NatSci2 PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

Lesson 2
FORCES AND MOTION

Introduction
The term “force” is generally used to indicate a push or a pull. It is difficult
to give a proper definition for a force, but in physics we can easily describe what a
force can do.
A resultant force acting on an object can accelerate the object in a specific
direction. The subsequent motion of the object can be analysed using equations of
motion. Several forces acting on an object can prevent the object from either
moving or rotating. Forces can also change the shape of an object. There are many
other things that forces can do.
The equations of motion are powerful tools for measuring and predicting the
motion of objects in situations where there is uniform acceleration. The division of
motion into vertical and horizontal components is a challenge but this skill is
fundamental to understanding the motion of projectiles.

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this lesson, the students will be able to:

1. Model the motion of objects using mathematics

2. Understand the effects that forces have on objects
3. Learn about the important connection between force and energy
4. Appreciate how forces cause deformation
5. Understand the importance of Newton’s laws of motion.

A. KINEMATICS

Kinematics is a branch of classical mechanics in physics in which one learns

about the properties of motions such as position, velocity, and acceleration of
bodies or particles without considering the causes or the drivng forces behind
them. We are interested in study of pure motion only, ignoring the dimensions,
shapes or sizes of objects under study and hence treat them like point objects.

What is motion?

The basic question to be asked is that “what exactly is motion?” and “how
do we measure it?” Motion can be defined as the change in position of an object
with reference to a fixed point or object with which we attach our coordinate system
and measure quantities related to it. In the broadest sense, motion is divided into
two categories: the translational motion, and the rotational motion.

Components of motion

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We need to recall some basic definitions and terms related to motion. The
physical quantities can be ‘scalar’ or ‘vector’. Scalar quantities are those which
have only magnitude, for example, energy, length, mass, speed, temperature, and
time. Vector quantities need both the magnitude and direction to represent these
quantities.
In one dimensional motion, a particle can move in two directions only, in
other words, along positive and negative axis. However, while studying two and
three dimensional motion, this conversion becomes less effective. Some of the
commonly used physical quantities that are considered vector quantities are
displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, and momentum.
In order to quantify motion, a mathematical coordinate system, called a
reference frame, is used to describe space and time. Once a reference has been
chosen, we can introduce the physical concepts of position, velocity, and
acceleration in a mathematically precise number. Figure 2.1 shows a Cartesian
coordinate system in one dimension with unit vector î pointing in the direction of
increasing x-coordinate.

Figure 2.1 A one-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

Position

Consider an object moving in one dimension. We denote the position

coordinate of the center of mass of the object with respect to the choice of origin
by x(t). The position coordinate is a function of time and can be positive, zero, or
negative, depending on the location of the object. The position has both direction
and magnitude, and hence is a vector (Figure 2.2).

We denote the position coordinate of the center of mass at t = 0 by the

symbol x0 = x(t = 0). The SI unit for position is the meter [m].

Figure 2.2 The position vector, with reference to a chosen origin.

Displacement

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The change in position coordinate of the mass between the times t1 and t2
is

This is called the displacement between the times t1 and t2 (Figure 2.3).
Displacement is a vector quantity.

Figure 2.3 The displacement vector of an object over a time interval is the
vector difference between the two position vectors.

Sample Problem 1

A particle starts from point A and stops at point B, both of which are diametrically
opposite to each other while covering the semi-circular part. If radius of the circular
path is 5m then find:
a. Distance covered by the particle, and
b. Displacement of the particle.

Solution:
a. distance covered = ½ x (circumference of the circle) = π x radius of the
circle = π x 5m = 15.7 m
b. displacement of the particle = distance between points A and B = length
of circles diameter = 2 x radius = 2 x 5m = 10 m
Note:
A vector quantity has a specific direction. So the displacement in this example is
vector AB. Again, the other vector, in other words, vector BA should not be
confused with vector AB. Though the two vectors have the same magnitude but
they have different directions, vector AB has direction from A to B whereas vector
BA has direction from B to A. Therefore, when the particle moved from point A to
B, we are to calculate displacement vector AB.

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Velocity

When describing the motion of objects, words like “speed” and “velocity” are
used in common language; however when introducing a mathematical description
of motion, we need to define these terms precisely.

Average Velocity

The component of the average velocity, ṽx, for a time interval Δt is defined
to be the displacement Δx divided by the time interval Δt,

The average velocity vector is then

The SI units for average velocity are meters per second [m-s-1].

Instantaneous Velocity

Consider a body moving in one direction. We denote the position coordinate

of the body by x(t), with initial position x0 at time t = 0. Consider the time interval [
t, t + Δt]. The average velocity for the interval Δt is the slope of the line connecting
the points (t, x(t)) and (t, x(t + Δt)). The slope, the rise over the run, is the change
in position over the change in time, and is given by

Let us see what happens to the average velocity as we shrink the size of
the time interval. The slope of the line connecting the points (t, x(t)) and (t, x(t +
Δt)) approaches the slope of the tangent line to the curve x(t) at the time t (Figure
2.4).

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Figure 2.4 Graph of position vs. time showing the tangent line at time t.

In order to define the limiting value for the slope at any time, we choose a
time interval (t, t + Δt). For each value of Δt, we calculate the average velocity. As
Δt 0, we generate a sequence of average velocities. The limiting value of this
sequence is defined to be the x-component of the instantaneous velocity at the
time t.

Instantaneous Velocity

The x-component of instantneous velocity at time t is given by the slope of

the tangent line to the curve of position vs. time curve at time t:

The instantaneous velocity vector is then

Acceleration

Acceleration is the quantity that measures a change in velocity over a

particular time interval. Suppose during a time interval Δt a body undergoes a
change in velocity

The change in the x-component of the velocity, Δvx, for the time interval [t, t
+ Δt] is then

Average Acceleration

The x-component of the average acceleration for the time interval Δt is

defined to be

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The SI units for average acceleration are meters per second per second, or
meters per second squared [m-s-2].

Instantaneous Acceleration

The x-component of the instantaneous acceleration at time t is the limit of

the slope of the tangent line at time t of the graph of the x-component of the velocity
as a function of time,

The instantaneous acceleration vector is then

The geometrical construction is illustrated in Figure 2.5.

Figure 2.5 Graph of velocity vs. time showing the tangent line at time t.

Since velocity is the derivative of position with respect to time, the x-

component of the acceleration is the second derivative of the position function,

Constant Acceleration

Now let us consider a body undergoing constant acceleration for a time

interval Δt = [0, t]. When the acceleration ax is a constant, the average acceleration
is equal to the instantaneous acceleration. Denote the x-component of the velocity

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at time t = 0 by vx,0 ≡ vx (t = 0). Therefore the x-compnent of the acceleration is

given by

Thus the velocity as a function of time is given by

When the acceleration is constant, the velocity is a linear function of time.

The constant-acceleration formulas for motion in a straight line

There are five frequently used formulas for motion in a straight line with
constant acceleration. The formulas are given in terms of the initial velocity u, the
final velocity v, the displacement (position) x, the acceleration a and the time
elapsed t.
It is assumed that the motion begins when t = 0, and that the initial position
is taken as the origin, that is, x(0) = 0.

The five (5) equations of motion

Sample Problem 1

A particle’s position is related to time as x = 2t3 + 4t2 – 6. Find the particle’s velocity
and acceleration at time t.

Solution: Acceleration is the time-derivative of velocity which itself is the time-

derivative of displacement. So we need to differentiate first the given equation with
respect to t to find the velocity v,

v = 2 x d/dt (t3) + 4 x d/dt (t2) – d/dt (0)

= 2 x (3t2) + 4 x (2t) – 0
= 6t2 + 8t

Now differentiating this equation again with respect to t will give us the
acceleration,

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a = 6 x d/dt (t2) + 8 x d/dt (t)

= 6 x (2t) + 8 x (1)
= 12t + 8

Sample Problem 2

A particle moves in a straight line with constant velocity so that, at time t seconds,
the position of the particle is x(t) meters, with respect to the origin O. Assume that
x(2) =-3 and x(5) = 6.
a. Find the displacement over the time interval [2,5].
b. Find the constant velocity.

Solution:
a. The displacement is x(5) – x(2) = 6 – (-3) = 9 m

x(5)−x(2)
b. The velocity is = -11/3 = -3.67 m/s
5−z

Sample Problem 3

A car is travelling at 100 km/h, and applies its brakes to stop. The acceleration is -
10 m/s2. How long does it take for the car to stop?

Solution:

After one second, the car’s velocity is 250/9 m/s – 10 m/s. After t seconds, its
velocity is

v(t) = 250/9 – 10t m/s

The car stops when v(t) = 0. Solving this equation gives

250/9 – 10t = 0; t = 25/9 s = 2.78 s

The car takes approximately 2.8 seconds to stop.

B. FREE-FALL (VERTICAL MOTION)

Motion due to gravity is a good context in which to demonstrate the use of the
constant-acceleration formulas. Acceleration due to gravity is a constant, with
magnitude denoted by g. We take the upwards direction to be positive and take g
= 9.81 m/s2.
Suppose you are holding a stone and throw it straight up in the air. For
simplicity, we will neglect all the effects of air resistance. The stone will rise and fall
along a line, and so the stone is moving in one direction. Let us choose a coordinate
system with the origin located at the ground, and the y-axis perpendicular to the

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ground with the y-coordinate increasing in the upward direction. With our choice of
coordinate system, the acceleration is constant and negative.

ay(t) = -g = -9.81 m/s2

Equations of Motions

We have already determined the position equation and velocity equation for
an object undergoing constant acceleration. With a simple change of variables
from x to y, the two equations of motion for a freely falling object are

And

Where y0 is the initial position from which the stone was released at t = 0, and vy,0
is the initial y-component of velocity that the stone acquired at t = 0 from the act of
throwing.

Sample Problem 1

A stone is launched vertically upwards from ground level with the initial velocity of
30 m/s. Assume that the acceleration is -10 m/s2.
a. Find the time taken for the stone to return to the ground again.
b. Find the maximum height reached by the stone.
c. Find the velocity with which it hits the ground.
d. Sketch the position-time graph and the velocity-time graph for the motion.
e. Find the distance covered by the stone from the launch to when it returns
to earth.

Solution:

Let u = 30 and a = -10, with up as the positive direction.

a. Using the third equation of motion, x = ut + ½ at2 , we have x = 30t – 5t2.

To find the time taken to return to the ground, we substitute x = 0 to obtain

0 = 30t – 5t2
0 = 5t(6 – t)

Thus, t = 0, or t = 6 seconds. The time taken to return to the ground is 6 seconds.

b. We can find the maximum height using the fourth equation of motion,

v2 = u2 + 2ax

When the stone reaches the highest point, v = 0.

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0 = 900 – 20x
x = 45 m

c. The stone hits the ground when t = 6 s. using the first equation of motion,

v = 30 – 10(6) = -30 m/s

d. From the third equation of motion, we have x(t) = 30t – 5t2

The first equation of motion gives v(t) = 30 – 10t

e. The maximum height reached by the stone is 45 m, and so the stone travels a
distance of 90 m.

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APPLICATION (Worksheet No. 1)

1. A man dives from a spring board where his center of gravity is initially 12 meters
above the water, and his initial velocity is 4.9 m/s upwards. Regard the diver as a
particle at his center of gravity, and assume that the diver’s motion is vertical.
a. Calculate the diver’s velocity after t seconds (up to when he hits the water).
b. Find the diver’s height above the water after t seconds (up to when he hits
the water).
c. Find the maximum height of the diver above the water.
d. Find the time taken for the diver to reach the water.
e. Sketch the velocity-time graph for this motion (up to when he hits the water).
f. Sketch the position-time graph for this motion (up to when he hits the water).

2. A car accelerates uniformly (constant acceleration) from 0 m/s to 30 m/s in 12

seconds, and continues to accelerate at the same rate. Find
a. the acceleration
b. the time it will take for the car to increase its velocity from 30 m/s to 80 m/s
c. the distance the car travels in the first 30 seconds of motion.

3. The position function of a particle is x(t) = 4 sin(2πt). Calculate

a. the velocity function
b. the velocity when t = 0.
c. the velocity when t = ¼.
d. the velocity when t = ½.
e. the velocity when t = 1.

4. A large stone is falling through a layer of mud. At time t seconds, the depth of
the stone in meters below the surface is given by x(t) = 20(1 – e-1/2).
a. Find the velocity function.
b. Find the acceleration function.
c. Find the position, velocity and acceleration when t = 1.
d. What happens to the position, velocity, and acceleration as t approaches
infinity?

5. A particle moves in a straight line. It is initially at rest at the origin. The

acceleration of the particle is given by

a(t) = 1/3cos3t

a. Find the velocity at time t.

b. Find the position at time t.
c. Sketch the position-time graph for t ϵ [0, 2π]

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Closure
Congratulations!!! You have finished Part 1 of Lesson 2.You are now ready to
move to the second part of lesson 2, as we will explore Newton’s laws of motion,
projectile motion, and circular motion.

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