Mechanics :

L.O. 1

By:
Mavrex Team
Table OF Content:
o Position/Time Graph.
o Distance & displacement.
o Speed & Velocity.
o Uniform & Ununiform Velocity.
o Acceleration.
o Velocity/Time Graph.
o Acceleration/Time Graph.
o Relative velocity.
o Reference frame.
o Average speed & velocity.
o Instantaneous velocity.
position / time graph
but first of all, What is Position?
In physics, "position" refers to the specific location of an object in
space at a particular point in time. It is typically described in terms
of coordinates within a given reference frame or coordinate system.
For example:
• In one-dimensional motion, position can be described by a
single number, which gives the location along a straight line.
• In two-dimensional motion, position is often described by a
pair of coordinates (x, y) in a plane.
• In three-dimensional motion, position is described by a set
of three coordinates (x, y, z) in space.

A position / time graph is used to depict the relationship between

position and time, where position is an independent variable plotted
on the Y-axis, and time is a dependent variable plotted on the X-
axis.

As an example, Lets consider that your friend

Ali is moving in 2-dimentional plane. Firstly, he
left his home that were in (0,2) and arrived to
his work that located in (0,8) in around 1
minute.

So the total distance between his house and work is about 6 units
of length. And he arrived there in 60 seconds that we can see
 that he is moving around 0.1 unit of length per second and that
leads us to new concepts that called Speed & Velocity

Speed &Velocity
To be able to clearly understand what is Speed & Velocity, we
need to know that is the distance & displacement as well.

➢ "distance" refers to the total length of the path traveled by

an object, regardless of its direction. It is a scalar quantity,
which means it only has magnitude and no direction.
Distance is always positive or zero (Not negative) and is
measured in units of length, such as meters (m),
kilometers (km), miles, etc.
In the last example, the length of traveled line between Ali’s
home and work can be referred as distance.

➢ "displacement" refers to the change in position of an

object. It is a vector quantity, which means it has both
magnitude and direction. Displacement specifically
measures the shortest straight-line distance from an
object's initial position to its final position, along with the
direction of that line.
For example, if you walk 3 meters east, then turn around and
walk 2 meters west, your total distance traveled is 5 meters.
However, your displacement is 1 meter east, because that is
the net change in position from your starting point.
 if a car moves to cover a distance in a certain direction
(displacement) Δd in time interval Δt , the motion of the car can
be described using different physical concepts such as speed
and velocity as follows:

The different between Speed and Velocity

Speed Velocity
➢ The Total distance travelled ➢ The time rate of change in the
by the object per the unit of displacement of the object
time.
➢ Vector quantity : defined by both
➢ Scalar quantity : defined by magnitude and direction.
its magnitude only.

➢ Could be positive in certain

➢ Always positive direction and negative in positive
direction

❖Uniform Velocity vs Non-Uniform Velocity:

Uniform (constant) velocity Non-uniform (variable) velocity

The velocity by which the object The velocity by which the object
moves through equal displacements moves through unequal
in equal intervals of time, where the displacements in equal intervals of
object moves at a velocity of time, where the velocity changes its
constant magnitude in one direction magnitude or direction or both of
(straight line) them
 ➢In the Following example: d ( m) A straight line
60
The slope of the straight line gives the
50
magnitude of the uniform velocity at
which the object moves: 40

30
𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆 = ∆𝒅\∆𝒕
20
= 40 − 20 /4 − 2 = 10 𝑚\𝑠
10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 time (t)

❖ Another Example: d ( m) A curve

35

30
In the following graph: 25

The slope of the tangent drawn to 20

the curve at any point gives the 15

magnitude of the instantaneous 10

time (t)
5
velocity of the object at this point.
0
0 2 4 time (t)
6

Acceleration:
In physics, "acceleration" refers to the rate of change of
velocity of an object with respect to time. It is a vector quantity,
meaning it has both magnitude and direction. Acceleration can
describe an increase or decrease in the speed of an object (often
called positive and negative acceleration, respectively), as well as
a change in the direction of motion.
For example, if a car speeds up from 0 to 20 meters per
second in 5 seconds, its average acceleration is:
This means the car's velocity increases by 4 m/s every
second.
𝟐𝟎𝒎/𝒔 − 𝟎𝒎/𝒔
𝒂= = 𝟒𝒎/𝒔𝟐
𝟓𝒔

velocity / time graph

Velocity-Time graph tells about the acceleration
of the object. Depending upon the different types of
velocities, for example, an object may have :
➢ constant velocity.
➢ increasing velocity.
➢ decreasing velocity
it can easily be determined if the object is
accelerating, decelerating, or not accelerating
at all (moving in constant speed).

❖ Some Velocity-time graphs:

(a) v-t graph of a particle moving with uniform
velocity Since velocity is constant, so a = 0 :
 Let at any time, the
velocity of particle is u. Since
velocity remains constant, so
at any time velocity remains
same. Hence velocity- time
graph for a particle moving with
constant velocity is a straight
line parallel to time axis.

For example: a car that moving in a uniform velocity

equals 60km/h. every hour passes, it will have the same
velocity so the slope (Change in y-axis) will be equal to
zero so it will be pallarel to the time axis (X-axis).

(b) v-t graph of a particle moving with uniform

acceleration :
As the time passes , velocity
goes on increasing . hence
velocity – time graph for a
particle moving with constant
positive acceleration is
acceleration is a straight line
inclined to time axis making an
acute angle a . Here 𝒕𝒂𝒏 (𝒂) is
slope of velocity – time graph.

For example: A man riding a bike with initial velocity

equals 2m/s. after 3 seconds, the velocity increased to
4m/s. so:
𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 – 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 4−2
𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = = =
𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑎 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 2
1 𝑚/𝑠 2

(c) v-t graph of a particle moving with uniform

deceleration:
 As the time passes, the
velocity goes on decreasing,
at time to velocity becomes
zero and after that it increases
in negative direction. Hence
velocity-time graph for a
particle moving with constant
retardation is a straight line
inclined to time axis making an
obtuse angle (𝒂)
Since (𝒂) is obtuse angle so, slope of 𝒕𝒂𝒏 (𝒂),
becomes negative; hence acceleration is negative.

acceleration / time graph

An acceleration-time graph is used to depict the
relationship between acceleration and time, where
acceleration is an independent variable plotted on the Y-
axis, and time is a dependent variable plotted on the X-
axis. We can determine the change in velocity in a given
interval of time with the help of an acceleration-time
graph. By determining the area under the curve of the
acceleration-time graph, we can find the change in
velocity of an object in motion over a certain period.
❖ Some of Acceleration/Time Graphs:

(a) a-t graph of a particle in

uniformly accelerated
motion:
 (b) a-t graph of a particle in
uniformly decelerated
motion

Relative Velocity
Before we generalize to two
dimensions, let’s consider a familiar
situation involving relative velocity in
one dimension. You are driving east
along the highway at 100 km/h. The
car in the next lane looks like it is
barely moving relative to you, while a
car traveling in the opposite direction
looks like it is traveling at 200 km/h.
This is your perception, even though
the speedometers in all three vehicles
say that each car is traveling at about 100 km/h.
How can we explain your observations? First, consider the
velocity of your car relative to you. Even though your car is
zooming along the highway at 100 km/h (with respect to the road),
your car is at rest relative to you. To get a result of zero for the
velocity of your car relative to you, we subtract 100 km/h east
(your velocity with respect to the ground) from the velocity of the
car with respect to the ground. This method of subtracting your
velocity with respect to the ground also works to find the velocity
of something else (such as an oncoming car) with respect to you.
Subtracting your velocity from the velocity of other objects is
equivalent to adding the opposite of your velocity to these
velocities.

Relative motion in one dimensional

motion.
➢ Relative displacement of A with respect to B =position of A –
position of B
➢ And relative displacement of B respect to A = position of B –
position of A

Relative velocity in one dimension.

If the velocities of two particles A and B moving in the
same direction are Va and Vb respectively, we may define
the relative velocity of A with respect to B as :
𝑽AB = 𝑽a − 𝑽b
If the bodies are moving in opposite directions the
magnitude of the relative velocity of A respect to B is:
𝑽AB= 𝑽a− (−𝑽b) = 𝑽a + 𝑽b
 In both examples the particle A is called object and
particle B is called reference frame always the second
particle is called the reference frame.

Average Speed & Velocity

Calculating average speed from distance traveled and time
We define the average speed, vav, as the total distance traveled
divided by the time required to travel that distance. The unit of
speed is the meter per second (m/s) or the kilometer per hour
(km/h) [and, in America’s customary system of measurement, the
foot per second (ft/s) or the mile per hour (mi/h)]. If an object
travels 50 meters in 10 seconds, it has an average speed of 50
meters/10 seconds, or 5 meters per second. If an object travels a
distance of 100 kilometers in the course of an hour, it has an
average speed of 100 kilometers per hour. If an object travels 45
miles in the course of an hour, it has an average speed of 45 miles
per hour.

As an example:
Suppose a pig arises from a mud puddle and waddles 3.0
meters eastward in a straight line, then 4.0 meters northward in a
straight line, then 5.0 meters in a straight line back to the original
spot from which he started (see the picture above). Suppose also
that the 3 meter walk took 12 seconds,
the 4-meter walk 20 seconds, and the
5-meter walk 28 seconds. During the
first part of the walk, the average speed
is 3.0 meters/12 seconds, or 1/4 meters
per second (0.25 m/s). During the
second part of the walk, the average
speed is 4.0 meters/20 seconds, or 1/5
meters per second (0.20 m/s). On the
pig’s return to the mud puddle, the
average speed is 5.0 meters/28 seconds, or 5/28 meters per
second (0.18 m/s). Overall, the average speed for the trip was:
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑑
𝑣𝑎𝑣 =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒
So, in this case,
(3.0 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 + 4.0 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 + 5.0 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠) 12𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠
𝑣𝑎𝑣 = =
(12 + 20 + 28) 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠 60 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
1
= 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 = 0.20𝑚/𝑠
5

In summary, Average velocity is the total distance travelled

devided by the total time taken to travel this distance. It gives a
single value representing the overall rate of motion for the entire
journey, regardless of variations in speed during different
segments of the trip.
Average velocity is defined as the total displacement
divided by the total time taken for that displacement.
Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to the change in
position of an object and includes both magnitude and
direction.
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒
𝑨𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡

Instantaneous velocity
Instantaneous velocity is the rate at which an object's
position changes at a particular moment. It is the derivative of
the object's position with respect to time. In other words, it is
the slope of the position-time graph at a given point.
Instantaneous velocity is a vector quantity that describes
the velocity of an object at a specific moment in time. It provides
both the magnitude (speed) and direction of motion at that exact
instant.
TestBank
1) The figure below is the velocity vs. time graph for a moving body
along a straight line. What is the total displacement covered?

velocity
5

(a) 13.5 4
3

(b) 14 2
1
(c) 13 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
-1
(d) 20 Time
-2

Ans:

2) The velocity of a car is plotted as shown. Determine the total

distance the car moves until it stops (t = 80 s)
(a)800m velocity

12
(b)600m 10
8
(c)80 6

(d) 40 4
2
Ans: 0
0 20 40 60 80
Time (s)

3) The displacement of the object during the time interval from 2

to 3 seconds equals …….m
A-50
B- 30
C-25
D-10
Ans:
4) Two trains of equal length are running on parallel lines in the
same direction at 46 km/hr and 36 km/hr. The faster train passes
the slower train in 36 seconds. The length of each train is:

A 50 m B. 72 m
C. 80 m D .82 m
Ans:

5) A 270 metres long train running at the speed of 120 kmph

crosses another train running in opposite direction at the speed of
80 kmph in 9 seconds. What is the length of the other train?

A. 230 m B . 240 m
C. 260 m D. 320 m
Ans:

6) A police van moving on a highway with a speed of 30 km/h fires

a bullet at a thief's car speeding away in the same direction with a
speed of 192 km/h. If the muzzle speed of the bullet is 150 m/s,
with what speed docs the bullet hit the thief's car?

A . 540 m/s B .125 m/s

C . 378 m/s D . 105 m/
Ans:

7) A cruiser and a ship is moving in the same straight line towards

each other. The cruiser watched the ship, and when it is 20 km.
apart from it and moving with 40 km/hr. the cruiser fired a torpid
with a speed 108 km/h. If the speed of the cruiser was 52 km./hr.
at that moment, then find the time elapsed until the torpid
targeted the ship.
A .6 min. b . 5 min
C . 6 sec d . 5 sec
Ans:

8) Two trains running in opposite directions cross a man standing

on the platform in 27 seconds and 17 seconds respectively and
they cross each other in 23 seconds. The ratio of their speeds is

A. 1:3 B. 3:2
C. 34 D. None of these
Ans:

9) Two trains, each 100 m long, moving in opposite directions,

cross each other in 8 seconds. If one is moving twice as fast the
other, then the speed of the faster train is:
A- 30 km/h B- 45 km/h
C 60 km/h D- 74 km/h
Ans:

10) In the figure below:

what is the acceleration at 1 s?

A ) 2 𝑚 /𝑠 2 b )0
C) − 2.5 𝑚 /𝑠 2 D)10 𝑚 /𝑠 2
Ans:

11) In the previous figure:

what is the average acceleration from 0 to 5 s?

A − 2.5𝑚 /𝑠 2 B- 2 𝑚 /𝑠 2
C- 10 𝑚 /𝑠 2 D-0
Ans:
12) An object is thrown upward with velocity u, then the
displacement time graph is:

A- B-

c- 𝐷

Ans:

13) The velocity time plot for a particle moving on

a straight line is shown in the figure, then:

A- The particle has a constant acceleration

B- The particle has never turned around
C- The average speed in the interval 0 to 10s is the same average
speed in the interval 10s to 20s
D- Both A- and C- are correct
Ans:
14) If a body losses half of its velocity on penetrating 3 cm in a
wooden block, then how much will it penetrate more before
coming to rest?

A- 1 cm B- 2 cm
C- 3 cm D- 4 cm
Ans:

15) The velocity-time graph of the particle moving along a straight

line is shown. The acceleration and deceleration is constant and
it is equal to 5 m * s ^ - 2 If the average velocity during the motion
is 20m * s ^ - 1 then find the value of t.

A) 4
b) 5
C) 6
D) 8
Ans:

16) A car starts from rest and accelerates as shown in the graph
4.6
3.4
2.2
A)8 B)6
Acc (m/s2 )

1
-0.2
-1.4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C)4 D)2 -2.6
-3.8

Ans:
-5 T (s)
17) If the velocity versus time graph of an object is a horizontal
line not coincident on z-airs, the object is:
A- at rest.
B- moving with constant non-zero acceleration.
C- moving with infinite speed.
D -moving with constant non-zero speed
Ans:

18) the position / time graph ( x-t) for two children A and B
returning from their school to their home O to their home
P and Q respectively are shown in figures . Choose the
correct entries in the bracket :

A- lives closer to school than A

B- A starts from the school earlier than B
C- A walk faster than B
D- A and B reach home at the different
time
Ans:

19) A man goes 10m towards North, then 20m towards east then
displacement is :
(a) 22.5m (b) 25m (c) 25.5m (d) 30m
Ans:
20)

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21)

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22) A man walks on a straight road from his home to a market 2.5
km away with a speed of 5 km/h. Finding the market closed, he
instantly turns and walks back home with a speed of 7.5 km/h.
The average speed of the man over the interval of time 0 to 40
min. is equal to :
a) 5 km/h (b) 4 /25 km/h (c) 4/ 30 km/h (d) 8 /45 km/h
Ans:

23) The relation 3t = 3x + 6 describes the displacement of a

particle in one direction where x is in metres and t in sec. The
displacement, when velocity is zero, is:
(a) 24 metres (b) 12 metres (c) 5 metres (d) Zero
Ans:
24) The motion of a particle is described by the equation 2x= a+bt
where a =15 cm and b = 3 cm. Its instantaneous velocity at time 3
sec will be:
(a) 36 cm/sec (b) 18 cm/sec (c) 16 cm/sec (d) 32 cm/sec
Ans:

25) A train has a speed of 60 km/h for the first one hour and 40
km/h for the next half hour. Its average speed in km/h is :
(a) 50 (b) 53.33 (c) 48 (d) 70
Ans:

26)

Ans:

27) A car moving on a straight road covers one third of the

distance with 20 km/hr and the rest with 60 km/hr. The average
speed is
(a) 40 km/hr (b) 80 km/hr
(c) 46 2/3 km/hr (d) 36 km/hr
Ans:
28) The displacement of a particle, moving in a straight line, is
given by s = t2 + 2t + 4 where s is in metres and t in seconds. The
acceleration of the particle is :
(a) 2 m/s2 (b) 4 m/s2 (c) 6 m/s2 (d) 8 m/s2
Ans:

29) The position x of a particle varies with time t as x = at2 − bt3 The
acceleration of the particle will be zero at time t equal to:
(a) a/b (b) 2a/3b (c) a/3b (d) Zero
Ans:

30) The displacement of the particle is given by : y = a + bt + ct2−

dt 4 , The initial velocity and acceleration are respectively :
(a) b, −4d (b) −b, 2c (c) b, 2c (d) 2c,− 4d
Ans:

31) The relation between time t and distance x is , t =  x2 + x

where  and  are constants. The retardation is (v is the velocity)
(a) 2v3 (b) 2v3 (c) 2v3 (d) 22 v3

32) If displacement of a particle is directly proportional to the

square of time. Then particle is moving with:
(a) Uniform acceleration
(b) Variable acceleration
(c) Uniform velocity
(d) Variable acceleration but uniform velocity
Ans:

33)

Ans:

34) A train has a speed of 60 km/h for the first one hour and 40
km/h for the next half hour. Its average speed in km/h is :
(a) 50 (b) 53.33 (c) 48 (d) 70
Ans:

35) A body of mass 10 kg is moving with a constant velocity of 10

m/s. When a constant force acts for 4 sec on it, it moves with a
velocity 2 m/sec in the opposite direction. The acceleration
produced in it is :
(a) 3 m/s2 (b) − 3 m/s (c) 0.3 m/s2 (d) − 0.3 m/s2
Ans:
36)

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37)

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38)

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40)

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41)

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42) A student is standing at a distance of 50 metres from the bus.

As soon as the bus starts its motion with an acceleration of 1ms-2
the student starts running towards the bus with a uniform velocity
u . Assuming the motion to be along a straight road, the minimum
value of u , so that the students is able to catch the bus is :
(a) 5 ms-1 (b) 8 ms-1 (c) 10 ms-1 (d) 12 ms-1
Ans:

43) The velocity of a bullet is reduced from 200m/s to 100m/s

while travelling through a wooden block of thickness 10cm. The
retardation, assuming it to be uniform, will be :
(a) 10104 m/s2 (b) 12104 m/s2
(c) 13.5104 m/s2 (d) 15104 m/s2
Ans:

44) A body A starts from rest with an acceleration a1 . After 2

seconds, another body B starts from rest with an acceleration a2 .
If they travel equal distances in the 5th second, after the start of
A, then the ratio a1 : a2 is equal to :
(a) 5 : 9 (b) 5 : 7 (c) 9 : 5 (d) 9 : 7
Ans:

45) The average velocity of a body moving with uniform

acceleration travelling a distance of 3.06 m is 0.34 ms-1 .If the
change in velocity of the body is 0.18ms-1 during this time, its
uniform acceleration is:
(a) 0.01 ms-2 (b) 0.02 ms-2 (c) 0.03 ms-2 (d) 0.04 ms-2

46) A particle travels 10m in first 5 sec and 10m in next 3 sec.
Assuming constant acceleration what is the distance travelled in
next 2 sec :
(a) 8.3 m (b) 9.3 m (c) 10.3 m (d) None of above
Ans:

47) A body travels for 15 sec starting from rest with constant
acceleration. If it travels distances S1 , S2 and S3 in the first five
seconds, second five seconds and next five seconds respectively
the relation between S 1, S2 and S3 is
(a) S1 = S2 = S 3 (b) 5S1 = 3S2 = S3
(c) S1 = 1/3S2 =1/5 S3 (d) S1 =1/5 S2 = 1/3S3
Ans:

48) If a body having initial velocity zero is moving with uniform

acceleration 8 m/ sec2 , the distance travelled by it in fifth second
will be
(a) 36 metres (b) 40 metres (c) 100 metres (d) Zero
Ans:

49) The engine of a car produces acceleration 4m/sec2 in the car,

if this car pulls another car of same mass, what will be the
acceleration produced :
(a) 8 m/s2 (b) 2 m/s2 (c) 4 m/s2 (d) 1/2m/s2
Ans:

50) A body starts from rest. What is the ratio of the distance
travelled by the body during the 4th and 3rd second:
(a) 7/5 (b) 5/7 (c) 7/3 (d) 3/7
Ans: