Linear Motion

Speed
● Distance covered and the time it takes
● Scalar quantity
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

Instantaneous Speed
● Speed at any instant
● Can be displayed through a speedometer

Average Speed
● Does not indicate the different speeds and variations that may have taken
place during shorter time intervals
● In practice, average speeds are usually much lower than highest
instantaneous speeds
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑
𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙

Motion is Relative
● Discussing the speeds of things in the environment is relative to the surface of
the Earth
● Humans are moving 107,000 km/h relative to the Sun, and faster relative to the
center of the galaxy
● A car’s speed is relative to the track
Velocity
● Combines the ideas of speed and direction of motion
● Vector quantity

Constant Velocity
● Steady speed and direction
● Motion in a straight line at a constant speed
● Constant speed
○ Does not speed up or slow down

Changing Velocity
● Speed and/or direction changed
● The object is acceleration

Acceleration
● How quickly and in what direction velocity changes
● Vector Quantity
● Deceleration
○ Decrease per second in the velocity of an object
● Encompasses both change in speed and direction
● It is not just the total change in velocity but also the time of rate change or
change per second
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑟 ∆𝑣
𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑟 ∆𝑡

○ 𝚫 = “change in” or “difference in”

○ Average acceleration
○ Unit time enters twice:
■ Once for the unit of velocity and again for the time interval in
which the velocity is changing
 ∆𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑
𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒) =
∆𝑡

○ When one-way straight-line motion is being considered, speed and

velocity are used interchangeably
○ Acceleration may be expressed as the rate at which speed changes
when direction does not change

Acceleration on Galileo’s Inclined Planes

● Used inclined planes to slow accelerated motion
● A ball rolling down an inclined plane picks up the same amount of speed in
successive seconds
○ The ball rolls with unchanging acceleration (constant acceleration)
● The instantaneous speed/velocity of the ball at any given time after being
released from rest is equal to its acceleration multiplied by its time

𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑐𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 = 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

○ Instantaneous speed/velocity at any time is equal to the acceleration

multiplied by the number of seconds it has been accelerating
● The acceleration down each incline was constant for each incline, with greater
accelerations for steeper incline
● Ball attains its maximum acceleration when the incline is tipped vertically
● Regardless of weight/size, when air resistance is small enough to be ignored,
objects fall with the same unchanging acceleration
Free Fall
● Falling object free of all restraints and falls under influence of gravity alone

Velocity
● How fast an object falls
● Each second of fall, object gains a speed of 10 m/s
○ Gain per second is acceleration (approx. 10 m/s2)
○ Customary to use the letter “g” for acceleration due to gravity
(g = 9.8 or 10 m/s2)

Free Fall From Rest

Time of Fall (s) or t Velocity Acquired (m/s) or 10t

0 0

1 10

2 20

3 30

4 40

5 50

● The instantaneous speed/velocity of an object falling from rest is consistent

with the equation from Galileo deduced with his inclined planes which in
shorthand notation is:
𝑣= 𝑔×𝑡

○ (Instead of dropping the object at rest) if the object is thrown

downward at speed vo , the speed v after any elapsed time t is:
𝑣 = 𝑣𝑜 + 𝑎𝑡
 ● Object thrown straight upward
○ Continues to move upward for a time and then comes back down
○ Maximum point, when it is changing its motion from up to down, has a
instantaneous speed of 0;
○ Object then goes downward just as if it had been dropped from rest at
that height
○ Object slows moving upward at the rate of 10 m/s2 and same rate going
down
○ Instantaneous speed of at points equal elevation is the same whether
the object is moving up or down

Distance
● How far an object falls
● The distance of a uniformly accelerating object travels is proportional to the
square of the time
1
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = (𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒)
2

○ Applies to the distance of a falling object

○ For the case of free falling, it’s shorthand notation is:
1 2
𝑑= 𝑔𝑡
2

○ Deriviation:
𝑑 = 𝑣 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝑣𝑖 + 𝑣𝑓
𝑑= × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
2

0 + 𝑔𝑡
𝑑= ×𝑡
2

1 2
𝑑= 𝑔𝑡
2

○ 𝑣 is the average velocity

○ 𝑣𝑖 is the initial velocity 𝑣𝑓 is the final velocity
Acceleration
● How quickly does “how fast” change
● A rate of a rate
○ Rate at which velocity changes
● Acceleration due to gravity is always 10 m/s2 in free fall
○ Air resistance is responsible for different accelerations, in reality,

Hang Time
● When you leap upward, jumping force is applied only while your feet make
contact with the ground
○ Greater force, greater launch speed, higher jump
● As soon as your feet leave the ground, your upward speed immediately
decreases at the state rate of g (10 m/s2) and increases when you begin to fall
● Peak of the jump has a speed of zero
● Time rising = falling

2𝑑
𝑡 = 2( )
𝑔

○ Double the calculation since it is the time for one way of the
up-and-down round trip

Velocity Vectors
● Acceleration always acts in the direction of net force
● Swimming across a river (example scenario)
○ Two components to consider:
1. Swimmer’s velocity
2. Velocity of water flow
○ Simming motion takes you straight but the current carries you along
the river
○ Combination leads to a diagonal path (resultant)
■ Pythagorean Theorem calculates the resultant velocity
● Same speeds results in the resultant being 2 (1.41) times
the side
● Angle is calculated by tan-1