LINEAR MOTION

2.1 Apply the concept of linear motion

2.1.1 Define linear motion

 Linear motion considers objects which move in a straight line only.

 The direction can either be in a horizontal, vertical or inclined direction.
 Linear motion can be:
1. Uniform
2. Non-uniform.

2.1.2 Define uniform and non- uniform motion

EXPLANATION EXAMPLE
1. A train going along the tracks
at steady speed.

 movement with a velocity that is

constant and stable 2. A cooling fan running at a
fixed speed.

UNIFORM
3. A lorry moving in a straight
MOTION
 with constant velocity or zero line.
acceleration

4. A falling coconut.
 the object should be running at
a constant speed on a straight
direction

EXPLANATION EXAMPLE
 body that is moving along a 1. A snake crawling
straight line does not travel
equal distances in equal
amounts of time
NON- 2. A roller – coaster ride.
UNIFORM
MOTION  Velocity and/or acceleration in
non-uniform are changing in
3. Throwing a ball
unpredictable ways

Page | 1
2.1.3 Define:

DISTANCE, d DISPLACEMENT,s
Definition: Definition:
the distance travelled by an object is the Displacement of an object from a point of
total length that is travelled by that object. reference, O is the shortest distance of the
SI unit: meter (m) object from point O in a specific direction.
Quantity: Scalar SI unit: meter (m)
Quantity: Vector
Example:

The distance that Johan travels from his house to the factory is 200m.
The displacement of Johan from his house after arriving at the factory is 120m.

SPEED VELOCITY
Definition: Definition:
Speed is defined as the rate of Velocity is defined as the rate of
change in distance. It is a measure of displacement change. It is the measure of
how fast the distance change in a how fast the displacement change of a
movement. moving object.
SI unit: meter/second (m/s)
SI unit: meter/second (m/s)
Quantity: Scalar
Quantity: Vector
Formula of speed:
v = speed Formula of velocity:
d v = speed
v d = distance s
t t = time taken
v s = displacement
t t = time taken

Average velocity =
total displaceme nt
v
total time

ACCELERATION
Definition:
Acceleration is defined as the rate of acceleration
velocity change. It is a measure of how
fast the velocity change.
SI unit: meter/second square (m/s2) deceleration
Quantity: Vector
Formula of acceleration: v = final velocity
vu u = initial velocity Footnote: An object moving with a velocity that
a t = time taken is decreasing is said to be
t
experiencing deceleration (-a).

Page | 2
2.1.4 Solve the related problems by using kinematic formula

KINEMATIC FORMULA s displacement m

1. v = u + at a acceleration m/s2
2
2. v = u2 + 2as t time s
3. s = ½ (v + u) t u Initial velocity m/s
4. s = ut + ½ at2 v Final velocity m/s

EXERCISE :
1. A bus starting from rest moves up a hill with a constant acceleration of 10m/s2.
Calculate the time taken for the bus to move 150m up the hill.
s 150 m 1
s  ut  at 2
a 10 m/s2 2
t ? 1
150  0(t )  (10)t 2
u 0 (rest) 2
v x 150  5t 2

150
t2   30
5
t  30  5.477 s

2. Salleh is driving his van with velocity of 100 m/s. He steps on his brake to reduce the
velocity of the van to 30 m/s after travelling 5000 m. Calculate the deceleration and the
time taken while the car decelerates.

3. A motorcycle started from a rest and accelerated at 20m/s2 for 10 seconds. Calculate
the distance covered by the motorcycle.

Page | 3
4. An airplane travelling at 2000m/s is accelerated uniformly at 200m/s2.
i. the airplane’s speed after 15s.
ii. the distance has it travelled at that point of time.

5. A car accelerates from rest to 5 ms-2 for 20 second. Then, the brake is applied with a
constant force to stop the car at 30 meter.
i. Determine the velocity achieved.
ii. the distance travelled after 10 second
iii. Find the value of the car’s acceleration after the brake is applied

Page | 4
6. A steel ball started moving with a velocity of 5 m/s. After travelling a distance of
10 m, it gets a velocity of 25 m/s. Find its:
i. Acceleration
ii. Time taken for the journey.

7. Ahmad drove a car with a velocity of 110 km/h when he noticed a cow in the middle of
the road 400 m ahead of him. He braked instantly and the car stops after 10 seconds.
i. Calculate the deceleration of the car.
ii. Calculate the distance travelled by the car from the time Ahmad applied the
brake until it stops.
iii. Was he able to avoid the cow?

Page | 5
8. A motorboat increases its speed uniformly from 30 ms-1 to 50 ms-1 in a distance of
0.2 km. Calculate:
i. Acceleration
ii. Time for the motorboat to travel in a distance of 0.5 km.

9. An aircraft accelerates uniformly from rest at 5 m/s2 to reach its take-off velocity of 80
m/s.
i. the time taken for the aircraft to leave the ground.
ii. the distance does it travel during the take-off.

10. A space-rocket is launched and it accelerated uniformly from rest to 1500 m/s in 5
minutes. Calculate how far the rocket travelled within that time

Page | 6
2.2 Solve problems of linear motion from velocity – time graph

2.2.1 Calculate:

Motion of an object along straight line with acceleration (a), initial velocity (u), final velocity
(v), displacement (s) and time can be shown in a VELOCITY – TIME GRAPH.

Velocity, v (m/s)

Initial velocity, v
Final velocity, v

Constant acceleration, a a=v–u

deceleration, -a
t
Initial velocity, u
Final velocity, v
u
time (s)
Area of graph = displacement / distance travelled

EXAMPLE:

Figure above shows the graph of velocity time for the motion of an object. Find

a. Acceleration of the car in the first 3 s

Answer: 10m/s2

b. Deceleration of the car before it stops

Answer: -13.333m/s2
Average velocity:
c. total distance travelled =
Answer: 235m total displaceme nt
v
total time
d. average velocity of the car
Answer: 23.5m/s

Page | 7
EXERCISE:
1. Figure (a) shows the velocity–time graph of the motion of a motorcycle on a straight
road.

i. Calculate the initial acceleration of the motorcycle

ii. How much time is taken when the motorcycle moves at a uniform velocity?
iii. Calculate the total distance taken by the motorcycle.

Page | 8
2. The following graph represents the movement of a car. Answer the questions
according to the graph.

i. Determine the initial velocity

ii. Calculate the initial acceleration
iii. Determine the value of V if the acceleration is -8 m/s2
iv. Calculate the total distance travelled by the car

Page | 9
3. Figure shows the velocity - time graph for the motion of an object. Calculate:

i. Acceleration of the car in the first 3 s.

ii. Deceleration of the car before it stops.
iii. Total distance travelled.
iv. Average velocity of the car.

Page | 10
4. Figure below shows the velocity-time graph of a railway coach from A to D. The
railway coach decelerates from 40 m/s to 10 m/s in 10 seconds. The coach moves with
uniform velocity and finally accelerates for 7 seconds to reach a velocity of 30m/s. The
whole journey from A to D is 1000 m. Calculate:

i. The acceleration of the coach.

ii. The distance travelled when the coach is accelerating.
iii. The distance travelled when the coach is decelerating.
iv. The time taken when the coach is moving at a constant velocity.

Page | 11
2.2.2 Sketch velocity – time graph.

EXERCISE:
1. A car starts from 30 m/s and accelerates at a constant acceleration of 4m/s2 for 10 s.
Then it travels at a constant velocity for 15 s. Then, the brakes are applied and the car
stops in 9 s.
i. Calculate the maximum velocity attained by the car
ii. Sketch a velocity-time graph for the whole journey
iii. From the velocity-time graph, determine the total distance travelled

Page | 12
2. A lorry moves from a stationary state, undergoes uniform acceleration for 200m in 5
seconds. After 5 seconds, the lorry moves at a constant velocity for half a minute. The
lorry then stops in 10 seconds. Based on the given situation:
i. Sketch the velocity-time graph
ii. Calculate the acceleration of the lorry for the first 5 seconds
iii. Calculate the deceleration of the lorry
iv. Calculate the total displacement of the lorry

Page | 13
3. A car starting from rest accelerates uniformly to reach velocity of 72 km/h after 10s. It
continues at this velocity for 10s. It then accelerates again to reach 35 m/s after a
further 15s. Then it starts to decelerate for 3.5m/s2 until it rests.
i. Calculate the time taken for the car to totally rest.
ii. Plot a velocity-time graph for the car.
iii. Calculate the total distance travelled by the car.

Page | 14
4. A cyclist leaves her home and travels along a straight road. She accelerates to a speed
of 12 ms-1 in the first 5s. Then, she travels at a constant speed for a further 17s. A cat
jumps out onto the road and she immediately applies brakes and slows down
uniformly before coming to a rest. The total motion takes 26 s.
i. Sketch the velocity-time graph.
ii. Calculate the value of acceleration in the first 5 s.
iii. Calculate value of deceleration after brake is applied.
iv. Calculate the total distance travelled by the cyclist.

Page | 15
5. The speed of a car travelling along a straight road decreases uniformly from 12m/s to
8m/s over 88m before it stops.
i. Sketch the velocity-time graph for the motion of the car.
ii. Time taken for the car to decrease from 12m/s to 8m/s.
iii. Deceleration of the car.
iv. Time taken for the car to stop from speed 12m/s.
v. Total distance travelled by the car.

Page | 16