Chapter 2.

Motion along a
straight line
Lecture 3. Displacement, Time, Velocity

Kinematics in 1D

Mechanics - study of the relationships among forces, matter, and

motion

Kinematics - the mathematical description of motion

Dynamics - effects that forces have on motion

In kinematics, we treat objects as point particles

Basic Quantities in Kinematics

Displacement is the shortest distance between an objects's initial and
final points. It is given by the equation, Δ x = x2 − x1

Displacement is a vector quantity that only depends on the

initial and final positions and disregards the actual path taken

Distance, on the other hand, is a scalar quantity which accounts

for the total length of the path taken

Time is a scalar quantity which describes motion by stating when and

how long the motion occurs. Time interval is denoted by: Δt = t2 − t1

Chapter 2. Motion along a straight line 1

 Average Velocity is the rate of displacement (change of position) over
a time interval. It has a unit of m/s and given by the equation, va =
x2 − x1 Δx
=
t2 − t1 Δt
Average speed is the amount of distance travelled over the time
interval

Average speed ≠ magnitude of average velocity

Average velocity is displacement/time while average speed is

distance/time

Position-Time Graph

The average velocity is the slope connecting x1 and x2

Chapter 2. Motion along a straight line 2

 The instantaneous velocity is the velocity at a specific instant
in time. It is the slope of the tangent line and given by the
Δx
equation, v = lim
Δt
Velocity-Time Graph

The average acceleration is the slope connecting v1 and v2

The instantaneous acceleration is the velocity at a specific

instant in time. It is the slope of the tangent line and given by
Δv
the equation, a = lim
Δt
Interpretations of Graph

Chapter 2. Motion along a straight line 3

 Constant slope = constant speed

Increasing slope = increasing speed

Decreasing slope = decrease in speed

Zero velocity = tangent to the horizontal

Reverse in direction = displacement increasing and then

decreasing (or vice versa)

Constant and positive velocity (speeding up) = tangent line

with a positive slope

Constant and negative velocity (speeding down) = tangent line

with a negative slope

Think!

 B

 B

 C

 A

 C

 B

 (i) E; (ii) A, B, F; (iii) C, D

Lecture 5. Uniformly accelerated motion and free fall

Galileo Galilei discovered that all bodies in a vacuum would fall at the
same speed, regardless of mass and size. We treat all particles, regardless
of their mass, as point particles

Uniform Acceleration
If the acceleration is uniform, then instantaneous acceleration =
average acceleration
The equation is given by: vx = ax t + v0 x
This equation is analogous to y = mx + b and depicted in the graph:

Chapter 2. Motion along a straight line 4

 Displacement is the area bounded by the v-t graph and the time axis. It
1
can be calculated from the equation, x = x0 + v0 t + ax t2
2
Tips in Problem Solving!

 Determine if the problem assumes constant acceleration

 If x0 is not specified, assume its value to be zero

 "Initially at rest" means v0 =0
 You need at least two values

Free Fall
Free Fall is defined as the constant acceleration of a body falling under
the influence of the earth's gravitational attraction

 The gravitational pull of the earth results in a falling motion which

is an accelerated motion

 The acceleration varies with the distance

 It does not vary with the mass

 Any falling body will experience air resistance which slows down
its motion

Assumptions

 Air resistance is negligible

Chapter 2. Motion along a straight line 5

  All bodies at a particular location fall with the same acceleration
regardless of size and weight

 Distance of fall < radius of the earth

 The effects of earth's rotation are ignored

🔬 The constant acceleration due to gravity is given by

−9.80 m/s2
g=

Reminders

The velocity is equal to zero when the object is at maximum height

Chapter 2. Motion along a straight line 6