PET-2021 Page [1] PHYSICS

MOTION IN ONE DIMENSION SHORT POINTS

Rest and Motion: If a body does not change its position as time passes with respect to frame of
reference, it is said to be at rest. And if a body changes its position as time passes with respect to
frame of reference, it is said to be in motion.
Frame of Reference: It is a system to which a set of coordinates are attached and with reference
to which observer describes any event.
Note: Rest and motion are relative terms. It depends upon the frame of references.

Distance: It is the actual length of the path covered by a moving particle in a given interval of time.
Distance is a scalar quantity.
Displacement : Displacement is the change in position vector i.e., A vector joining initial to final
position. Displacement is a vector quantity.
Comparison between distance and displacement:
(i) The magnitude of displacement is equal to minimum possible distance between two
positions therefore Distance  |Displacement|.
(ii) For a moving particle distance can never be negative or zero while displacement can be.
(zero displacement means that body after motion has came back to initial position) i.e.,
Distance > 0 but Displacement > = or < 0
(iii) For motion between two points, displacement is single valued while distance depends on
actual path and so can have many values.
(iv) For a moving particle distance can never decrease with time while displacement can.
Decrease in displacement with time means body is moving towards the initial position.
(v) In general, magnitude of displacement is not equal to distance. However, it can be so if the
motion is along a straight line without change in direction.
(vi) If 𝑟𝐴 and 𝑟𝐵 are the position vectors of particle initially and finally.
Then displacement of the particle 𝑟𝐴𝐵 = 𝑟𝐵 − 𝑟𝐴 and s is the distance
travelled if the particle has gone through the path APB

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Speed and Velocity:
Speed: The rate of distance covered with time is called speed. It is a scalar quantity having
symbol .
Types of speed:
(a) Uniform speed: When a particle covers equal distances in equal intervals of time, (no matter
how small the intervals are) then it is said to be moving with uniform speed. In given illustration
motorcyclist travels equal distance (= 5m) in each second. So we can say that particle is moving
with uniform speed of 5 m/s

(b) Non-uniform (variable) speed: In non-uniform speed particle covers unequal distances in
equal intervals of time. In the given illustration motorcyclist travels 5m in 1 st second, 8m in
2nd second, 10m in 3rd second, 4m in 4th second etc. Therefore its speed is different for
every time interval of one second. This means particle is moving with variable speed.

(c) Average speed: The average speed of a particle for a given ‘Interval of time’ is defined as
the ratio of total distance travelled to the time taken.

Note:- Time average speed : When particle moves with different uniform speed 1 , 2 , 3
... etc in different time intervals t1 , t2 , t3 , ... etc respectively, its average speed over the
total time of journey is given as

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Distance averaged speed: When a particle describes different distances d 1, d2, d3, ...... with
different time intervals t1, t2, t3, ...... with speeds, v1, v2, v3 , ......respectively then the speed of
particle averaged over the total distance can be given as

(d) Instantaneous speed: It is the speed of a particle at a particular instant of time. When we
say ‚speed‛, it usually means instantaneous speed. The instantaneous speed is average
speed for infinitesimally small time interval (i.e., t  0 ). Thus

Velocity: The rate of change of position i.e. rate of displacement with time is called velocity. It is a
vector quantity having symbol 𝑣 .

(a) Uniform velocity: A particle is said to have uniform velocity, if magnitudes as well as
direction of its velocity remains same and this is possible only when the particles moves in
same straight line without reversing its direction.

(b) Non-uniform velocity: A particle is said to have non-uniform velocity, if either of magnitude
or direction of velocity changes or both of them change.

(c) Average velocity: It is defined as the ratio of displacement to time taken by the body

(d) Instantaneous velocity: Instantaneous velocity is defined as rate of change of position

vector of particles with time at a certain instant of time.

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Comparison between average speed and average velocity:
(a) Average speed is a scalar while average velocity is a vector both having same units (m/s)
and dimensions [ LT 1] .
(b) Average speed or velocity depends on time interval over which it is defined.
(c) For a given time interval average velocity is single valued while average speed can have
many values depending on path followed.
(d) If after motion body comes back to its initial position then 𝑣av  0, (as 𝑟  0  ) but vav  0
and finite as (s  0) . (e) For a moving body average speed can never be negative or zero
(unless t  ) while average velocity can be i.e. vav  0 while a 𝑣 = or < 0.
(f) As we know for a given time interval
Distance  |displacement |Average speed  |Average velocity|
Acceleration The time rate of change of velocity of an object is called acceleration of the
object. (1) It is a vector quantity. It’s direction is same as that of change in velocity (Not of
the velocity)

Types of acceleration:
(i) Uniform acceleration: A body is said to have uniform acceleration if magnitude and
direction of the acceleration remains constant during particle motion.
(ii) Non-uniform acceleration: A body is said to have non-uniform acceleration, if either
magnitude or direction or both of them change during motion.

The direction of average acceleration vector is the direction of the change in velocity vector as

Note:
(i) Acceleration can be positive, zero or negative. Positive acceleration means velocity
increasing with time, zero acceleration means velocity is uniform constant while negative
acceleration (retardation) means velocity is decreasing with time.
(ii) For motion of a body under gravity, acceleration will be equal to ‚g‛, where g is the
acceleration due to gravity. Its value is 9.8 m/s2 or 980cm/s2 or 32feet/s2.
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POSITION TIME GRAPH
During motion of the particle its parameters of kinematical analysis (v, a, s) changes with time.
This can be represented on the graph. Position time graph is plotted by taking time t along x-axis
and position of the particle on y-axis.

Let AB is a position-time graph for It is clear that slope of tangent on position-time graph
any moving particle represents the velocity of the particle.
Various position -time graphs and their interpretation

 = 0° so v = 0 i.e., line parallel to time axis represents

that the particle is at rest.

 = 90° so v =  i.e., line perpendicular to time axis

represents that particle is changing its position but time
does not changes it means the particle possesses infinite
velocity. Practically this is not possible.

 = constant so v = constant, a = 0 i.e., line with constant

slope represents uniform velocity of the particle.

 is increasing so v is increasing, a is positive. i.e., line

bending towards position axis represents increasing
velocity of particle. It means the particle possesses
acceleration.

 is decreasing so v is decreasing, a is negative i.e., line

bending towards time axis represents decreasing velocity
of the particle. It means the particle possesses
retardation

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 constant but > 90o so v will be constant but negative

i.e., line with negative slope represent that particle
returns towards the point of reference. (negative
displacement).

Straight line segments of different slopes represent that

velocity of the body changes after certain interval of time.

Note: If the graph is plotted between distance and

time then
it is always an increasing curve and it never comes back
towards origin because distance never decrease with
time. Hence such type of distance time graph is valid up
to point A only, after point A, it is not valid as shown in
the figure.
Velocity-time Graph The graph is plotted by taking time t along x-axis and velocity of the particle on y-axis.
Calculation of Distance and displacement : The area covered between the velocity time graph
and time axis gives the displacement and distance travelled by the body for a given time interval.
Total distance= |A1 |+ |A2 |+ |A3 | Total displacement  A1  A2  A3
Example:
Area above time axis is taken as positive, while area below time axis is taken as negative here A1
and A2 are area of triangle 1 and 2 respectively and A3 is the area of trapezium .

Calculation of Acceleration: Let AB is a velocity-time graph for any moving particle

By comparing (i) and (ii) Acceleration (a) = tan It is

clear that slope of tangent on velocity-time graph
represents the acceleration of the particle.
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Various velocity -time graphs and their interpretation

 = 0°, a = 0, v = constant i.e., line parallel to time axis represents

that the particle is moving with constant velocity.

 = 90o , a = , v = increasing i.e., line perpendicular to time axis

represents that the particle is increasing its velocity, but time does
not change. It means the particle possesses infinite acceleration.
Practically it is not possible.

 = constant, so a = constant and v is increasing uniformly with time

i.e., line with constant slope represents uniform acceleration of the
particle.

 increasing so acceleration increasing i.e., line bending towards

velocity axis represent the increasing acceleration in the body

 decreasing so acceleration decreasing i.e. line bending towards

time axis represents the decreasing acceleration in the body

Positive constant acceleration because  is constant and < 90o but

initial velocity of particle is positive.

Positive constant acceleration because  is constant and < 90o but

initial velocity of the particle is negative

Negative constant acceleration because  is constant and > 90o but

initial velocity of the particle is positive

Negative constant acceleration because  is constant and > 90o but

initial velocity of the particle is zero.

Negative constant acceleration because  is constant and > 90o but

initial velocity of the particle is negative.

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EQUATIONS OF MOTION
These are the various relations between u, v, a, t and s for the particle moving with uniform
acceleration where the notations are used as:
Vi or u = Initial velocity of the particle at time t = 0 sec
Vf or V = Final velocity at time t sec
a = Acceleration of the particle
s = Distance travelled in time t sec s
n = Distance travelled by the body in nth sec
(1) When particle moves with zero acceleration
(i) It is a unidirectional motion with constant speed.
(ii) Magnitude of displacement is always equal to the distance travelled.
(iii) V i = Vf = V, s = Vt [As a = 0]
(2) When particle moves with constant acceleration
(i) Acceleration is said to be constant when both the magnitude and direction of
acceleration remain constant.
(ii) There will be one dimensional motion if initial velocity and acceleration are parallel or
anti-parallel to each other.

Motion of Body Under Gravity (Free Fall): The force of attraction of earth on bodies, is called
force of gravity. Acceleration produced in the body by the force of gravity, is called acceleration
due to gravity. It is represented by the symbol g. In the absence of air resistance, it is found that all
bodies (irrespective of the size, weight or composition) fall with the same acceleration near the
surface of the earth. This motion of a body falling towards the earth from a small altitude (h << R)
is called free fall. An ideal example of one-dimensional motion is motion under gravity in which air
resistance and the small changes in acceleration with height are neglected.
(1) If a body is dropped from some height (initial velocity zero)
(i) As h = (1/2)gt 2 , i.e., h  t 2 , distance covered in time t, 2t, 3t, etc., will be in the ratio
of 12 : 22 : 32 , i.e., square of integers.
(ii) The distance covered in the nth sec hn=1/2 g(2n-1), so distance covered in 1st, 2nd,
3rd sec, etc., will be in the ratio of 1 : 3 : 5, i.e., odd integers only.
u = 0 [As body starts from rest]
a = +g [As acceleration is in the direction of motion]

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(2) If a body is projected vertically downward with some initial velocity

(3) If a body is projected vertically upward

(i) Equation of motion: Taking initial position as origin and direction of motion (i.e., vertically
up) as positive a = – g [As acceleration is downwards while motion upwards] So, if the body
is projected with velocity u and after time t it reaches up to height h then

(4) The motion is independent of the mass of the body, as in any equation of motion, mass is
not involved. That is why a heavy and light body when released from the same height,
reach the ground simultaneously and with same velocity i.e.,

(5) In case of motion under gravity, time taken to go up is equal to the time taken to fall down
through the same distance. Time of descent (t ) = time of ascent (t ) = u/g  Total time of
flight T = t 1 + t 2= 2u/ g.

(6) In case of motion under gravity, the speed with which a body is projected up is equal to the
speed with which it comes back to the point of projection. As well as the magnitude of
velocity at any point on the path is same whether the body is moving in upwards or
downward direction.

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(7) A body is thrown vertically upwards. If air resistance is to be taken into account, then the
time of ascent is less than the time of descent. t 2 > t1
Let u is the initial velocity of body then time of ascent and height is equal to:

where g is acceleration due to gravity and a is retardation by air resistance and for upward
motion both will work vertically downward. For downward motion a and g will work in
opposite direction because a always work in direction opposite to motion and g always
work vertically downward.
Time of descent:

TRIPS AND TRICKS

1. During translational motion of the body, there is change in the location of the body.
2. During rotational motion of the body, there is change in the orientation of the body, while
there is no change in the location of the body from the axis of rotation.
3. For one dimensional motion the angle between acceleration and velocity is either 0° or 180°
and it does not change with time
4. The particle speed up, that is the speed of the particle increases when the angle between 𝑎
and v lies between –90° and +90°.
5. The particle speeds down, that is the speed of the particle decreases, when the angle
between 𝑎 and v lies between +90° and 270°.
6. The speed of the particle remains constant when the angle between 𝑎 & v is equal to 90°.
7. Displacement of a particle is the unique path between the initial and final positions of the
particle. It may or may not be the actually travelled path of the particle.
8. Displacement of a particle gives no information regarding the nature of the path followed by
the particle. 
9. Magnitude of displacement  Distance covered.
10. Since distance  |Displacement|, so average speed of a body is equal or greater than the
magnitude of the average velocity of the body.
11. The average speed of a body is equal to its instantaneous speed if the body moves with a
constant speed.
12. No force is required to move the body or an object with uniform velocity.
13. Velocity of the body is positive, if it moves to the right side of the origin. Velocity is negative
if the body moves to the left side of the origin.  When a particle returns to the starting point,
its displacement is zero but the distance covered is not zero.
14. When a body reverses its direction of motion while moving along a straight line, then the
distance travelled by the body is greater than the magnitude of the displacement of the
body. In this case, average speed of the body is greater than its average velocity.
15. When particle moves with speed v1 up to half time of its total
motion and in rest time it is moving with speed v 2 then:
s
16. When particle moves the first half of a distance at a speed of v1
and second half of the distance at speed v2 then

17. When particle covers one-third distance at speed v1 , next one

third at speed v2 and last one third at speed v3 , then

18. For two particles having displacement time graph with slopes
1 and 2 possesses velocities v1 and v2 respectively then.
19. Velocity of a particle having uniform motion = slope of displacement–time graph.
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20. Greater the slope of displacement-time graph, greater is the velocity and vice-versa.
21. Area under v–t graph = displacement of the particle.
22. Slope of velocity-time graph = acceleration.
23. If a particle is accelerated for a time t1 with acceleration a1 and for time
t2 with acceleration a 2 then average acceleration is
24. If same force is applied on two bodies of different masses m 1 and m2
separately then it produces accelerations a1 and a2 respectively. Now
these bodies are attached together and form a combined system and
same force is applied on that system so that a be the acceleration of
the combined system, then
25. If a body starts from rest and moves with uniform acceleration then distance covered by the
body in t sec is proportional to t 2 (i.e. s  t2). So we can say that the ratio of distance
covered in 1 sec, 2 sec and 3 sec is 12 : 22 : 32 or 1 : 4 : 9.
26. If a body starts from rest and moves with uniform acceleration then distance covered by the
body in nth sec is proportional to (2n 1) (i.e. sn  (2n –1)), So we can say that the ratio of
distance covered in 1st, 2nd and 3rd is 1 : 3 : 5.
27. A body moving with a velocity u is stopped by application of brakes after covering a
distance s. If the same body moves with velocity nu and same braking force is applied on it
then it will come to rest after covering a distance of n 2 s

So we can say that if u becomes n times then s becomes n 2 times that of previous value.
28. A particle moving with uniform acceleration from A to B along a straight line has velocities
1 and 2 at A and B respectively. If C is the mid-point between A and B then velocity of the
particle at C is equal to

29. The body returns to its point of projection with the same magnitude of the velocity with
which it was thrown vertically upward, provided air resistance is neglected.
30. All bodies fall freely with the same acceleration.
31. The acceleration of the falling bodies does not depend on the mass of the body.
32. If two bodies are dropped from the same height, they reach the ground in the same time
and with the same velocity.
33. If a body is thrown upwards with velocity u from the top of a tower and another body is
thrown downwards from the same point and with the same velocity, then both reach the
ground with the same speed.
34. When a particle returns to the starting point, its average velocity is zero but the average
speed is not zero.
35. If both the objects A and B move along parallel lines in the same direction, then the relative
velocity of A w.r.t. B is given by v AB = v A – v B and the relative velocity of B w.r.t. A is given
by v BA = v B – v A

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36. If both the objects A and B move along parallel lines in the opposite direction, then the
relative velocity of A w.r.t. B is given by v AB = v A – (– v B ) = v A + v B and the relative
velocity of B w.r.t. A is given by v BA = – v B – vA
37. Suppose a body is projected upwards from the ground and with the velocity u. It is assumed
that the friction of the air is negligible. The characteristics of motion of such a body are as
follows.
(i) The maximum height attained = H = u 2 /2g.
(ii) Time taken to go up (ascent) = Time taken to come down (descent) = t = u/g.
(iii) Time of flight T = 2t = 2u/g.
(iv) The speed of the body on return to the ground = speed with which it was thrown
upwards.
(v) When the height attained is not large, that is u is not large, the mass, the weight as
well as the acceleration remain constant with time. But its speed, velocity,
momentum, potential energy and kinetic energy change with time.
(vi) Let m be the mass of the body. Then in going from the ground to the highest
point, following changes take place.
(a) Change in speed = u
(b) Change in velocity = u
(c) Change in momentum = m u
(d) Change in kinetic energy = Change in potential energy = (1/2) mu 2 .
(vii) On return to the ground the changes in these quantities are as follows
(a) Change in speed = 0
(b) Change in velocity = 2u
(c) Change in momentum = 2mu
(d) Change in kinetic energy = Change in potential energy = 0
(vii) If, the friction of air be taken into account, then the motion of the object thrown
upwards will have the following properties
(a) Time taken to go up (ascent) < time taken to come down (descent)
(b) The speed of the object on return to the ground is less than the initial speed.
Same is true for velocity (magnitude), momentum (magnitude) and kinetic
energy.
(c) Maximum height attained is less than u 2 /2g.
(d) A part of the kinetic energy is used up in overcoming the friction.
34. A ball is dropped from a building of height h and it reaches after t seconds on earth. From
the same building if two balls are thrown (one upwards and other downwards) with the
same velocity u and they reach the earth surface after t 1 and t 2 seconds respectively then

A particle is dropped vertically from rest from a height. The time taken by it to fall through
successive distance of 1m each will then be in the ratio of the difference in the square roots
of the integer’s i.e.

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