Physics 111: Mechanics

Lecture 2
Wenda Cao
NJIT Physics Department

Motion along a straight line

Motion
Position and displacement
Average velocity and average speed
Instantaneous velocity and speed
Acceleration
Constant acceleration: A special case
Free fall acceleration

September 8, 2

Motion

Everything moves!
Motion is one of the
main topics in
Physics 111
Simplification:
Moving object is a
particle or moves
like a particle: point
object
Simplest case:
Motion along straight
line, 1 dimension

LAX
Newark

September 8, 2

One Dimensional Position x

What is motion? Change of position over time.

How can we represent position along a straight
line?
Position definition:

Defines a starting point: origin (x = 0), x relative to

origin
Direction: positive (right or up), negative (left or
down)
It depends on time: t = 0 (start clock), x(t=0) does
not have to be zero.

x =meters.
+ 2.5 m
Position has units of [Length]:
x=-3m

September 8, 2

Vector and Scalar

A vector quantity is characterized by having both

a magnitude and a direction.

A scalar quantity has magnitude, but no direction.

Distance, Mass, Temperature, Time

For the motion along a straight line, the direction

is represented simply by + and signs.

Displacement, Velocity, Acceleration, Force

, a, F ......
Denoted in boldface type with an arrow over the vtop.

+ sign: Right or Up.

- sign: Left or Down.

2-D and 3-D motions.

September 8, 2

Quantities in Motion

Any motion involves three concepts

Displacement
Velocity
Acceleration

These concepts can be used to study

objects in motion.

September 8, 2

Displacement

Displacement is a change of position in time.

Displacement: x x f (t f ) xi (ti )

f stands for final and i stands for initial.

It is a vector quantity.
It has both magnitude and direction: + or - sign
It has units of [length]: meters.
x (t ) = + 2.5 m
1

x2 (t2) = - 2.0 m
x = -2.0 m - 2.5 m = -4.5 m
x1 (t1) = - 3.0 m
x2 (t2) = + 1.0 m
x = +1.0 m + 3.0 m = +4.0 m
September 8, 2

Distance and Position-time

graph

Displacement in space

Distance is the length of a path followed by a particle

From A to B: x = xB xA = 52 m 30 m = 22 m
From A to C: x = xc xA = 38 m 30 m = 8 m
from A to B: d = |xB xA| = |52 m 30 m| = 22 m
from A to C: d = |xB xA|+ |xC xB| = 22 m + |38 m 52 m| = 36 m

Displacement is not Distance.

September 8, 2

Velocity

Velocity is the rate of change of position.

Velocity is a vector quantity.
Velocity has both magnitude and direction.
Velocity has a unit of [length/time]: meter/second.
Definition:

Average velocity

Average speed

Instantaneous
velocity

vavg

x x f xi

t
t

savg

total distance
t

x dx

t 0 t
dt

v lim

September 8, 2

Average Velocity

Average velocity
vavg

x x f xi

t
t

It is slope of line segment.

Dimension: [length/time].
SI unit: m/s.
It is a vector.
Displacement sets its
sign.

September 8, 2

Average Speed

Average speed
savg

total distance

Dimension: [length/time],
m/s.
Scalar: No direction involved.
Not necessarily close to Vavg:

Savg = (6m + 6m)/(3s+3s) = 2

m/s
Vavg = (0 m)/(3s+3s) = 0 m/s

September 8, 2

Graphical Interpretation of
Velocity

Velocity can be determined

from a position-time graph
Average velocity equals the
slope of the line joining the
initial and final positions. It
is a vector quantity.
An object moving with a
constant velocity will have
a graph that is a straight
line.

September 8, 2

Instantaneous Velocity

Instantaneous means at some given instant. The

instantaneous velocity indicates what is happening at
every point of time.
Limiting process:

Chords approach the tangent as t => 0

Slope measure rate of change of position

Instantaneous velocity:
x dx
v lim

t 0 t
It is a vector quantity.
dt
Dimension: [Length/time], m/s.
It is the slope of the tangent line to x(t).
Instantaneous velocity v(t) is a function of time.

September 8, 2

Uniform Velocity

Uniform velocity is constant velocity

The instantaneous velocities are always the
same, all the instantaneous velocities will also
equal the average velocity
x x f xi
Begin with v x
thenx f xi vx t
t

x
x(t)
vx

xf
xi
0

v(t)

ti

tf

September 8, 2

Average Acceleration

Changing velocity (non-uniform) means an

acceleration is present.
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity.
Acceleration is a vector quantity.
Acceleration has both magnitude and direction.
Acceleration has a unit of [length/time2]: m/s2.
v v f vi
a

Definition:
avg
t t t
f

Average acceleration

v dv d dx d 2 v
Instantaneous accelerationa lim t dt dt dt dt 2
t 0

September 8, 2

Average Acceleration

Average acceleration
aavg

v v f vi

t t f ti

Velocity as a function of time

v f (t ) vi aavg t

When the sign of the velocity and the acceleration are

the same (either positive or negative), then the speed
is increasing
When the sign of the velocity and the acceleration are
in the opposite directions, the speed is decreasing
Average acceleration is the slope of the line connecting
the initial and final velocities on a velocity-time graph

September 8, 2

Instantaneous and Uniform

Acceleration

The limit of the average acceleration as the time

interval goes to zero
v dv d dx d 2 v
a lim
t 0

dt

dt dt

dt 2

When the instantaneous accelerations are

always the same, the acceleration will be
uniform. The instantaneous acceleration will be
equal to the average acceleration
Instantaneous acceleration is the
slope of the tangent to the curve
of the velocity-time graph

September 8, 2

Relationship between
Acceleration and Velocity

Velocity and acceleration are in

the same direction
Acceleration is uniform (blue
arrows maintain the same length)
Velocity is increasing (red arrows
v f (t ) vi at
are getting longer)
Positive velocity and positive
acceleration

September 8, 2

Relationship between
Acceleration and Velocity

Uniform velocity (shown by red

arrows maintaining the same
size)
Acceleration
v f (t ) equals
vi at zero

September 8, 2

Relationship between
Acceleration and Velocity

Acceleration and velocity are in

opposite directions
Acceleration is uniform (blue
arrows maintain the same length)
Velocity is decreasing (red arrows
are getting shorter)
v f (t ) vi at
Velocity is positive and
acceleration is negative

September 8, 2

Kinematic Variables: x, v, a

Position is a function of time: x x (t )

Velocity is the rate of change of position.
Acceleration is the rate of change of
velocity.
x dx
v dv
v lim

a lim

t 0 t
dt
t 0 t
dt
d
dt

d
dt

Position
Velocity
Acceleration
Graphical relationship between x, v, and a

An elevator is initially stationary, then moves upward,

and then stops. Plot v and a as a function of time.

September 8, 2

Motion with a Uniform

Acceleration

Acceleration is a constant
Kinematic Equations

v v0 at
1
x v t (v0 v)t
2

x v0t 12 at 2
2

v v0 2ax
2

September 8, 2

Notes on the Equations

Given initial conditions:

a(t) = constant = a, v(t=0) = v0, x(t=0) = x0

Start with

aavg

We have

v v v0 v v0 v v0

a
t t t0
t 0
t

v v0 at

Shows velocity as a function of acceleration and time

Use when you dont know and arent asked to find
the displacement

September 8, 2

Notes on the Equations

Given initial conditions:

a(t) = constant = a, v(t=0) = v0, x(t=0) = x0

Start with

Since velocity change at a constant rate, we have

vavg

x x0 x

t
t

1
x vavg t (v0 v)t
2

Gives displacement as a function of velocity and

time
Use when you dont know and arent asked for the
acceleration

September 8, 2

Notes on the Equations

Given initial conditions:

a(t) = constant = a, v(t=0) = v 0, x(t=0) = x0
x vavg t

1
(v0 v)t
2

Start with

v v0 at

We have

1
1
x (v0 v)t (v0 v0 at )t
2
2

1 2
x x x0 v0 at
2

Gives displacement as a function of time, initial velocity

and acceleration
Use when you dont know and arent asked to find the
final velocity

September 8, 2

Notes on the Equations

Given initial conditions:

a(t) = constant = a, v(t=0) = v 0, x(t=0) = x0

Start with aavg

We have

v v v0

a
t
t

v v0
t
a

v 2 v0
1
1
x (v0 v)t
(v v0 )(v v0 )
2
2a
2a
2

v 2 v0 2ax v0 2a( x x0 )

Gives velocity as a function of acceleration and

displacement
Use when you dont know and arent asked for the
time

September 8, 2

Problem-Solving Hints

Read the problem

Draw a diagram

Choose a coordinate system, label initial and final

points, indicate a positive direction for velocities
and accelerations

Label all quantities, be sure all the units are

consistent
v v0 at

Convert if necessary

You may have to solve two equations for two

unknowns

2
1

v
t

at
0
2
Choose the appropriate kinematic equation
2
Solve for the unknowns
v 2 v0 2ax

Check your results

Estimate and compare

Check units

September 8, 2

Free Fall Acceleration

y

Earth gravity provides a constant

acceleration. Most important case
of constant acceleration.
Free-fall acceleration is
independent of mass.
Magnitude: |a| = g = 9.8 m/s2
Direction: always downward, so a g
is negative if define up as
positive,
a = -g = -9.8 m/s2
Try to pick origin so that x i = 0

September 8, 2

Free Fall Acceleration

x
0

Two important equation:

v v0 gt
1 2
x x0 v0t gt
2
Begin with t0 = 0, v0 = 0, x0 = 0

So, t2 = 2|x|/g same for two balls!

Assuming the leaning tower of
Pisa is 150 ft high, neglecting air
resistance,
t = (21500.305/9.8)1/2 = 3.05 s

September 8, 2

Summary
This is the simplest type of motion
It lays the groundwork for more complex motion
Kinematic variables in one dimension

Position x(t)
m
L
Velocity v(t)
m/s
L/T
Acceleration
a(t)
m/s2
L/T2
All depend on time
All are vectors: magnitude and direction vector:

Equations for motion with constant acceleration:

x x0

missing quantities

v v0 at

x x0 v0t 12 at 2
2

v t v0 2a ( x x0 )

x x0 12 (v v0 )t

v0

x x0 vt 12 at 2

September 8, 2