MOTION
Dr. Dastan Khalid
SCI 102
Spring 2024
LAST CLASS
➢We discussed measurement and units.
➢We especially talked about the unit of length, time and
mass
➢We have discussed the (mks) & (cgs) systems of units.
THIS WEEK
We will discuss
❑Position
❑Motion
❑Speed (both average & Instantaneous)
❑Velocity (both average & Instantaneous)
❑The difference between distance and displacement
❑Acceleration and Constant acceleration
❑Free fall
❑Projectile Motion
POSITION
➢The term position refers to the location of an object.
➢To designate the position of an object, a reference point and a
measurement scale are needed.
➢For example, the campus entrance is about 3 km (or possibly
more) from Serchinar intersection.
➢The book is 15 cm from the corner of the table.
➢The Cartesian coordinates of the point on a graph are (x, y) =
(2.0 cm, 3.0 cm). Here the reference point is the origin of the
coordinate system.
POSITION – OTHER COORDINATES
𝒛ො
𝒓ො , 𝜽, 𝜙
𝒓ො , 𝜽,
MOTION
➢If an object changes position, we say that motion
has occurred. That is, an object is in motion when it
is undergoing a continuous change in position.
➢Consider an automobile traveling on a straight
highway. The motion of the automobile may or
may not be occurring at a constant rate. In either
case, the motion is described by using the
fundamental units of length and time.
➢Another example is the change of position of the
stars and planets. How many types of motions they
have? Do you know the effect of each motion?
SPEED & VELOCITY
The terms speed and velocity are often used interchangeably; however, in physical
science, they have different distinct meanings. Speed is a scalar quantity, and
velocity is a vector quantity.
A scalar quantity has only magnitude (numerical value and unit of measurement). For
example, you may be traveling in a car at 90 km/h. Your speed is a scalar quantity.
A vector quantity has magnitude and direction. For example, suppose you are
traveling at 90 km/h north. This describes your velocity, which is a vector quantity
because it consists of magnitude plus direction.
By including direction, a vector quantity (or a vector, for short) gives more
information than a scalar quantity. No direction is associated with a scalar quantity.
SPEED & VELOCITY
SPEED & AVERAGE SPEED
➢The average speed of an object is the total distance travelled divided by the time spent in traveling the
total distance.
➢Distance (d) is the actual length of the path that is travelled.
➢Mathematically we represent the above definition as
➢Note that length d and time t are intervals. They are sometimes written ∆d and ∆t to indicate explicitly
that they are intervals (∆𝑑/∆𝑡). The ∆ (Greek delta) means “change in” or “difference in.
➢What is the unit of speed?
➢Can you write the speed equation in terms of change in distance and time?
SPEED & INSTANTANEOUS SPEED
➢Taken over a time interval, speed is an average.
➢Average speed gives only a general description of motion. During a long time
interval like that of a car trip, you may speed up, slow down, and even stop. The
average speed, however, is a single value that represents the average rate of motion
for the entire trip.
➢The description of motion can be made more specific by taking smaller time
intervals such as a few seconds or even an instant
➢The instantaneous speed of an object is its speed at that instant of time (Dt
becoming extremely small).
VELOCITY
➢Velocity is similar to speed, but a direction is involved.
➢Average velocity is the displacement divided by the
total travel time.
➢Displacement is the straight-line distance between the
initial and final positions, with direction toward the final
position, and is a vector quantity
➢For straight-line motion in one direction, speed and
velocity have something in common. Their magnitudes are
the same because the lengths of the distance and the
displacement are the same.
Just like instantaneous speed, there is also instantaneous
velocity, which is the velocity at any instant of time.
EXAMPLE
Find the time it takes for light to reach the Earth from the Sun.
ACCELERATION
➢When you are riding in a car on a straight interstate highway and the speed is suddenly
increased—say, from 20 m/s to 30 m/s you feel as though you are being forced back
against the seat
➢If the car then whips around a circular cloverleaf, you feel forced to the outside of the circle.
➢These experiences result from changes in velocity
➢Because velocity is a vector quantity, with both magnitude and direction, a change in
velocity involves either or both of these factors. Therefore, an acceleration may result from
❖A change in speed (magnitude)
❖A change in direction, or
❖A change in both speed and direction.
ACCELERATION
➢Examples of the above changes are
❖A car speeding up (or slowing down) while traveling in a straight
line
❖A car rounding a curve at a constant speed, and
❖A car speeding up (or slowing down) while rounding a curve
➢These three occurs very frequently on a race circuit
ACCELERATION
➢Acceleration is defined as the time rate of change of velocity.
Taking the symbol ∆ (delta) to mean “change in,” the equation for
average acceleration ( a ) can be written as
➢Can you find the unit of acceleration from the above equation?
CONSTANT ACCELERATION
➢Consider a constant acceleration of 9.8 m/s2.
➢This value means that the velocity changes by 9.8 m/s each second.
➢Thus, for straight-line motion, as the number of seconds increases, the
velocity goes from 0 to 9.8 m/s during the first second, to 19.6 m/s
(that is, 9.8 m/s + 1 9.8 m/s) during the 2nd second (!!!) , to 29.4 m/s
(that is, 19.6 m/s + 9.8 m/s) during the third second, and so forth,
adding 9.8 m/s each second.
➢Here we can use
➢When the initial velocity is zero, we use
ACCELERATION EXAMPLES
ACCELERATION AS A VECTOR
➢We know acceleration is the rate of change of velocity and we also know velocity is
a vector
➢Therefore acceleration is also a vector
FREE FALL
Italian physicist Galileo was one of the first scientists to assert that all
objects fall with the same acceleration.
Of course, this assertion assumes that frictional effects (such as air
resistance) are negligible.
To exclude frictional and any other effects, the term free fall is used.
Objects in motion solely under the influence of gravity are said to be
in free fall.
The velocity of a freely falling object on the Earth increases 9.80 m/s
each second but the distance covered is not uniform because the
object speeds up. This distance can be found using
1
𝑑= 𝑔 𝑡2
2
EXAMPLE
QUESTION
ACCELERATION IN UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION
EXAMPLE
PROJECTILE MOTION
PROJECTILE MOTION
The curved path of a projectile is a result of the combined motions in
the vertical and horizontal directions. As the ball goes up and down,
it travels to the right. The combined effect is a curved path.
PROJECTILE MOTION
Neglecting air resistance, the projected football has the same horizontal velocity (vx)
throughout its flight, but its vertical velocity (vy) changes in the same way as that of
an object thrown upward
MAXIMUM RANGE
A projectile’s maximum range on a
horizontal plane is achieved with a
projection angle of 45 ° (in the absence of
air resistance). Projectiles with the same
initial speed and projection angles the
same amount above and below 45 ° have
the same range, as shown here for 30° and
60 °
EFFECTS OF AIR RESISTANCE ON PROJECTILES
when a ball or object is thrown or hit
hard, air resistance comes into effect.
In such a case, the projectile path is
no longer symmetric and resembles
one of those shown in the figure.
Air resistance reduces the velocity of
the projectile, particularly in the
horizontal direction. As a result, the
maximum range occurs at an angle
less than 45°.
