KINEMATICS NOTES

Kinematics notes for IIT-JEE

Some Definition Distance: Distance between two points is the length of
actual path travelled by the particle. It is a scalar quantity.
Unit : m(metre)
Displacement: Displacement is a vector drawn from the initial position
(A) to the final position (B)
Unit : m(metre)

Velocity: Velocity is the rate of change of position vector.

Unit : ms–1 (metre per second)

Acceleration: Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity.

Unit : ms–2 (metre per second2)

Average speed:The average speed of an object can be defined as the

total distance travelled by it in a particular interval of time. It can be
calculated by dividing the total distance travelled by the total time taken.
average speed (avg) = Total distance covered/ Total time taken

Average velocity: Average velocity is a vector quantity. Average

velocity is defined as the change in position or displacement (∆x) divided
by the time intervals (∆t) in which the displacement occurs.The average
velocity can be positive or negative depending upon the sign of the
displacement. The SI unit of average velocity is meters per second (m/s
or ms-1)

Average acceleration:

Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity. It is denoted by

‘a’ and is measured in the units of m/s2. For a particular interval, the
average acceleration is defined as the change in velocity for that
particular interval. Unlike acceleration, the average acceleration is
calculated for a given interval.

1. Uniform velocity: A particle with uniform velocity undergoes equal

displacements in equal intervals of time however small the
intervals may be.
2. Uniform acceleration: A particle with uniform acceleration
undergoes equal changes in velocity in equal intervals of time,
however small the intervals may be.

GRAPHICAL SOLUTION OF RECTILINEAR MOTION

v-t Curve: The area under the v-t curve measures the change in position
x.

In the above graph,

 The velocity of the body changes from A to B at a uniform rate.

 BC is the final velocity and OC is the total time t.
 A perpendicular is drawn from B to OC, a parallel line is drawn
from A to D,and another perpendicular is drawn from B to OE
(represented by dotted lines).

Following details are obtained from the graph above:

The initial velocity of the body, u = OA
The final velocity of the body,v = BC
From the graph, we know that
BC = BD + DC
Therefore,v = BD + DC
v = BD + OA (since DC = OA)
Finally,
v = BD + u (since OA = u)(Eqaution 1)
Now, since the slope of a velocity-time graph is equal to acceleration a,
So,
a = slope of line AB
a = BD/AD
Since AD = AC = t, the above equation becomes:
BD = at (Equation 2)
Now, combining Equation 1 & 2 , the following is obtained
v=u+at
Derivation of second equation of motion:
Distance travelled (s) = Area of figure OABC = Area of rectangle OADC
+ Area of triangle ABD
s = (1/2 AB × BD) + (OA × OC)
Since BD = EA, the above equation becomes
s = (1/2 AB × EA) + (u × t)
As EA = at, the equation becomes
s = 1/2 × a × t + ut
Derivation of third equation of motion:

Characteristics of v-t graph: The velocity of an object is its speed in a

particular direction. Two cars travelling at the same speed but in
opposite directions have different velocities.
A velocity-time graph shows the speed and direction an object travels
over a specific period of time. Velocity-time graphs are also called
speed-time graphs.
When an object is moving with a constant velocity, the line on the graph
is horizontal. When the horizontal line is at zero velocity, the object is at
rest. When an object is undergoing constant acceleration, the line on the
graph is straight but sloped.
Curved lines on velocity-time graphs also show changes in velocity, but
not with a constant acceleration or deceleration. The diagram shows
some typical lines on a velocity-time graph.

The steeper the line, the greater the acceleration of the object. The
purple line is steeper than the green line because it represents an object
with a greater acceleration.Notice that a line sloping downwards - with a
negative gradient - represents an object with a constant deceleration (it
is slowing down).Acceleration can be calculated by dividing the change
in velocity (measured in metres per second) by the time taken for the
change (in seconds). The units of acceleration are m/s/s or m/s2
Graphical representation of motion:

 Slope of tangent to position time graph gives velocity.

 Slope of tangent to v−t curve gives acceleration.
 Area enclosed between v−t curve and time axis between an
interval of time gives displacement.
 Slope of tangent to a−t curve gives rate of change of acceleration
  Area enclosed between a−t curve and time axis between an
interval of time gives change in velocity.

Vectors

Addition of vectors:vector addition is commutative. So,

It means that the law of addition of vectors is independent of the order of
vectors.

Subtraction of vectors:The process of subtracting one vector from

another is equivalent to adding, vectorially, the negative of the vector to

be subtracted. Suppose there are two vectors and , shown

in figure (A) and we have to subtract and . It is just the

same thing as adding vectors – to . The resultant is shown

in figure (B).

Parallelogram law of vector addition:If two vectors acting at a point

are represented in magnitude and direction by the two adjacent sides of
a parallelogram, then their resultant is represented in magnitude and
direction by the diagonal passing through the common tail of the two
vectors.