GENERAL PHYSICS 1
WEEK 3
KINEMATICS - the study that deals with the description of motion. Kinematics uses the following basic
concepts of motion: distance, displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration.
DISTANCE AND DISPLACEMENT
Motion may be described by specifying how far something has traveled in changing position and time.
The total path length traversed by an object moving from one location to another is known as distance while
the separation of that object and a reference point is known as displacement. Distance is a scalar quantity
which has only magnitude while displacement is a vector quantity which has both magnitude and direction.
Consider Figure 6.2. The distance between the boy and the Physics laboratory as Well as the distance
between the girl and the Physics laboratory is 5.0 meters. The displacement of the boy as he moves in a
straight line from his original position toward the Physics laboratory is 5.0m East, while the displacement of
the girl as she moves in a straight line from her original position toward the Physics laboratory is 5.0 m West.
Even though both of hem move through equal distances, their displacements are different because the boy
moves to the east while the girl moves to the west.
SPEED AND VELOCITY
The motion of an object can only be described by determining how fast or how slow it moves. The
measure of how fast something is moving is known as speed. Speed is the rate at which distance is covered at
a given time.
Experience tells you that a vehicle rarely travels at a constant speed especially in heavy traffic. You can
tell the speed of a vehicle at any instant by looking at the vehicle’s speedometer. The speed at any instant is
called instantaneous speed. You will notice that a vehicle may travel down a street at 50 km/h in open
stretches while overtaking other vehicles, slow down at 30 km / h because of traffic, or even zero at a red
light. The vehicle travels at different speeds during its entire trip. For the entire trip, you must only consider
one speed – the average speed. Average speed is the distance travelled divided by the total time elapsed in
traveling that distance.
distance traveled ( m)
Average speed (v) =
total time elapsed ( s)
d 2−d 1 ∆ d
v = = ∆t
t 2−t 1
When an object gains speed at a constant rate, the average speed can be calculated on the basis of the two
speeds (vi and vf) recorded. Thus, the average speed is:
v i +v f
v=
2
When a direction is associated with speed, you will have new quantity known as velocity. For uniform motion
in a straight line, the magnitude of the net displacement is the same as the displacement traveled in a given
time interval. The magnitude of the velocity is likewise the same as the speed. The difference is that speed is a
scalar quantity whereas velocity is a vector quantity.
From the definition of velocity, it follows that to have a constant velocity, both speed and direction must be
constant. Motion at constant velocity is motion in a straight line at uniform speed.
To simplify matters, the direction of motion will be set aside since, in a rectilinear motion, the negative values
of d and v indicate motion to the left and positive values to the right.
Examples:
1. On his way to school, Jed traveled 100 m North, 300 m East, 100 m North, 100 m East, 100 m North.
a. Find the total distance traveled by Jed.
b. Determine the displacement made by Jed.
Solutions:
a. dT = d1+d2+d3+d4+d5
= 100 m + 300 m + 100 m + 100 m +100 m
dT = 700 m
b. dT = √ d 2x +d 2y
= √ (400 m)2 +(300 m)2
d T = 500 m
2. Rachel watches a thunderstorm from her window. She sees the flash of lightning bolt and begins
counting the seconds until she hears the clap of thunder 5.0 seconds later. Assume that the speed of
sound in air is 340 m/s and the light was seen instantaneously. How far was the lightning bolt?
Given: v = 340.0 m/s
∆ t = 5. 0 s
Find: ∆ d
Solution: ∆ d=v . ∆ t
= (340.0 m/s) (5.0 s)
∆ d=1700 m
3. A car starts from rest and attains a speed of 50 m/s in 15 seconds. How far has the car travelled in 15
seconds?
Given: vi = 0
vf = 50 m/s
t = 15 s
Find: d
Solution: d = v . t
v +v 0+50 m/s
= ( i f ¿t = ( ) (15 s)
2 2
= (25 m/s) (15s)
d= 375 m
ACCELERATION: CHANGING VELOCITY
For the motion of an object in which the velocity changes in either magnitude (speed) or direction or bot, you
will have a new quantity known as acceleration which is a vector quantity. An object is accelerating when it
speed up, slows down (usually called deceleration) or changes direction. Acceleration is the rate of change of
velocity at a given time interval.
m
change∈velocity( )
Acceleration = s
elapsed time(s)
∆v
a =
t 2−t 1
v f −vi
a =
t
where vf is the final velocity and vi is the initial velocity. The unit for acceleration is m/s2.
Sample problem:
Michael is driving his sports car at 30 m/s when he sees a dog on the road ahead. He slams on the
brakes and comes to a stop in 3.0 seconds. What was the acceleration of Michael`s car?
Given: vi = 30 m/s
vf = 0
∆ t = 3.0 s
Find: a
Solution:
v −v
a = f i
t
0−30 m/ s
=
3.0 s
a = -10 m/s2
The car slows down at the rate of 10 m/s every second. This negative acceleration which is known as
deceleration.
KINEMATIC EQUATIONS
d
Equation 1. v=
t
vf + vi
Equation 2. v=
2
v f −v i
Equation 3. a=
t
v f +v i
Equation 4. d= ( 2 ) t
a t2
Equation 5. d=v i t+
2
vf 2−vi2
Equation 6. d=
2a
Summary of Kinematic Equations
Type of Motion Behavior of Physical Quantities Equation
Stationary Object or Object at Constant displacement d = constant
v =0
Rest Zero velocity a = 0
Zero acceleration
Constant Velocity or Uniform Increasing or decreasing d = vt
Velocity displacement ∆d
v =
Constant velocity ∆t
Constant speed a = 0
No change in direction
Zero acceleration
Constant Acceleration or Increasing or decreasing vf 2−vi 2
Uniformly Accelerated Motion
d=
displacement 2a
Increasing or decreasing
magnitude of velocity a t2
Constant speed but d=v i t+
2
changing direction
Constant acceleration v f −vi
a = constant= =
t
Sample problems:
1. Albert is riding his scooter at a velocity of 80 km/h, when he sees an old woman crossing the road 45 m away. He
immediately steps hard on the brakes to get the maximum deceleration of 7.5 m / s 2. How far will he go before
stopping? Will he hit the old woman?
Given: vi = 80 km/h or 22. 22 m/s ( convert km/h to m/s)
vf = 0
a = -7.5 m/s2
Find: d
vf 2−vi 2
Solution: d=
2a
m 2
02−(22.22
)
= s
2(−7.5 m/ s¿ ¿2) ¿
= 32. 92 m
Since the old woman is 45 m away, Albert will be able to stop without hitting her.
2. A car speeds up from 40 km/h to 55 km/h to overtake a truck. If this requires 15 s, what is the (a) acceleration
and (b) distance traveled by the car?
v f −v i
a. Solution: a=
t
m
15.3 −11.1 m/s
= s
15 s
a = 0.28 m/s2
v f +v i
b. Solution: d= (2
t )
m m
15.3 +11.1
=( s s
)(15 s)
2
d = 198 m
