Raymond A.

Serway
Chris Vuille

Chapter Two
Motion in One Dimension
 Kinematics definitions

• Kinematics – branch of physics; study of

motion
• Position (x) – where you are located
• Distance (d ) – how far you have traveled,
regardless of direction
• Displacement (x) – where you are in
relation to where you started
 Dynamics
• The branch of physics involving the motion of
an object and the relationship between that
motion and other physics concepts
• Kinematics is a part of dynamics
– In kinematics, you are interested in the description
of motion
– Not concerned with the cause of the motion

Introduction
 Displacement

 
xo  initial position x  final position
  
x  x  xo  displacement
The displacement Δx is a vector that points from the initial position to the final
position. SI Unit of Displacement: meter (m)
 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
Distance
 Speed, Velocity, & Acceleration

• Speed (v) – how fast you go

• Velocity (v) – how fast and which way;
the rate at which position changes
• Average speed ( v ) – distance / time
• Acceleration (a) – how fast you speed
up, slow down, or change direction;
the rate at which velocity changes
 Distance and Displacement

Starting from origin, O a person walks 90-m east, then turns around and walks
40-m west.

Q: What is the total walked distance? A: 130-m

Q: What is the displacement? A: 50-m, due east
 Displacement Examples
• From A to B
– xi = 30 m
– xf = 52 m
– x = 22 m
– The displacement is positive, indicating the motion
was in the positive x direction

• From C to F
– xi = 38 m
– xf = -53 m
– x = -91 m
– The displacement is negative,
indicating the motion was in
the negative x direction Section 2.1
Displacement,
Graphical

Section 2.1
 Average Velocity

Displacement
Average velocity 
Elapsed time
  
 x  x o x
v 
t  to t
Units for velocity: m/s, MPH, kmPH.
point x (m) t (s)
O 0 0
A 1 1
B 5 2
C 12 3 C
E
D 8 4 (x3, t3 )
D
E 10 5 (x5, t5 )
F 5 6
(x4, t4 )
(x6, t6 )
F
(x2, t2 )
B
A
0 (x1, t1 )
(x0, t0 )
point x (m) t (s)
O 0 0
A 1 1
B 5 2
C 12 3
D 8 4
E 10 5
F 5 6
 • the specific features of the motion of
objects are demonstrated by the shape and
the slope of the lines on a position vs. time
graph.
To begin, consider a car moving with a constant, rightward
(+) velocity - say of +10 m/s.
• Now consider a car moving with a rightward (+),
changing velocity - that is, a car that is moving
rightward but speeding up or accelerating.
 Positive Velocity
Changing Velocity (acceleration)

Constant Velocity
Positive Velocity

Slow, Rightward(+)
Constant Velocity
Fast, Rightward(+)
Constant Velocity

Slow, Leftward(-)
Constant Velocity Fast, Leftward(-)
Constant Velocity
 Acceleration
Acceleration – how fast you speed up, slow
down, or change direction; it’s the rate at
which velocity changes.
 Negative Acceleration
• A negative acceleration does not necessarily
mean the object is slowing down
• If the acceleration and velocity are both
negative, the object is speeding up
• “Deceleration” means a decrease in speed,
not a negative acceleration

Section 2.3
 Velocity & Acceleration Sign Chart
VELOCITY

A
C
+ -
C
E Moving forward; Moving backward;
L + Speeding up Slowing down
E
R
A
T
I
- Moving forward; Moving backward;
O Slowing down Speeding up
N
 Acceleration due to Gravity
Near the surface of the This acceleration
Earth, all objects vector is the
accelerate at the same same on the way
rate (ignoring air up, at the top,
resistance). and on the way
down!
a = g = -9.8 m/s2
9.8 m/s2

Interpretation: Velocity decreases by 9.8 m/s each second,

meaning velocity is becoming less positive or more
negative. Less positive means slowing down while going
up. More negative means speeding up while going down.
Kinematics Formula Summary
For 1-D motion with constant acceleration:

∆𝑺
Motion Diagram Summary

Section 2.4
 Free Fall
• A freely falling object is any object moving freely
under the influence of gravity alone
– Free fall does not depend on the object’s original motion
• All objects falling near the earth’s surface fall with a
constant acceleration
• The acceleration is called the acceleration due to
gravity, and indicated by g

Section 2.6
 Acceleration due to Gravity
• Symbolized by g
• g = 9.80 m/s²
– When estimating, use g 10 m/s2
• g is always directed downward
– Toward the center of the earth
• Ignoring air resistance and assuming g doesn’t vary
with altitude over short vertical distances, free fall is
constantly accelerated motion

Section 2.6
Combination Motions

Section 2.6
• In 1865 Jules Verne proposed sending men to the
Moon by firing a space capsule from a 220-m-long
cannon with final speed of 10.97 km/s.
• What would have been the unrealistically large
acceleration experienced by the space travelers during
their launch?
• How much time did it took for the capsule to go from
rest to 10.97 km/s
• #28 p.51
𝑣𝑓 2 − 𝑣𝑖 2 𝑣𝑓 2 − 𝑣𝑖 2
𝑣𝑓 = 10,970 𝑚/𝑠 ∆𝑆 = →𝑎=
2𝑎 2∆𝑆
𝑣𝑖 = 0 𝑚/𝑠
10,970𝑚/𝑠 2 − 02
∆𝑆 = 220 𝑚 →𝑎= = 273502 𝑚/𝑠 2
2(220𝑚)

𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖
𝑎= → 𝑡= → 𝑡= →
𝑡 𝑎 𝑎
10,970𝑚/𝑠
𝑡= = 0.04 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑠
273,502𝑚/𝑠 2
• A truck covers 40.0 m in 8.50 s
while uniformly slowing down to a
final velocity of 2.80 m/s.
• (a) Find the truck’s original speed.
• (b) Find its acceleration.
• #29 p.51
• A Cessna aircraft has a liftoff
speed of 120 km/h.
• (a) What minimum constant
acceleration does the aircraft
require if it is to be airborne after
a takeoff run of 240 m?
• (b) How long does it take the
aircraft to become airborne?
• #31 p.52
• In a test run, a certain car
accelerates uniformly from zero to
24.0 m/s in 2.95 s.
• (a) What is the magnitude of the
car’s acceleration?
• (b) How long does it take the car to
change its speed from 10.0 m/s to
20.0 m/s?
• #33 p.52
• A train is traveling down a straight
track at 20 m/s when the engineer
applies the brakes, resulting in an
acceleration of -1.0 m/s2 as long
as the train is in motion.
• How far does the train move
during a 40-s time interval
starting at the instant the brakes
are applied?
• #37 p.52
• A ball is thrown vertically upward
with a speed of 25.0 m/s.
• (a) How high does it rise?
• (b) How long does it take to reach
its highest point?
• (c) How long does the ball take to
hit the ground after it reaches its
highest point?
• (d) What is its velocity when it
returns to the level from which it
started?
• #45 p.52
• A baseball is hit so that it travels
straight upward after being struck
by the bat. A fan observes that it
takes 3.00 s for the ball to reach
its maximum height.
• Find (a) the ball’s initial velocity
and
• (b) the height it reaches.
• #54 p.53