Lecture 3

Physics I

Chapter 2

Equations of motion
with constant acceleration

I am a “future teller”
of a system

Course website:
https://sites.uml.edu/andriy-danylov/teaching/physics-i/

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Today we are going to discuss:

Chapter 2:

 Motion with constant acceleration: Section 2.4

 Free fall (gravity): Section 2.5

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 I predict Future
of a system!

Let’s use some simplifications:

Point mass
 Objects are point masses: have mass, no size

 In a straight line: one dimension

 Acceleration is constant (a = const)

Kinematic equations with constant acceleration

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov
Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Velocity equation. Equation 1.
(constant acceleration)
Since a=const, v is a straight line and it doesn’t matter which
acceleration to use, instantaneous or average.
Let’s use average acceleration.

v(t )  vo
by definition, acceleration a and t 0  0
t  t0
v(t )  vo
Velocity equation

a  v ( t )  v o  at (1)
t
v
the velocity is increasing
at a constant rate

v0 t
PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov
Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Position equation. Equation 2
(constant acceleration)

Recall Eq (2.11) x f  x0  Area under v  vs  t between t0 and t f

v x f  x0  AOADC  AABD
B
vf

AABD x f  x0  v0t  12 (v f  v0 )t v f (t )  vo  at
A
v0 D
AOADC C
O Position equation
t0=0 t
x f  x0  v0t  12 at 2 (2)

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 No time equation. Equation 3
(constant acceleration)

We can also combine these two equations so as to eliminate t:

Velocity equation

v ( t )  v o  at No time equation

Position equation (3)

x f  x0  v0t  12 at 2 It’s useful when time information is

not given.

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Motion at Constant Acceleration
(all equations)
We now have all the equations we need to solve
constant-acceleration problems.
Velocity equation

v ( t )  v o  at (1)
Position equation

x f  x0  v0t  12 at 2 (2)

No time equation

(3)

How to solve a problem:

_ Introduce a coordinate system
– Divide problem into “knowns” and “unknowns”
– Determine best equation to solve the problem
– Input numbers

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Example A plane taking off

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Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Free

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Freely Falling Objects

One of the most common examples of motion with constant acceleration is

freely falling objects.

Near the surface of the Earth, all objects experience approximately

the same acceleration due to gravity of 9.8 m/s2 .
(Air resistance is neglected)

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 ConcepTest Free Fall
You drop a ball. Right after it leaves your hand and before it hits the floor,
which of the above plots represents the v vs. t graph for this motion?
(Assume your y-axis is pointing up).
v v v v

t t t t
A B C D
The ball is dropped from rest, so its initial velocity is zero.
Because the y-axis is pointing upward and the ball is falling downward,
its velocity is negative and becomes more and more negative
as it accelerates downward.
y
v
 Velocity equation

Freely Falling Objects v ( t )  v o  at (1)

Position equation
x f  x0  v0t  12 at 2 (2)
No time equation
2 (3)

if g then a = ‐g

+
if then a=g
g +
y
+
PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov
Department of Physics and Applied Physics
Example Ball thrown upward

A person throws a ball upward into the air with an initial velocity of 10.0 m/s.

Calculate (a) how high it goes, and

(b) how long the ball is in the air

before it comes back to the hand.
(Ignore air resistance.)

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Example

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Example Y (m)
5

t (s)
0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2

v (m/s)

t (s)

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Determining the Sign of the Position, Velocity, and
Acceleration

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 Thank you

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Department of Physics and Applied Physics
Velocity/Acceleration/Position 1 2
3
1
v x
a 2 V=0
a1>0
a2>0 3 x0
v0 4
a3=0 t4 t t
t t5 t5 t4
a4<0 U‐turn 5
a5<0 5 4

• 4,5 – negative acceleration,

but from 0<t <t4 or t5 – decceleration
but for t> t4 or t5 – acceleration

PHYS.1410 Lecture 3 A.Danylov

Department of Physics and Applied Physics
 ConcepTest Position from velocity
A) 20 m
Here is the velocity graph of an object that is at
the origin (x = 0 m) at t = 0 s. B) 16 m

At t = 4.0 s, the object’s position is C) 12 m

D) 8 m

E) 4 m

x f  xi  Area under v  vs  t between ti and t f

Displacement = area under the curve