Kinematics
The study of
motion in
One
Dimension
At rest or in motion?
At rest or in
motion?
Unit 4 Motion
• Relative motion
• Quantifying Motion
– Scalar vs. Vector
– Speed vs. Velocity
– Distance vs. Displacement
– Acceleration
– Kinematic equations
• Graphical interpretation of motion
• Free fall motion
Classification of Physics Quantities
Vector - quantity with both
magnitude (size) and direction
Scalar - quantity with magnitude
only
Vectors: Scalars:
• Displacement • Distance
• Velocity • Speed
• Acceleration • Time
• Momentum • Mass
• Force • Energy
Sign Conventions
• Positive sign • Negative sign
–Travel East, to –Travel West, to
the right or the left or travel
travel North, South,
upwards downwards
Units
Units are not the same as
quantities!
Quantity . . . Unit (symbol)
• Displacement & Distance . . .
meter (m)
• Time . . ……………. second (s)
Velocity & Speed . . . (m/s)
Acceleration ……. . . (m/s )2
Mass . . ……. kilogram (kg)
Momentum . ….. . (kg · m/s)
Force . . ……….Newton (N)
Energy . ……….. . Joule (J)
Kinematics definitions
• Kinematics – branch of physics; study of motion
• Distance (d ) – how far you have traveled,
regardless of direction (length of the path
traveled)
• Displacement (d) – where you are in relation to
where you started, includes direction (length and
direction from start to finish)
Distance vs. Displacement
• You drive the path, and your odometer goes up by 8 miles (your
distance).
• Your displacement is the shorter directed distance from start to
stop (green arrow).
• What if you drove in a circle?
start
stop
Speed, Velocity, & Acceleration
• Speed (v) – how fast you go
• Velocity (v) – how fast and which way;
the rate at which displacement changes
• Acceleration (a) – how fast you speed
up, slow down, or change direction;
the rate at which velocity changes
Speed vs. Velocity
• Speed is a scalar (it does not consider
direction)
Ex: v = 20 mph
• Speed is often the magnitude of velocity.
• Velocity is a vector (it considers both speed
and direction). Ex: v = 20 mph at 15 south of
west
Velocity & Acceleration Sign Chart
VELOCITY
A
C
+ -
C
E Moving forward; Moving backward;
L
+
E
Speeding up Slowing down
R
A
Moving forward; Moving backward;
TI
O - Slowing down Speeding up
N
Kinematics Formula Summary
For 1-D motion with constant acceleration:
• vf = v i + a t
• v = (vi + vf ) / 2
av g
• d = vi t + a t 2
½
1
• v f2 = v i 2 + 2 a d
2
• a = ∆v/t
• v = d/t
Problem- Vi
Solving Vf
Method V
Vbar
x
t
Graphing Motion
Types of Motion Graphs
• d-t displacement vs. time
• v-t velocity vs. time
• a-t acceleration vs. time
d-t Graph with Constant Speed
• The slope of a distance-time graph
represents velocity.
• A constant slope means a constant
velocity.
• The slope can be positive, negative ,
or zero.
Distance-Time Graph
Positive Slope=
Positive Velocity
Zero Slope =
Distance
Zero Velocity
Negative Slope=
Negative Velocity
Time
d-t Graph with Changing
Velocity
120
This curve 100
shows a 80
changing 60
Distance
40
slope which
20
means a 0
changing -20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
velocity Time
Finding the Velocity
120
100
The slope of
80 the tangent line
60 to the curve
Distance
40 represents the
20 instantaneous
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
velocity
-20
Time
F
D
E
B C
A
Which one(s) are motionless? Which one(s) return to their
starting position?
Which one(s) have a constant
velocity?
Which one(s) have a positive
Which one(s) are accelerating? velocity?
Which one(s) meet?
v-t Graph with Constant
Acceleration
• The slope of a speed time graph
represents acceleration.
• A constant slope implies a constant
acceleration.
• The slope can be positive, negative,
or zero
Velocity-Time Graph
Positive Slope=
Positive Acceleration
Zero Slope =
Velocity
Zero Acceleration
Negative Slope=
Negative Acceleration
Time
v-t Graph Displacements
• The area under the curve to the t-axis
represents the displacement of the object.
• The area can be found using simple geometry
formulas.
• The area may be “negative” if the curve lies
under the t-axis.
v-t Graph Displacements
Area = Length x Width
Velocity
Displacement
Time
v-t Graph Displacements
Velocity Area = 1/2 Base x Height
Disp.
Time
Speed of a car v. time
Which one(s) are motionless? Which one(s) change their
motion?
Which one(s) have a constant
velocity? Which one(s) have a positive
velocity?
Which one(s) are accelerating?
Which one(s) displace the least?
a-t Graph with Constant
Acceleration
• The slope of an acceleration-time
graph will be zero in this course.
• A zero slope implies a constant
acceleration.
• The area under the curve represents
the change in velocity of the object.
a-t Graph Change in Velocities
Area = Length x Width
Acceleration
v
Time
Summary
• d-t Graph
• Slope represents velocity
• v-t Graph
• Slope represents acceleration
• Area under curve represents
displacement
• a-t Graph
• Area under curve represents v
