KINEMATICS

• A branch of mechanics concerned with objects in motion, but not with

the forces involved.
• To describe motion, kinematics studies the trajectories of points, lines
and other geometric objects.
• The study of kinematics can be abstracted into purely mathematical
expressions.
• These equations can be used to calculate various aspects of motion
such as velocity, acceleration, displacement, and time.

(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007

8.1 The Language of Motion

• Many words are used when describing motion, many with specific
meaning in science.
• Common words used to describe motion include:
 Distance
 Time
 Speed
 Position
Describe the motion of the
soccer ball before and after
it is kicked.
What key words did you
use when describing this
situation?

See pages 344 - 345

(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Direction Makes a Difference

• Quantities that are measured or counted have a

magnitude, but they may also contain a direction.
 Magnitude refers to the size of a measurement or
the amount you are counting.
• Quantities that describe magnitude but do not
include direction are called scalar quantities or
scalars.
 Example: 25 seconds
Every time you use a map
• Quantities that describe magnitude and also or give directions, you are
include direction are called vector quantities or using vectors.
vectors.
 Example: 5 km north

See page 346

(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Distance and Position

• Distance (d) is a scalar quantity that describes the

length of a path between two points or locations.
 Example: A person ran a distance of 400 m.
• Position ( d ) is a vector quantity that describes a specific point relative
to a reference point.
 Example:
 The school is 3.0 km east of my house.
• The SI unit for both distance and position is metres, m.

A car leaves home and drives 10 km to the store and then returns home. The
car has driven a total distance of 20 km but its final displacement is 0 km.
See pages 346 - 347
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Time Interval and Position

• Time (t) is a concept that describes when an event occurs.

 Initial time (ti) is when the event began.
 Final time (tf) is when the event finished.
• Time interval is the difference between the final and initial times.
• Time interval is calculated by: t  t f  t i

The time interval to move

from the fire hydrant to
the sign is calculated by:
t  5 s  2 s  3 s

The position of the sign is 7 m east of the tree.

See page 348
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Displacement and Distance

• Displacement describes the straight-line distance and direction from one

point to another.
 Displacement describes how much an object’s position has changed.
• Displacement is equal to the final position minus the initial position.
d = d f - di
• The SI unit for displacement is metres, m.



Between 2 s and 5 s the skateboarder’s displacement is 5 m [E].

The skateboarder’s distance travelled is 5 m.
See page 349
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Watch for Signs

When using vector quantities, opposite directions are given opposite signs.

Between 0 s and 15 s the

person’s displacement is
Common sign conventions
d = d f - di
= 10 m [W] – 5 m [E]
= -10 m – 5 m
= -15 m
 = 15 m [W]
What distance did the person
walk in this same time interval?
See page 349
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Uniform Motion

• Objects in uniform motion travel equal displacements in equal

time intervals.
• Objects in uniform motion do not speed up, slow down, or change
direction.

See page 350

(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Graphing Uniform Motion

• Motion of an object can be analyzed by drawing

a position-time graph.
• A position-time graph plots position data on the
vertical axis (y axis) and time data on the
horizontal axis (x axis).
• A best-fit line is a smooth curve or straight line
that most closely fits the general shape outlined
by the points.
• Uniform motion is represented by a straight line
A straight line passing
on a position-time graph. through the plotted data
 The straight line passes through all the plotted points. indicates uniform
motion.

See page 351

(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Slope

• The slope of a graph refers to whether a line is

horizontal or goes up or down at an angle.
• Positive slope
 Slants up to the right
 Indicates motion in the direction of the positive y axis

• Zero slope
 Horizontal line
 Indicates that the object is stationary

• Negative slope
 Slants down to the right
 Indicates motion in the direction of the negative y axis
See pages 353 - 354
Take the Section 8.1 Quiz (c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Using a best-fit line

• Scientific investigations often involve quantities that do not change in

equal intervals. Real motion is not perfectly uniform. There may be
measuring errors as well as bumps and dents on surfaces that we need to
account for.
• When you graph motion data, it is
useful to use a best-fit line that passes
through as many of the points as
possible.
• A best-fit line is a smooth curve or
straight line that most closely fits the
general shape outlined by the points.

(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007

v

8.2 Average Velocity

• Speed ( v) is the distance an object travels during a

given time interval divided by the time interval.
 Speed is a scalar quantity.
 The SI unit for speed is metres per second (m/s).

• Velocity ( v ) is the displacement of an object during a
time interval divided by the time interval.
 Velocity describes how fast an object’s position is changing.
• Velocity is a vector quantity and must include These two ski gondolas
direction. have the same speed but
have different velocities
 The direction of the velocity is the same as the direction of since they are travelling
the displacement. in opposite directions.

• The SI unit for velocity is metres per second (m/s).

See pages 362 - 363
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Calculating the Slope of the Position-Time Graph

• The slope of a graph is represented by

rise/run.
• This slope represents the change in the
y-axis divided by the change in the x-axis.
• On a position-time graph the slope is the
change in position (d) divided by the change
in time (t ).
d
slope  Which jogger’s motion
 t has a greater slope?
Which jogger is moving
• The steeper the slope the greater the change faster?
in displacement during the same time
interval.

See pages 364 - 365
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Average Velocity

• The slope of a position-time graph is the object’s average velocity.

• Average velocity is the rate of change in position for a time interval.
• The symbol of average velocity is: v av



On a position-time graph, if forward is given a positive direction:

• A positive slope means that the object’s average velocity is forward.
• A negative slope means that the object’s average velocity is backward.
• Zero slope means the object’s average velocity is zero. See pages 365 - 366
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Calculating Average Velocity

The relationship between average velocity, displacement, and time is

given by:
d
vav 
t
Use the above equation to answer the following questions.
1. What is the average velocity of a dog that takes 4.0 s to run forward
14 m?

2. A boat travels 280 m east in a time of 120 s. What is the boat’s
average velocity?

See page 368

Answers are on the next slide.
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Calculating Average Velocity

The relationship between average velocity, displacement, and time is

given by:
d
vav 
t
Use the above equation to answer the following questions.
1. What is the average velocity of a dog that takes 4.0 s to run forward
14 m? (3.5 m/s forward)

2. A boat travels 280 m east in a time of 120 s. What is the boat’s
average velocity? (2.3 m/s east)

See page 368

(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Calculating Displacement

The relationship between displacement, average velocity, and time is

given by:
d  vav t 
Use the above equation to answer the following questions.
1. What is the displacement of a bicycle that travels 8.0 m/s [N] for 15 s?

2. A
person, originally at the starting line, runs west at 6.5 m/s. What is
the runner’s displacement after 12 s?

See page 369

Answers are on the next slide.
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Calculating Displacement

The relationship between displacement, average velocity, and time is

given by:
d  vav t 
Use the above equation to answer the following questions.
1. What is the displacement of a bicycle that travels 8.0 m/s [N] for 15
s? (120 m [N])

2. A person, originally at the starting line, runs west at 6.5 m/s. What is
the runner’s displacement after 12 s? (78 m west)

See page 369

(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Calculating Time

The relationship between time, average velocity, and displacement is

given by:
d
t 
vav
Use the above equation to answer the following questions.
1. How long would it take a cat walking north at 0.80 m/s to travel 12
m north?


2. A car is driving forward at 15 m/s. How long would it take this car to
pass through an intersection that is 11 m long?
See page 369
Answers are on the next slide.
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Calculating Time

The relationship between time, average velocity, and displacement is

given by:
d
t 
vav
Use the above equation to answer the following questions.
1. How long would it take a cat walking north at 0.80 m/s to travel 12
m north? (15s)

2. A car is driving forward at 15 m/s. How long would it take this car to
pass through an intersection that is 11 m long? (0.73 s)
See page 369
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
And we can calculate all this with a graph

Note that the slope of the

female jogger’s line is
steeper than the slope of
the male jogger’s line. She
has a greater change in
position (displacement)
for the same time interval.
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Converting between m/s and km/h

• To convert from km/h to m/s:

 Change km to m: 1 km = 1000 m
 Change h to s: 1 h = 3600 s
• Multiply by 1000 and divide by 3600
or
• Divide the speed in km/h by 3.6 to obtain the
speed in m/s.
For example, convert 75 km/h to m/s.
Speed zone limits are stated
75 km 1000m   1h  in kilometres per hour (km/h).
     21m/s
1h  1km  3600s 
See page 369
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Converting between m/s and km/h

Try the following unit conversion problems.

1. Convert 95 km/h to m/s.

2. A truck’s displacement is 45 km north after driving for 1.3 h. What

was the truck’s average velocity in km/h and m/s?

3. What is the displacement of an airplane flying

480 km/h [E] during a 5.0 min time interval?

See page 369

Answers are on the next slide.
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007
Converting between m/s and km/h

Try the following unit conversion problems.

1. Convert 95 km/h to m/s. (26 m/s)

2. A truck’s displacement is 45 km north after driving for 1.3 h. What

was the truck’s average velocity in km/h and m/s?
(35 km/h [N], 9.6 m/s [N])

3. What is the displacement of an airplane flying

480 km/h [E] during a 5.0 min time interval?
(40 km [E] or 40, 000 m [E])

See page 369

Take the Section 8.2 Quiz
(c) McGraw Hill Ryerson 2007