t6

Chapter

Describing Motion

A humorous story about a small-time country farmer illustrates this relationship. The farmer was visited by his big-time cousin. Anxious to make a good impression, the host spent the morning showing his cousin around his small farm.
At lunch the cousin could not resist the urge to brag that on his ranch he could
get into his car in the early morning and drive until sunset and he would still be on
his property. The country farmer thought for a moment and said, "I had a car like
that once."
To measure speed, we need a device for measuring distance, such as a ruler,
and one for measuring time, such as a clock. Most highways have mile markers
along the side of the road so that maintenance and law enforcement officials can
accurately find certain locations. These mile markers and your wlistlvatch give you
all the information you need to determine average speeds.
Assuming thatwe begin "thinking metric," speeds have units such as meters per
second (m/s) or kilometers per hour (kmlh). A person walks about 1{ meters per
second, and a car traveling at 70 miles per hour is going approximately 113 kilo-

meters per hour.

=E
o

Mile markers and your wristwatch

can be used to calculate your
average speed.

PHYSICS onYourown
Estimate the average speed of an everyday object such as a falling leaf, a falling snowflake, or a wave traveling fiom one end of your bathtub to the other.

lnnaes oF

r./unrr

SPEED

Problem Solving to Acdottp;nny

From the earliest cave drawings to modern time-lapse photography, it has been a
part of human nature to try to represent our experiences. Artists,

as

well

as

scientists,

have devised many ways of illustrating motion. A blurred painting or photograph

such as that in Figure 2-1 is orte way to "see" motion. One difference between the
artist and the scientist is that the scientist uses the representations to anaLyze the

e!

motion.

'A.lerer

imagb of motion that also provides a way of measuring the speed of an

obiect is tlre mqltiple-exposure photograph. These photographs are made in a totally dark ioom with a stroboscope (usually just called a "strobe") and a camera
with an open shutter. A strobe is a light source that flashes at a con$tant, control-

Figure 2-1 The blurring of the

background tells us that the race
car is moving,

Images of Speed,

. iiiagram of a moving

puck shows its position at different times.

'. lire duration of each flash is very short (about ten-millionths

. .:'.iring a still image of the moving object.

of a sec-

':r obe flashes ten times per second, the resulting photograph will show
.ii r;rf the object at time intervals of *l of a second. Thus, we can "freeze"
. :. ,rf the object into a sequence of individual events and use this repre,,r rreasure its average speed within each time iqtewal.
.-: f a.lmple of measuring average speed, let's determine the average speed
r in Figure 2-2. The puck travels from a position near the 4-centimeter
,,o' ,reaithe 76-centimeter mark, a total diitance of 72 centimeters. Since
- .: ':\ n images, there are six intervals; the total time taken is six times the
-., rtn flashes-that is, 0.60 second. Therefore, thb averhge speed is

s=4:ry+:
, u.b

r2ocm/s

:., ,ilso determine the average speed of the puck between each pair of ad..:rrs. -\llowing for the uncertainties in reading the values of the positions
. -. i. rhe average speed for each time interval is the same as the overzll av.-: rlefore, the puckwas traveling at a constant speed of 120 centimeters per
. .,

:.' rse volr live 40 miles

from school and it takes you 2 hours to drive home.

:: .,ir- speed during the trip is

l:!:4olliles:zomiltt
t2hh
:i6

1",

:1#;::i; l

'.i{Srf:
,,'b:l

:.::r! ihat, on the average, you travel a distance of 20 iniles during each hour
Ti:is answer is read "20 miles per hour" and is often written as 20 miles,/
r .:l:breviated as 20 mph. It is important to include the units with your an-r-,.,:d of "20" does not make any sense. It could be 20 miles per hour or
::. uer \re?rr very different avera8e speeds.
--,.1:.. r'ou probablyweren t moving at 20 mph during much of your trip. At
. :i'rlv have been stopped at traffic lights; at trthertimes you may have travI ::rph. The use of average speed disregards the details of the trip. Despite
: ioncept ofaverage speed is a useful notion.

'

Q$[SnOil What

is the average speed of an airplane that fties 3000 miles in

5 hours?
ANSW E

R Using our definition for average speed, we have

-s: -d :
I

3000 rniles

---

6 hours

-:

500 mph

,7

l8

Chapter

Describing Motion

Aaerage Speed

ryruire

If you know the average speed, you can determine other information about
the motion. For instance, you can obtain the time needed for a trip. Suppose
you plan to drive a distance of 60 miles with the cruise control set at b0 mph.
How long will the trip take?
Without consciously doing any calculation, you can probably guess that
the answer is a little over t h. How do you get a more precise answer? you divide the distance traveled by the average speed. For our example we obtain
time
taken

*-

distance traveled

t:

average speed

60 miles
50

1'2 h

"rtl.yh

You can also calculate how far you could drive if you traveled with a
specified average speed for a specified time. Suppose, for example, you ptan
to maintain an average speed of 50 mph on an upcoming trip. How far can
you travel if you drive an 8-h day?

/ miles \
:
d: it: (50
h /(8 h)

distance traveled = average

speed x fime taken

Th.r"fo..,

400 miles

you would expect to drive 400 miles each day.

lxsrexreuEaus Speeo
The notion of average speed is limited in most cases. Even something as simple as
your trip home from school is a much richer motion than our concept of average
speed indicates. For example, it doesn t distinguish the parts of your trip when you
were stopped waiting for a traffic light to change from those parts when you were
exceeding the speed limit. The simple question "How fast were you going as you
passed Third and Vine?" is not answered by knowing the average speed.
e
?
6

FigUfe 2-3 A speedometer tells you

the car's instantaneous speed.

To answer the question "How fast were you going at a specific point?" we neecl
to consider a new concept known as the instantaneous speed. This more complete
description of motion tells us how fast you were traveling at any instant during your
trip. Since this is the function of your car's speedomerer (Figure 2-3), the idea is
not new to you, although its precise definition might be.
Actually, the definitions of average and instantaneous speeds are quite similar.
They differ only in the size of rhe time'interval involved. Iiwe want to know how

Conceptual Questions

',,iiffi

suitIUlARY

29

'

motion
r;:.r: building a physics world view with the study of motion because

the motion
:::iirant chaiacteristic of the universe. We can obtain data about
' i.:-( from strobe photographs. The average speed s of an object is the dis., , ir rravels divided by tie time t it takes to travel this distance, s: d/t''the
or kilome, : .l speed are distance divided by time, such as meters per Second
.r:

itottr.

a very small time

t?fle ous speed is equal to the average speed taken over
- Speed in a Siven direction is known as velocig" a vector quantlty'
':.
and direc.,,-oiacement is a vector quantity giving the straight-line distance
Average velocity is the change in
.,1 ,,* u. initial position to a final position.
.

We can determine how long

it witltake a train to reach

.,r,.11f

its destination if we know

its average speed and how
far it has to go. The travel

A'x/ At'
it takes to make the
time
the
by
divided
in
veiocity
change
,,
the
. f leration is
is a vector. The units for.acceleration are equal
-,, . V = A,a/ Lt.Accelerition
(kilo-- speed divided by time such as (meters per second) per second or

,:-,-displacement-divided by the time.taken,tr

':.

time is equal to the distance divided bY the aver'

'rf
:ler hour) per second.

age speed.

any air
.',lijeo reasoned that all objects fall at the same rate in the absence of
fall
with a
., l:ii. Furthermore, he discovered that these free-falling obljects
- , acceleration of about 1 0 (meters per second) per second'
:

':

,,.-',,,.1.1+.ii1+}.- KEY

TER

the
.{r.*.ig acceleration: The change in velocity divided by

;
^

,,ies to make the change, Z : Lu/Lt' Measured in units

itleters per second) per second' An accelera[ion can re:r tr change in speed, a change in direction' or both'

ir.*'3ge speed: The distance traveled divided by the time

'.
= dit. Measured in units such as meters per second or
: ltottr.
et
-r :':ge velocity: The change in position-displacement-

ilI S

't'ljr'"',

'r

instantaneous speed: The average speed for avery small time

interval. The magnitude of the instantaneous velocity'
magnitude: The size of a vector quantity' For example' speed
is the magnitude of the velocitY'

vector: A quantity with a magnitude and a direction' Examples

are displacement, velociry and acceleration'

vetocity: A vector quantity that includes the speed and direcdon ofan obiect.

.-.*..iliC8lllJit:Avectorquantitygivingthestraight-lingdis-,
..,'ril

tlirection from an initial position to a final position'

.rlibe the motion depicted in the following

strobe

'.irro

'L

libe the motion of the pucks in the strobe Photo-

rhs. (Assume that the pucks move from left to right and
iral retrace their Paths.)

.r ouesdons (and exercises) have been paired: Most oddthat

I {uestions are followed by an even-numbered question
'r:llar. Sl'rort answers to most odd-numbered questions (and
. ..re oiovided at the back of the book' The more challenging
. ,." indicated bv an asterisk ( + ) .

3.

Where does the ball shown in the following strobe drawing

have the slowest sPeed?

iii

*a ;j.lr ,3i {ar

i'i,

30

Chapter

4. Where is the

Describing Motion

speed the fastest in the following strotre

drawing?

**SGS
5.

S I & *

{F

Sketch a strobe drawing for the following description of a

caterpillar moving along a straight branch. The caterpillar
begins from rest and slowly accelerates to a constant speed.

It then

a rest.

5. A car is driving along a straight highway at a constant speed

when it hits a mud puddle, slowing it down. After the
puddle, the driver speeds up until he is going faster than
before hitting the puddle and then sets the cruise control.
Make a strobe drawing for this motion.

7. Draw a strobe photograph for a sprinter running the

100-yard dash. Represent the sprinter's motion from
the firing of the starting gun until she stops after passing
the finish line.

8. An ice climber falls from a fiozen waterfall into a large

snowdrift and gradually comes to rest. Draw a strobe diagram of the climber's motion from the moment he falls un-

til he comes to rest.

9. Which (if either)

,-;
,,

at 4 P.M.?

20. An ancient marathoner covered the first 20 miles of the

race in 4 hours. Can you determine how fast he was running when he passed the 1O-mile marker?

2t.

Which of the following can be used to measure an average

speed: stopwatch, odometer, or speedometer? An instantaneous speed?

22. What are the units of the physical properties measured by

a stopwatch, an odometer, and a speedometer?

23. \A/hat

the essential difference between speed andvelocity?

25. In the following strobe drawings, which object (if either)

has the greater acceleration?

10 minutes?

b.e

12. "In Aesop's fable of the tortoise and the hare, the "faster"
hare loses the race to the slow and steadyltortoise. During
the race, which animal has the greater average speed?

is

24. If you are told that a car is traveling 65 mph east, are you
being given the car's speed or its velocity?

a.*

You are clriving down the road, with the cruise control set
to 45 mph. You see a rabbit on the road, hit your brakes,
and bring your car to rest. Is your average speed while braking greater than, equal to, or less than 45 mph?

important than

t9. A truck driver averages 92 kilometers per hour between

2 p.pr. and 6 p.u. Can you determine the speed of the truck

has the greater average speed: a truck

that travels from milepost 92 to milepost 100 in 10 minutes,
or a car that travels from milepost 113 to milepost 120 in

10. Which (if either) has the greater average speed: a car that
travels from milepost 35 to milepost 40 in 5 minutes, or one
that travels from milepost 68 to milepost 78 in 10 minutes?

l.

18. Why is it not correct to say that time is more

distance in determining speed?

slows down to a slower constant speed. Finally it gets

tired and stops for

17. How might you estimate your speed if the speedometer in

your car is broken?

& S *

& S A &

&

25. The following strobe drawings represent the motions of

two cars a and b. During which interval of the motion of
car a is the average speed of car a approximately equal to
the average speed ofcar b?

AB C
a.&*
s
b.e *
s

&

&

&

&

13. Pat arid Chris both travel from Los Angeles to New York
along the same route. Pat rides a bicycle while Chris drives
a fancy sports car. Unfortunately, Chris's car breaks down
in Salt Lake City for over a week, causing the two to arrive
in New York at exactly the same time. Compare the average speeds and highest instantaneous speeds of the hr',o
fravelers-

14. A book falls off a shelf and lands on the floor. Which is
greater, the book's average speed or its instantaneous
speed right before it lands?

15. For the following strobe drawing, compare the instantaneous speeds at points C and D to the average speed for the
time interval between C and D.

AB

{*s

t&

t6. For the following strobe drawing, compare the instantaneous speeds at points C and D to the average speed for the
time interval between C and D.

B
,&

DE

&s

21. Which of the following (if any) could nol be considered an

"accelerator" in an automobile-gas pedal, brake pedal, or
steering wheell

28. In what sense can the brakes on your bicycle be considered

an "accelerator"?

29. In which of the following nvo strobe photographs is the acceleration of the puck constant? Explain your reasoning.
Assume that the puck moves from left to right without retracing its path.

Conceptual

45. How did the ideas of Galileo and Aristotle differ concerning the motion of a freely falling object?

a*es

46. A sheet ofpaper and a book fall at different rates unless the
paper is wadded up into a ball, as shown in the figure. How
would Galileo and Aristotle account for this?

.a *l

"f* #is]

'.

:.-.r that an airplane accelerates from 550 mph to

" : .:;ir. a car accelerates from 60 mph to 67 mph, and a
' ....' :cceierates from 0 to 10 mph. If all three vehicles
, :',rlish these changes in the same length of time,
:. , ,ne (if any) has the largest acceleration?

.
.

.,

3!

dropped a hammer and a feather from the same height,

which one hit the ground first?

motion of the ball shown in each of the strobe

':qs. (Assume that the ball moves from left to right.)
Lre the

af

Questions

..i,:.lr accelerates from 0 to 30 mph in 2 seconds and a

,:: eccelerates from 20 mph to 45 mph in 2 seconds,

r i:re has the larger acceleration?

::i car accelerates ftom 65 mph to 75 mph in 2 sec-

' -, , i:ile a minivan accelerates from 20 mph to 35 mph

- *t :,.:rds. Which one has the larger acceleration?
- , "':;r Caravan has a speed of 50 mph and an.accelera'

. J irnph) per second. A Ford Taurus has a speed of

r: ancl an acceleration of 1 (mph) per second. \A4rich
,' ihe higher speed after 10 seconds have elapsed?

:::]]

*"!
l"d

'
:

..."

..

,.
,

47.

:1'j sav that light objects and hear,y objects fall at the
.1:.. 1{hat assumPtion(s) are we making?
: ..,

lear the

:
.,

r:h a constant

'.,

ball and a 1-pound ball from the top of a grain elevator.

The two balls have the same size and shape. \{ihat actually

surface of the Moon can be. described as

.rar.rding on a high cliffabove the ocean. You drop

' .,:. and it strikes the water 4 seconds later. Ignoring
-. how fast was the pebble travel:- ri of air resistance,
' '-rlbre striking the water?

A student decides to test Aristotle's and Galileo's ideas

about free fall by simultaneously dropping a 20-pound
happens?

48. A Ping-Pong ball and a golf ball have approximately the

same size but very different masses. Which hits the ground
first if you drop them simultaneously from a tall building?
Do not neslect the effects of air resistance.

'. ,r'a ball straight up in the air. The'instant after

.r. ! ., ,,,.:r- hand the ball's speed is 30 meters per second.
:;. ..':,r:he effects of air resistance, predict how fait the '
u

,' ,

.:

ire

.'

aveling 2 seconds later.

lls to the acceleration of a ball in free fall if tlie

in half?

:s cr.tt

' r.ive the same size but are made from di$erent'
- .,i'.e from rubber and the other from steel. How

gl

.....rierations compare after theyare dropped?

' .. juncing on a trampoline while holding a bowling

- :.- '.,lLrr feet leave the trampoline, you let go of the
, :r - ha1l. Do you rise to a higher, the same, or a lower
, -' ::r.u-r if you had held onto the bowling ball?
'.
.
.
.
':

r bouncing on a trampoline while holding

bowling
:.i loLrr feet leave the trampoline, you let go of the
. :i hall. When you reach your maximum height, is the
. . ":< ball above, beside, or below you?
,r

i:'.:i1 and a feather are placed inside a long cylinder,

:::r air is pumped out. When the cylinder is inverted,
.. ir hits the bottom

l:.t \loon

first-the

penny or the feather?

is a good place to study free fall because

it

49. A Ping-Pong ball and a marble are dropped side by side

from the top of the biology building. Which ball

resistance.

50. A Ping-Pong ball and a marble are both thrown straight

up in the air at the same initial speed. \4/hich ball has
the greater acceleration? Do not ignore the effects of air
resistance.
is bounced on the floor. Compare the
trall's acceleration on the way down to its acceleration on its

5t. A hard rubber'ball

has

:r,l atmosphere. An astronaut on the Moon simultaneouslv

has

the greater acceleration? Do not ignore the effects of air

way back up.

- g--il

12

fi

Chaptn

Describing Motion

&

*
*

52. How (if at all)

Llp a ramP cliffer from that of one that is rolling down the
ramp?

*$

s
$
.*i

the acceleration would change if we do nol ignore air r

does the acceleration of a cylinder rolling

sistance? ExPlain Your reasoning'

54.

*53. Ifwe ignore air resistance, the acceleration ofan object

fi
If we do not neglect air resistance, during which of the
mor
the
change
speed
a
ball's
does
fall
free
of
5 seconds

that is falling downward is constant' How do you suPPose

&
E
&

$
E

i*

&

The top speed of the Concorde is 1450 mph' Given that

l.

2.

mile

1.61 km, what is this speed

in km/h?

Top professional pitchers can thror'ti fastballs at speeds of

100 mph. Given that 1 mph : 0'447 m/s, what is this

truck
17. A car speeds up from 40 mph to 70 mph to Pass a
the c:
of
acceleration
average
the
is
this requires 6 s, what

t8. In 1999 the world's record for top fuel dragsters

speed in meters Per second?

50 in your car' At
r.u. you pull into a rest stop at mile marker 215' \{hat
was your average speed during this dme?
To be eligible to enter the Boston Marathon, a race that

3. At exactly noon, you pass mile marker

2:30

4.

dirtrtt.. of 26.2 miles, a runner must be able to

than 3 h. What minimum average speed must
less
in
finish
be maintained to accomPlish this?

1989 Ann Trason broke the U'S' womens record for a

24-h run by covering a distance of 143 miles' Whatwas her
average sPeed?

5. The 10,000-m rtrn world record

lvas the

is 26 min 22'75 s' What

runner's average speed in m/s?

7. How far car. a bus travel in

19. A child traveling 5 m/s on a sled passes her younl

brother. Ifher average acceleration on the sledding hil

her ok
2 m/sz, how fast is shi traveling when she passes
brother 4 s later?

20.
21.

secor
You throw a ball straight up at 30 m,/s' How many
m/s?
10
at
downward
traveling
elapse before it is

You are trying to decide whether to jump offa cliffinto

cl
water below, Lut you cannot judge the height of the
You drop a pebbte and note that it takes 2 s to hit the war

How high is the cliff?

h at an average speed of

60 mPh?
-! ,

speed of 70 m/s, how many.kilometers can

a cyclist travel in an 8-h daY?

8. At an average

*9.

Starting at 9 A.M., you hike for 3 h Qt an average speed of

p'rr'r' What is
stop for lunch fiom noon until 2
,4
' mphlYou
from I a'u' to 2 P'M'?
interval
the
over
speed
rr"rug.
,uo,ri

* 10. Your plan was to be on the road by 9 A'M', butyou did not
leave the garage until 10 A.M' You then drove with the
cruise control set at 75 mph until stopping at noon' What
9 a'N{'
was your average speed over the time interyal frqm
noon?
to
I I . If a cheetah runs at 25 m/s' how long will it take a cheetah
to rlrn a 100-m dash? How does this compare with human
times?

12. How many hours would be required to make a 4400-km

trip across the United States if you average 80 km/h?
I

3. If a runner can average 4 mph, can he complete

supermarathon in

less

100-mile

than 24 h?

14. At an average speed of 125 mph, how long would it take a

race car to complete a 500-mile race?

15. A Chevrolet Corvette can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in

5.2 s. What is the car's average acceleration in mph/s?

16. If a Cessna 172 requires 20 s to reach its liftoffspeed of

' .!2Okm/h,what is its average acceleration?

4'4

speed?

covers a

5. In

was

tri
to travel ] mile from a standing start' The dragster was
elng 326.44mph at the end of the quarter mile' What v
the iragster's ir.rug. acceleration? What was its avera

I=0