Motion

Part 1: Motion and Speed

 Cartesian plane
+ve y-
axis

-ve x-axis +ve x-axis

-ve y-axis
DESCRIBING MOTION Motion means
movement
Distance and Displacement
Distance vs. Displacement

Jeffrey, my
distance was
176 meters!
BE N

But Billy, your

G

displacement was
I

1 meter!

D
EN
Distance travelled=16 m
Displacement= 0
Distance vs. Displacement

3m.

Distance = 3m. Displacement = 3m.

Distance vs. Displacement

4m.

3 m.

Distance = 7m. Displacement =5m.

Distance vs. Displacement

3 m. 4 m.

3 m.

Distance = 10 m. Displacement = 4 m.
Distance vs. Displacement

3m. 4m.

4m. 3m.

Distance = 14m. Displacement = 0

Few important points

Both , the distance and displacement are

measured in metre or cm or km.
Between two given positions , distance
travelled can never be less than the
displacement.
Along a straight line motion distance
travelled is equal to magnitude of
displacement .
• 1. An object has moved through a distance. Can it
have zero displacement? If yes, support your
answer with an example.
• 2. A farmer moves along the boundary of a square
field of side 10 m in 40 s. What will be the
magnitude of displacement of the farmer at the end
of 2 minutes 20 seconds from his initial position?
• 3. Which of the following is true for displacement?
(a) It cannot be zero. (b) Its magnitude is greater
than the distance travelled by the object
1.
Yes, an object which has moved through a distance can have zero
displacement if it comes back to its initial position.
Example: If a person jogs in a circular park which is circular and
completes one round. His initial and final position is the same.
Hence, his displacement is zero.

2.
Side of the given square field = 10m
Hence, the perimeter of a square = 40 m
Time taken by the farmer to cover the boundary of 40 m = 40 s
The total number of rotations taken by the farmer in 140 seconds=
3.5
At this point, let us say the farmer is at point C from the origin O
Therefore, from Pythagoras theorem, the displacement s =
√(102+102)
s = 10√2
 Speed
Speed is the distance an object travels
per unit of time.
To calculate speed:
Speed = Distance ÷ Time
SI unit of distance is meter (m)
SI unit of Time is second (s)
The SI unit of speed meters per second
(m/s).Speed is a scalar quantity
The other units of speed include centimetre per second (cm/ s) and
kilometre per hour (km/ h).
In most cases, objects will be in non-uniform motion.
Therefore, we describe the rate of motion of such
objects in terms of their
 Example 8.1 An object travels 16 m in 4 s and
then another 16 m in 2 s. What is the average
speed of the object

Total distance travelled by the object =

16 m + 16 m = 32 m Total time taken = 4
s + 2 s = 6s
Average speed = Total distance travelled
/Total time taken = 32 m /6 s = 5.33 m/ s.
Therefore, the average speed of the object is
5.33 m/ s.
Example 1
A snail takes 5.0 s to crawl across the ruler.

Speed
Speed
Speed
==Distance
0.07
= 2.0
m m/s
÷÷5.0
Time
s
Example 2
A car drives 240 m in one minute.

Speed
Speed
Speed
==
Distance
250
= 4mm/s
÷÷60
Time
s
Use the Formula Triangle!

d
s t
To calculate To calculate To calculate
speed: time: distance:

s=d/t t=d/s d=sxt

 SPEED
UNIFORM SPEED-Equal distances in equal interval
of time
NON-UNIFORM SPEED-Unequal distances in
equal interval of time or vice- versa
Average speed=Total distance travelled/Total
time taken
Instantaneous speed-Speed at particular
moment of time
The rate of motion of an object can be more
comprehensive if we specify its direction of
motion along with its speed.
Velocity is the speed of an object
moving in a definite direction.
Velocity can be
changed

By changing the speed

By changing the
direction of motion
By changing both
speed and direction
 velocity
UNIFORM VELOCITY-Equal distances in equal
interval of time in particular direction or
(when the direction and speed of a body do not change
with time)

NON-UNIFORM VELOCITY-Unequal distances

in equal interval of time or (when the direction of
a body or its speed changes)

Instantaneous Velocity-Velocity at
particular moment of time
Average Velocity ( When velocity
changes uniformly)-
Average Velocity = (Initial Velocity +
Final Velocity)/2
Average velocity = u+v /2

Average Velocity (When velocity

changes non-uniformly)-
Average Velocity = Total
Displacement / Total Time taken
Difference Between Speed and Velocity

Speed Velocity

Distance travelled per Displacement per

unit time. unit time.
Scalar quantity Vector quantity
Speed can never be Velocity can be zero,
negative . negative, or positive
2.Since average speed is the total
distance travelled by total time
takenand average velocity is the total
displacement by total time taken, the
magnitude of average velocity and
average speed will be the same when
the total distance travelled is equal to
the total displacement.
Acceleration
Objects can speed up, slow down or change direction.

Acceleration measures how much an object’s

speed changes over a certain time.

Acceleration can be:

A change in speed

A change in direction

A change in speed & direction

Acceleration:
Rate of change of velocity of the body with time

acceleration = change in velocity

time taken

a = v- u
t
Velocity: meters per seconds (m/s)
Time: seconds (s)
Acceleration: meters per second squared (m/s2)
Acceleration
Acceleration can be positive, negative or zero.

Object speeds up
Positive Acceleration v>u (velocity &acc. same
direction)

Object slows down

Negative Acceleration
v<u (velocity &acc. opposite
direction)

Zero Acceleration Speed is Constant v=u

 Uniform acceleration:
If an object travels in a straight line
and its velocity increases or decreases
by equal amounts in equal intervals of
time
Non-Uniform Acceleration:
velocity changes at a non-
uniform rate.
Example 1
A motorcycle’s velocity at the top of the hill is 11.0
m/s. 4.0 seconds later it reaches the bottom of the hill
with a velocity of 20.0 m/s. What is the acceleration of
the motorcycle?

a = v - u
t
a = 20.0 m/s - 11.0 m/s
4.0
a = 9.0 m/s
4.0
a = 2.25 m/s2
Example 2
A speed skater just finished a race. After she crossed the
finish line, she coasted to a complete stop. If her initial
speed was 13.0 m/s and her acceleration was -2.9 m/s 2, how
long did it take her to stop?

a = v - u
t
- 2.9 m/s2 = 0.0 m/s - 13.0 m/s
t
t (- 2.9) = - 13.0 m/s
t = - 13.0 m/s / - 2.9
t = 4.5 s
Graphing Speed
The motion of an object can be graphed.

A distance-time graph shows the motion

of a certain object in line graph form.

Time is plotted on the horizontal (X) axis

Distance is plotted on the vertical (Y) axis
Distance-Time Graphs

Time (s) Distance (m) The slope of a

0 0 distance-time
1 2 graph is the
2 4 speed
3 6
4 8
5 8
6 8
7 8
8 8
9 12
10 16
Distance-Time Graphs
S=D÷T
=0÷4
= 0 m/s

S=D÷T
=8÷4 S=D÷T
= 2 m/s =8÷2
= 4 m/s
Interpreting a D-T Graph (1)
Analysis:
• The distance (m)
stays the same as
Distance (m)

the time (s)

increases

• Therefore, the
object is at rest (not
Time (s)
moving)
Interpreting a D-T Graph (2)
Analysis:
• The object is
moving away from
Distance (m)

the reference point

• The object is
moving at a
constant speed

Time (s)
Interpreting a D-T Graph (3)
Analysis:
• The object is
moving towards the
Distance (m)

reference point
• The object is
moving at a
constant speed

Time (s)
Interpreting a D-T Graph (4)
• In Part A, the object
is moving away at a
constant speed
Distance (m)

• In Part B, the object

is at rest
B
• In Part C, it is
A C moving towards the
reference point at
Time (s)
constant speed
Interpreting a D-T Graph Non-Uniform
motion (1)
Analysis:
• The distance (m)
increasing as time
Distance (m)

(s) passes
• The distance gets
larger and larger
with each second
• This shows (+)
Time (s)
acceleration
Interpreting a D-T Graph non-uniform
motion (2)
Analysis:
• The distance (m)
decreasing as time
Distance (m)

(s) passes
• The distance gets
smaller & smaller
with each second
• This shows (-)
Time (s)
acceleration
Interpreting a D-T Graph (3)
Analysis:
• The distance (m)
from a reference
Distance (m)

point is increasing
• It is increasing at a
regular rate
• This shows (0)
acceleration
Time (s)
Interpreting a D-T Graph (3)
Analysis:
• The object is
moving towards the
Distance (m)

reference point
• The object is
moving at a
constant speed
• The object is
Time (s) moving slowly
Interpreting a S-T Graph (4)
Analysis:
• The speed (m/s) is
constant as time (s)
Speed (m/s)

passes
• The object’s speed
is not changing
• This shows (0)
acceleration
Time (s)
Interpreting a S-T Graph (5)
Analysis:
• The speed (m/s) is
increasing as time
Speed (m/s)

(s) passes
• The object speed is
changing
• This shows (+)
acceleration
Time (s)
More slope of d-t graph means
more speed.