Motion in One Dimension: Topic 2, P. 31-40

Motion in One Dimension
Topic 2, P. 31-40
Objectives:
• Define displacement.
• Distinguish a vector quantity from a scalar quantity.
• Calculate the average speed and velocity of an object.
• Use graphical and mathematical relationships to define each of the
following:
• Average velocity and instantaneous velocity.
Displacement:
Displacement:
Definition of Displacement:
Definition of Displacement:
Displacement and Distance
Displacement and Distance
•b
Velocity:
Average Speed:
•b
Average Velocity:
Average Velocity:
Check Understanding:
Check Understanding:
Reading Question 2-1 (1 of 2)
• Let's say that during a thunderstorm you measure the time lag between the flash
and the thunderclap to be 3 seconds. If the speed of sound is about 340 m/s, which
of the following is the best estimate of your distance to the lightening bolt?
1. about 3 km
2. about 0.3 km
3. about 1 km
4. about 10 km
Raymond A. Serway/Chris Vuille, College Physics, 11 th Edition. © 2018 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
• Let's say that during a thunderstorm you measure the time lag between the flash
and the thunderclap to be 3 seconds. If the speed of sound is about 340 m/s, which
of the following is the best estimate of your distance to the lightening bolt?
1. about 3 km
2. about 0.3 km
3. Answer: about 1 km
4. about 10 km
• Under which of the following conditions is the magnitude of the average velocity of
a particle moving in one dimension smaller than the average speed over the time
interval?
1. A particle moves in the +x direction and then reverses the direction of its motion.
2. A particle moves in the −x direction without reversing.
3. There are no conditions for which this is true.
4. A particle moves in the +x direction without reversing.
• Under which of the following conditions is the magnitude of the average velocity of
a particle moving in one dimension smaller than the average speed over the time
interval?
1. Answer: A particle moves in the +x direction and then reverses the direction of
its motion.
2. A particle moves in the −x direction without reversing.
3. There are no conditions for which this is true.
4. A particle moves in the +x direction without reversing.
Think – Pair – Share 1
• The figure below shows the unusual path of a confused football player. After
receiving a kickoff at his own goal, he runs downfield to within inches of a
touchdown, then reverses direction and races back until he’s tackled at the
exact location where he first caught the ball. During this run, which took 25
s, what is the path length he travels?
1. 100 yd
2. 200 yd
3. 0.00 yd
4. It is more than 100 yd, but you must
know the exact path to say exactly
• What was the player’s displacement?
1. 100 yd
2. 200 yd
3. 0.00 yd
4. It is more than 100 yd, but you must
know the exact path to say exactly.
• During the player’s run, which took 25 s, what is his average velocity in the x-direction?
1. 100 yd/s
2. 25.0 yd/s
3. 8.00 yd/s
4. 0.00 yd/s
Graphical Interpretation of Velocity (1 of 3)
In this instance, the graph is a
straight line because the car is
moving at constant velocity, which
means the same displacement x
occurs in each time interval t, so
the average velocity is always the
same and is equal to x over t.
x x f  x i
v  
t tf  ti
• Table 2.1 Position of the Car at Various Times
• Average velocity = slope of straight line joining the initial and final points on position-
versus-time graph
Figure 2.5 (b) Position vs. time graph for the motion of a car
with changing velocity, using the data in Table 2.1.
This figure shows a graph of the data in the table. Here, the
position-versus-time graph is not a straight line because the
velocity of the car is changing.

We can still draw a straight line between any two points, and
the slope of that line is the average velocity x over t for
that particular time interval.

In general, the average velocity of an object during the time
interval t is equal to the slope of the straight line joining
the initial and final points on a graph of the object’s
position versus time.
• Table 2.1 Position of the Car at Various Times
the average velocity in this interval, which equals the slope of

the blue line from A to E, can be calculated using our
equation.
x  37 m   30 m   67 m
In general, there will be a different average velocity x 67 m
between any distinct pair of points. v    1.7 m/s
t 40 s
From the data in the table and the graph, you can see that the car
first moves in the positive x-direction as it travels from A to B,
reaches a position of 52 m at time t = 10 s, then reverses direction
and heads backwards. In the first 10 s of its motion, as the car travels
from A to B, its average velocity is 2.2 m/s, which we found earlier. In
the first 40 seconds, the car goes from A to E. let’s calculate its
displacement.
In this case, it is –67 m. So the average velocity in this interval,
which equals the slope of the blue line from A to E, can be
calculated using our equation. The result is –1.7 m/s.
In general, there will be a different average velocity between

any distinct pair of points.
Instantaneous Velocity
Instantaneous Velocity (1 of 3)
If you are on a car trip, you might speed
up or slow down because of traffic or
road conditions. Average speed doesn’t
give us this information. If you want to
know the speed and direction you are
driving at a particular instant, you want
the car’s instantaneous velocity.
x
v  lim SI unit: m/s
t 0 t
• Table 2.2 Positions of a Car at Specific • Table 2.3 Calculated Values of the Time Intervals, Displacements,
Instants of Time and Average Velocities of the Car of Table 2.2
t (s) x (m)
1.00 5.00
1.01 5.47
1.10 9.67
1.20 14.3
1.50 26.3
2.00 34.7
3.00 52.5
t  1.00 s, x  5.00 m
t  3.00 s, x  52.5 m x 0.470 m
x 52.5 m  5.00 m v    47 m/s
  23.8 m/s t 0.0100 s
t 3.00 s  1.00 s
• The slope of the line tangent to
the position-versus-time curve
at “given time” is defined to be
the instantaneous velocity at
that time.
• In the figure, the chords formed by the blue lines gradually

approach a tangent line as the time interval becomes
smaller.
• The instantaneous speed of an
object, which is a scalar quantity,
is defined as the magnitude of
the instantaneous velocity.
Like average speed, instantaneous speed, which we will

usually just call “speed”, has no direction associated
with it so doesn’t have an algebraic sign.
Object 1: instantaneous velocity  15 m/s 

 speed  15 m/s
Object 2: instantaneous velocity  15 m/s 
• The instantaneous speed of an
object, which is a scalar quantity,
is defined as the magnitude of
the instantaneous velocity.
Like average speed, instantaneous speed, which we will

usually just call “speed”, has no direction associated
with it so doesn’t have an algebraic sign.
Object 1: instantaneous velocity  15 m/s 

 speed  15 m/s
Object 2: instantaneous velocity  15 m/s 
Acceleration
Average Acceleration
Average Acceleration
instantaneous Acceleration
instantaneous Acceleration

Motion in One Dimension: Topic 2, P. 31-40

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Motion in One Dimension: Topic 2, P. 31-40

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Motion in One Dimension

the average velocity in this interval, which equals the slope of

In general, there will be a different average velocity between

• In the figure, the chords formed by the blue lines gradually

Like average speed, instantaneous speed, which we will

Object 1: instantaneous velocity  15 m/s 

Like average speed, instantaneous speed, which we will

Object 1: instantaneous velocity  15 m/s 

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