experience
approximately the same acceleration due to gravity.

• This is one of the most common examples of

motion with constant acceleration.

• “Falls freely” means “falls with constant

acceleration due to gravity,”
FALLING OBJECTS
In the absence of air
resistance, all objects
fall with the same
acceleration, although
this may be hard to tell
by testing in an
environment where
there is air resistance.
FREELY FALLING OBJECTS

The acceleration due to gravity at

the Earth’s surface is
approximately 9.81 m/s2.

S.I. : English System:

9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2 32.2 𝑓𝑡/𝑠 2
FREELY FALLING OBJECTS
• We will ignore air friction
• Acceleration due to gravity at earths surface is
9.80 m/s2 directed downward (-9.80m/s2)
• Symbol g represents acceleration due to gravity
• Still use kinematics equations but :
• x is replaced with y
• a is replaced with g
FREELY FALLING OBJECTS
KINEMATIC EQUATIONS FOR CONSTANT ACCELERATION:
𝟏. 𝒗𝒇 = 𝒗𝒊 + 𝒈𝒕
𝟐
𝟐. 𝒗𝒇 = 𝒗𝒊 𝟐 + 𝟐𝒈∆𝒚
𝟏
3. ∆𝒚 = 𝒗𝒊 𝒕 + 𝒈𝒕 𝟐
𝟐
𝒗𝒇 − 𝒗𝒊
𝟒. 𝒗 =
𝟐
EXAMPLE
A person throws a ball upward into the air with an
initial velocity of 15𝑚/𝑠.
a. Calculate how high it goes. Ignore air
resistance.
b. How long is the ball in the air before it comes
back to the hand?
EXAMPLE
A one-euro coin is dropped from the Leaning Tower
of Pisa and falls freely from rest. What are its
position after 1.0 s, 2.0 s, and 3.0 s?
GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF LINEAR MOTION

This is a graph of x 𝑣𝑠. 𝑡 for an object moving

with constant velocity.
GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF LINEAR MOTION
GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF LINEAR MOTION

v vs. t curve
KINEMATICS IN TWO DIMENSION
Vectors
• A quantity with a direction as well as a magnitude

• Graphically represented by an arrowed line segment with a

length equal to its magnitude (drawn to scale) and the
direction of the arrow indicating the direction of the
quantity. Drawn tail to head.

• Often represented in bold, italic, typed letters ( ) without

arrows but when using them in addition, etc. you must show
they are vectors
VECTOR ADDITION
• Involves adding vectors together to obtain a resultant vector ( )

• The resultant vector is a single vector that could represent the same
action as adding vectors and
Addition of Vectors – Graphical Methods

For vectors in one dimension, simple

addition and subtraction are all that
is needed.
Addition of Vectors – Graphical Methods

We can find the

displacement by using the
Pythagorean Theorem.
Addition of Vectors – Graphical Methods
Addition of Vectors – Graphical Methods
The parallelogram method may also be used; here again the
vectors must be “tail-to-tip.”
SUBTRACTION OF VECTORS

In order to subtract vectors, we define the negative

of a vector, which has the same magnitude but
points in the opposite direction.

Then we add the negative vector:

ADDING VECTORS BY COMPONENTS
Any vector can be expressed as the sum of two other vectors, which
are called its components. Usually the other vectors are chosen so
that they are perpendicular to each other.
Resultant Vector R and direction 𝜃

Σ𝑣𝑦
𝑅= (Σ𝑣𝑥 )2 +(Σ𝑣𝑦 )2 θ= tan−1 ( )
Σ𝑣𝑥

Σ𝑣𝑥 =summation of horizontal components

Σ𝑣𝑦 =summation of vertical components
EXAMPLE
A car is driven 225 km west and then 98 km southwest
(45°). What is the displacement of the car from the point
of origin (magnitude and direction)? Draw a diagram.
PROJECTILE MOTION

A projectile is an object moving in two

dimensions under the influence of Earth's
gravity; Its path is a parabola.
PROJECTILE MOTION

It can be understood by analyzing

the horizontal and vertical
motions separately.
PROJECTILE MOTION

The velocity in the x-direction is constant; in

the y-direction the object moves with constant
acceleration g.
PROJECTILE MOTION
If an object is launched at an initial angle of θ0 with the horizontal, the
analysis is similar except that the initial velocity has a vertical component.
KINEMATIC EQUATIONS

𝟏. 𝒗𝒇 = 𝒗𝒊 + 𝒈𝒕
𝟐
𝟐. 𝒗𝒇 = 𝒗𝒊 𝟐 + 𝟐𝒈∆𝒚
𝟏
3. ∆𝒚 = 𝒗𝒊 𝒕 + 𝒈𝒕 𝟐
𝟐
𝒗𝒇 − 𝒗𝒊
𝟒. 𝒗 =
𝟐
PROJECTILE MOTION
Projectile motion is motion with constant acceleration in two dimensions,
where the acceleration is g and is down.
EXAMPLE 1
A kicked football leaves the ground at an angle 𝜽𝟎 = 𝟑𝟕° with a velocity of 20 m/s ,
as shown in the figure. Calculate (a) the maximum height, (b) the time of travel
before the football hits the ground, and (c) how far away it hits the ground. Assume
the ball leaves the foot at ground level, and ignore air resistance and rotation of the
ball.
EXAMPLE 2
A movie stunt driver on a motorcycle speeds horizontally off a 50.0-m-high
cliff. How fast must the motorcycle leave the cliff top to land on level ground
below, 90.0 m from the base of the cliff where the cameras are? Ignore air
resistance.
EXAMPLE 3
Suppose the football in the 1st example was punted, and left
the punter’s foot at a height of 1.00 m above the ground.
How far did the football travel before hitting the ground?
Set 𝑥𝑖 = 0, 𝑦𝑖 = 0. (𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 1𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒: 𝑣𝑥𝑖 = 16 𝑚𝑠 ; 𝑣𝑦𝑖 = 12 𝑚𝑠)
RELATIVITY OF MOTION
• Motion is relative which means that an object can be
moving with respect to one body and at the same time, be
at rest or moving at a different velocity with respect to a
second body.
• When measuring either position or velocity, you must first
define your frame of reference.
• Each velocity is labeled first with the object, and
second with the reference frame in which it has this
velocity.
RELATIVE VELOCITY
vWS is the velocity of the water in the shore frame
vBS is the velocity of the boat in the shore frame
vBW is the velocity of the boat in the water frame

In this case, the relationship between the three

velocities is:
EXAMPLE
𝑚
A boat’s speed in still water is 𝑣𝐵𝑊 = 1.85 .
𝑠
If the boat is to travel north directly across a
river whose westward current has speed
𝑚
𝑣𝑤𝑠 = 1.20 at what upstream angle must
𝑠
the boat head?
EXAMPLE
The same boat (𝑣𝐵𝑊 = 1.85 m/s ) now heads directly across the river whose current
𝑚
is still 1.20 .
𝑠
(a) What is the velocity (magnitude and direction) of the boat relative to the shore?
(b) If the river is 110 m wide, how long will it take to cross and how far downstream will
the boat be then?