Chapter 2

Motion Along a
Straight Line

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 Kinematics
Kinematics is the study of motion.
• In kinematics, you are interested in the description
of motion
• Not concerned with the cause of the motion

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 Quantities in Motion
Any motion involves three concepts
• Displacement
• Velocity
• Acceleration
These concepts can be used to study objects in
motion

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 Position
Defined in terms of a frame of reference
• A choice of coordinate axes
• Defines a starting point for measuring the motion
– Or any other quantity

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 Displacement
The change in the position of an object as it moves from
initial position xi to final position xf is its displacement ∆x =
xf – xi.

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 Displacement Vectors
A displacement vector starts
at an object’s initial position
and ends at its final position. It
doesn’t matter what the object
did in between these two
positions.

In motion diagrams, the

displacement vectors span
successive particle positions.

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 Displacement Isn’t Distance
The displacement of an object is not the same as
the distance it travels
• Example: Throw a ball straight up and then catch it
at the same point you released it
– The distance is twice the height
– The displacement is zero

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 Speed
The average speed of an object is defined as
the total distance traveled divided by the total
time elapsed

total distance
Average speed 
total time
d
v 
t

• Speed is a scalar quantity

• SI units are m/s
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 Velocity

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 Negative velocity
• The average x-velocity is negative during a time interval if
the particle moves in the negative x-direction for that time
interval.

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 Reading Quiz
3. If Sam walks 100 m to the right, then 200 m to the left, his net
displacement vector points
A. to the right.
B. to the left.
C. has zero length.
D. Cannot tell without more information.

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 Checking Understanding
1. Maria is at position x = 23 m. She then undergoes a
displacement ∆x = –50 m. What is her final position?
A. –27 m
B. –50 m
C. 23 m
D. 73 m

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 Problem #1

The North American and European plates of the

Earth’s crust are drifting apart with a relative
speed of about 25 mm/yr. Take the speed as
constant and find when the rift between them
started to open, to reach a current width of 2.9 x
103 mi.

Section 2.3
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 Representations of Motion
Motion diagram (student walking to school)

Table of data Graph

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 Motion diagrams
• A motion diagram shows the position of a particle at
various instants, and arrows represent its velocity at each
instant.

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 Exercise
Alice is sliding along a smooth, icy road on her sled when
she suddenly runs headfirst into a large, very soft snowbank
that gradually brings her to a halt. Draw a motion diagram for
Alice. Show and label all displacement vectors.

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A position-time graph
• A position-time graph (an x-t graph) shows the particle’s
position x as a function of time t.
• The average x-velocity is related to the slope of an x-t graph.

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From Position to Velocity
• We can deduce the
velocity-versus-time
graph from the position-
versus-time graph.
• The velocity-versus-time
graph is yet another way to
represent an object’s
motion.

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From Velocity to Position
• We can deduce the
position-versus-time graph
from the velocity-versus-
time graph.
• The sign of the velocity
tells us whether the slope
of the position graph is
positive or negative.
• The magnitude of the
velocity tells us how steep
the slope is.

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 Instantaneous Velocity
The instantaneous velocity is the velocity at a
specific instant of time or specific point along
the path and is given by vx = dx/dt.
The limit of the average velocity as the time
interval becomes infinitesimally short, or as the
time interval approaches zero

lim x
v  t 0
t
The instantaneous velocity indicates what is
happening at every point of time.
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 Instantaneous Velocity, graph
The instantaneous velocity is the slope
of the line tangent to the x vs. t curve.
• This would be the green line.
The light blue lines show that as t gets
smaller, they approach the green line.

Section 2.2
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 Finding instantaneous velocity on an x-t graph
• At any point on an x-t graph, the instantaneous x-
velocity is equal to the slope of the tangent to the
curve at that point.

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QuickCheck 2.4
A graph of position versus time for a basketball
player moving down the court appears as
follows:

Which of the following velocity graphs matches the

position graph?

A. B. C. D.

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 Question

A graph of velocity versus time for a

hockey puck shot into a goal appears
like so:

Which of the following position graphs matches the above

velocity graph?

A. B. C. D.
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Q2.14

The position of an object moving along the x-axis is given by

x = 5.0 m – (4.0 m/s)t + (2.0 m/s2)t2
Which statement about this object is correct?

A. For t > 0, the object is never at rest.

B. The object is at rest at t = 0.5 s.
C. The object is at rest at t = 1.0 s.
D. The object is at rest at t = 2.0 s.
E. More than one of B, C, and D is correct.

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Q2.15

The position of an object moving along the x-axis is given by

x = 5.0 m – (4.0 m/s)t + (2.0 m/s2)t2
How many times does this object pass through the point x = 0?

A. twice, first moving in the positive x-direction,

then moving in the negative x-direction
B. twice, first moving in the negative x-direction,
then moving in the positive x-direction
C. only once, moving in the positive x-direction
D. only once, moving in the negative x-direction
E. never

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 Average acceleration
• Acceleration describes the rate of change of velocity with time.
• The average x-acceleration is aav-x = vx/t.

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 Instantaneous acceleration
• The instantaneous acceleration is ax = dvx/dt.

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 Finding acceleration on a vx-t graph

• The x-t graph may be used to find the instantaneous

acceleration and the average acceleration.

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Average Acceleration
 Vector quantity
 When the sign of the velocity and
the acceleration are the same
(either positive or negative), then
the speed is increasing
 When the sign of the velocity and
the acceleration are in the opposite
directions, the speed is decreasing
Motion Diagram Summary
Please insert active
figure 2.12
QuickCheck 2.20

A cart speeds up toward the

origin. What do the position and
velocity graphs look like?

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QuickCheck 2.20

A cart speeds up toward the

origin. What do the position and
velocity graphs look like?

C.

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QuickCheck 2.24

A cart speeds up while moving

toward the origin. What do the
velocity and acceleration graphs
look like?

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QuickCheck 2.25

Which velocity-versus-time graph

goes with this acceleration graph?

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Motion with constant acceleration

• For a particle with constant acceleration, the velocity

changes at the same rate throughout the motion.

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The equations of motion with constant acceleration

• The four equations shown

below apply to any straight-
line motion with constant
acceleration ax.

vx  v0x  axt

x  x0  v0xt  12 axt 2

2  2a  x  x 
vx2  v0x x  0 

v0x  vx 

x  x0  
 t
 2 

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A motorcycle with constant acceleration

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 Problem #2
An object moving with uniform acceleration has a
velocity of 12.0 cm/s in the positive x direction
when its x coordinate is 3.00 cm. If its x
coordinate 2.00 s later is -5.00 cm, what is its
acceleration?

Section 2.6
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 Problem #3
The driver of a car slams on the brakes when he
sees a tree blocking the road. The car slows
uniformly with an acceleration of -5.60 m/s2 for
4.20 s, making straight skid marks 62.4 m long,
all the way to the tree. With what speed does the
car then strike the tree?

Section 2.6
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Freely falling bodies
• Free fall is the motion of
an object under the
influence of only gravity.
• In the figure, a strobe
light flashes with equal
time intervals between
flashes.
• The velocity change is
the same in each time
interval, so the
acceleration is constant.

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A freely falling coin
• Aristotle thought that heavy
bodies fall faster than light
ones, but Galileo showed that
all bodies fall at the same rate.
• If there is no air resistance, the
downward acceleration of any
freely falling object is
g = 9.8 m/s2 = 32 ft/s2.

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 Is the acceleration zero at the highest point?

• The vertical
velocity, but not
the acceleration,
is zero at the
highest point.

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 Free Fall – an object dropped

Initial velocity is zero

Let up be positive
vo= 0
Use the kinematic
equations a=g

• Generally use y instead

of x since vertical

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 Free Fall – an object thrown downward

a = g = -9.80 m/s2
Initial velocity  0
• With upward being
positive, initial
velocity will be
negative

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 Free Fall -- object thrown upward

Initial velocity is upward, v=0

so positive
The instantaneous velocity
at the maximum height is
zero
a = g = -9.80 m/s2
everywhere in the motion

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 Checking Understanding
An arrow is launched vertically upward. It moves straight up to a
maximum height, then falls to the ground. The trajectory of the
arrow is noted. Which graph best represents the vertical velocity of
the arrow as a function of time? Ignore air resistance; the only force
acting is gravity.

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 Checking Understanding
The figure below shows five arrows with differing masses that were
launched straight up with the noted speeds. Rank the arrows, from
greatest to least, on the basis of the maximum height the arrows
reach. Ignore air resistance; the only force acting is gravity.

A. E  D  A  B  C C. C  B  A  D  E
B. C  D  A  B  E D. E  B  A  D  C

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 Answer
The figure below shows five arrows with differing masses that were
launched straight up with the noted speeds. Rank the arrows, from
greatest to least, on the basis of the maximum height the arrows
reach. Ignore air resistance; the only force acting is gravity.

A. E  D  A  B  C C. C  B  A  D  E
B. C  D  A  B  E D. E  B  A  D  C

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 Reading Quiz

3. A 1-pound ball and a 100-pound ball are dropped from a height

of 10 feet at the same time. In the absence of air resistance
A. the 1-pound ball hits the ground first.
B. the 100-pound ball hits the ground first.
C. the two balls hit the ground at the same time.
D. There’s not enough information to determine which ball
wins the race.
 Answer

3. A 1-pound ball and a 100-pound ball are dropped from a height

of 10 feet at the same time. In the absence of air resistance
A. the 1-pound ball hits the ground first.
B. the 100-pound ball hits the ground first.
C. the two balls hit the ground at the same time.
D. There’s not enough information to determine which ball
wins the race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-CfukEgs
 Problem#4

1. A baseball is hit so that it travels straight upward after

being struck by the bat. A fan observes that it takes 3.00
s for the ball to reach its maximum height. Find (a) its
initial velocity and (b) the height it reaches.

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Problem #5
Passengers on the Giant Drop, a free-fall ride at Six
Flags Great America, sit in cars that are raised to the
top of a tower. The cars are then released for 2.6 s
of free fall. How fast are the passengers moving at
the end of this speeding up phase of the ride? If the
cars in which they ride then come to rest in a time
of 1.0 s, what is the acceleration (magnitude and
direction) of this slowing down phase of the ride?
Given these numbers, what is the minimum
possible height of the tower?
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