Aristotelian vs Galilean Views

of Motion
 The principle of motion was influenced by two of the brightest minds in the ancient
world-Aristotle and Galileo. These individuals developed their own principle about motion.
One is based on speculation and logic and the other is based on observations and experiments
with mathematical concepts.
Aristotle’s View of Motion

 Believed that all objects have resting places which they naturally seek
 On Earth all motion is linear; In the outer space all motion is curved
 The speed of a falling object is directly related to its mass
 An object continues to be in motion as long as force is applied to it; The object stops when
the force is removed
 Vertical motion - The element Earth moves down towards its natural resting place; Air
rises to its natural place in the atmosphere; Fire leaps upwards to it natural place above the
atmosphere; Water's natural place is just above the Earth
Aristotle’s View of Motion (Continuation….)

 Projectile motion - An object is influenced by the downward force of gravity

Galileo’s View of Motion

 Vertical motion - If two objects of different weight are dropped from a height both of them
will hit the ground at the same time
 Horizontal motion - If there is no interference, a moving object will keep moving in a
straight line forever; developed the idea of intertia
 Projectile motion - Projectiles follow a curved path; projectile motion could be understood
by analyzing the horizontal and vertical components separately
 Because of the experiments of Galileo, the concept of inertia was formed wherein inertia
is the tendency of an object to maintain its state of rest or of uniform speed along a straight
line. He conducted several regarding free fall.
Motion
Motion

 The change in the position of the object in relation to its reference point
Descriptors of Motion
Speed

 The measure of how fast the objects move

Where:
 s is the speed of the object in meter per second (m/s)
 d is the distance travelled in meters (m)
 t is the time taken to cover the distance in seconds (s)
Sample Problem

If a car covered 1200 meters in 60 seconds, then what is the speed of the car?
Velocity

Velocity is the speed of the object in a given direction. Velocity is a vector quantity and it
is described as the rate of change of displacement. It is expressed as:

Where:
 v is the velocity of the object in meter per second and its given direction (m/s with
direction)
 d is the displacement of the object in meters and a given direction (m with direction)
 t is the time covered in seconds (s)
Sample Problem

A bus moving west covered 24 meters in 8 seconds. What is its velocity?

Acceleration

It is the change in the velocity of a moving object. It is expressed as:

Wherein:
 a is the acceleration of the object in m/s2
 v1 is the initial velocity of the object
 v2 is the final velocity of the object
 t1 is the initial time
 t2 is the final time
Sample Problem

A car heading south is moving initially at 2 m/s. After 5 seconds its velocity increased at
10 m/s going in the same direction. What is the acceleration of the object?

Negative acceleration is known as deceleration

Graphical Analysis of Motion
This distance-time graph shows that the velocity of the object is uniform
This distance-time graph shows that the object is accelerating
This distance-time graph shows that the object is decelerating
This distance-time graph shows that the object is at rest
This velocity-time graph shows a uniform acceleration
 This velocity-time graph shows that the acceleration of the object is zero since the
velocity of the object is the same all throughout
This velocity-time graph shows that acceleration of the object is decreasing