Physics and Chemistry 4ºESO

Unit 2. Motion
INDEX
1.- Definitions

2.- Types of motion

2.1.- Uniform linear motion (ULM)

2.2.- Uniformly accelerated rectilinear motion (UARM)

2.2.1.- Free Fall

2.3.- Uniform circular motion (UCM)

Practice exam
Physics and Chemistry 4ºESO Unit 2: Motion

1. Definitions

To be able to start studying motion of bodies, we must decide when we consider that a body is
moving and when it does not move (it is at rest).. Imagine that there is a person sitting in the back seat of a
car that you are taking home. That person thinks that he is not moving, since every instant that passes by
until he reaches his house, he is sitting in the same seat. However, for another person
perso who is observing the
car from a sidewalk on the street, the person inside the car is actually moving, because the car is in a
different place at every moment. Therefore, rest and motion are relative concepts that depend on the
reference frame from where we are studying them.

ORIGIN OF THE REFERENCE FRAME: It is a point that we consider fixed (at rest) which will help us
decide whether a body is moving or not. We can choose the origin that best suits the situation to describe the
movement that is taking place.

REFERENCE FRAME: In the case of motion that takes place in a single dimension of space (1D), it
consists of a straight line, which is called the axis and includes the origin. When motion is in 1D and along
the horizontal direction, the x axis is used.
us If motion is alongg the vertical direction, the y axis is used.

When motion is in two dimensionss (in a plane), two perpendicular axes that intersectt at the origin are used (x
axis and y axis). For motion in 3 dim
mensions we use x, y and z axes.

POSITION: Location where a body is found at any time with respect to the origin origin of the reference frame. An
object’s position is determined by itts coordinates and their sign depend on the side of the axis that they are
on. [P (x,y,z)]. Therefore, the coordiinates depend on the selected reference frame.

For motion in 1D, if it is to the right of the origin, the coordinate of the position will have a positive
sign, and if it is to the left,
ft, it will have a negative sign. The S.I. unit for position is the metre, [m], but in the
exercises we can find any of its multiples and submultiples.

We will say that a body is moving when after a certain time its position varies with respect to the
origin
gin of the reference frame. The position that the body has at the beginning of motion is called the initial
position (x0) and the position it has at the end of motion is known as the final position (x).
(x

PATH taken or TRAJECTORY:: Line that connects the points points of all the positions through which an object in
motion travels over a period of time. time. The shapes of the paths are varied, including rectilinear, circular,
elliptical, parabolic or curvilinear. Motion
M can be complex: a combination of linear annd circular motion.

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Physics and Chemistry 4ºESO Unit 2: Motion

POSTION VECTOR (→):

A vector that is used to specify the position of an object in a frame of reference. It has its initial point
at the origin of the coordinate system and its endpoint is the position of the object. If motion takes place in
1D we can call it → or → .

The magnitude of the position vector is the same as the linear distance between the object and the origin of
the frame of reference. When the object is at rest in a frame of reference the position vector does not change
and when the object does move, its position vector changes and its endpoint follows the object’s path.
Imagine an object that at time tA, is at position A with vector position . After some time passes at time tB,
the object is at position B with vector position (figure below).

DISPLACEMENT VECTOR ( ): It is a vector that has its initial point at the starting point A and its
endpoint at the final point B. The displacement vector only gives information about the initial and the final
position, but not the path in between.
When motion takes place in 2D or 3D: = - Motion in 1D along the x axis: = → -

The S.I. unit for displacement vector is the metre, [m]. For motion in 1D along the x axis: when the
displacement vector has a negative sign it means that the object moves to the left and when it has a positive
sign it is because it moves to the right.

DISTANCE TRAVELLED (∆S): It is a scalar quantity that represents the length of the path between the
initial point and the final point. To determine the distance travelled along a path, we specify an origin, OT,
and measure distances relative to it. If at a point in time, t0, the object is in position s0, and at some later time
t, it is at position s, then its displacement along the path in the time interval ∆t = t – t0 is given by: ∆s = s – s0
The S.I. unit for the distance travelled is the metre, [m].
When an object follows rectilinear motion without changing direction, the distance travelled is the distance
measured along the path between the object’s initial position and its final position (which is the magnitude of
the displacement vector, ∆s = ∆r).

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Physics and Chemistry 4ºESO Unit 2: Motion

Example: An object moves halfway around a radius R = 2 m. Calculate the distance travelled and the
magnitude of the displacement vector.

Solution: Given that the diameter of a circle is twice the radius and knowing the
circumference’s length (L = 2 · π · R),
∆r = 2 • R = 2 • 2 m = 4 m
∆s = ( 2̟ • R) / 2 = ̟ • 2 m = 6’28 m

VELOCITY VECTOR (→): It is a vector quantity that describes how a moving object’s position changes. It
is the measurement of the rate at which bodies move. Two different bodies can move along the same path but
use different amounts of time. In this way we can say that one object is slower / faster than another (we can
compare their motion rates). Its magnitude is called SPEED (v). It is important to state its direction and
sense.

AVERAGE VELOCITY VECTOR ( ): It is calculated as the ratio between the displacement vector and the
time used to travel it. The S.I. unit for velocity is the metre per second, [m / s].

Magnitude: vm = = =
!

According to this equation, velocity presents the same direction and sense as the displacement
vector, since a time interval is always positive. According to the reference frame that I have defined in the
figure on the second page, when velocity has a negative sign it means that the object moves to the left and
when it has a positive sign it is because it moves to the right.

INSTANTANEOUS VELOCITY VECTOR (→): You will learn how to calculate it in future courses. It is
the velocity that the object has at a certain moment of the motion. The instantaneous velocity is a vector
tangent to the path at each point (see figure below) whose magnitude is called speed.

ACCELERATION VECTOR (→): It is the measurement of the rate at which a body's velocity varies.
"
When velocity increases in a time interval, the acceleration has a positive sign and we say that the object
speeds up. On the other hand, when velocity decreases in a time interval, the acceleration has a negative sign
and we say that the object is slowing down.

AVERAGE ACCELERATION VECTOR ( ): it is calculated as the ratio between the variation of

"
velocity and the time interval taken.
The S.I. unit for acceleration is the metre per second squared, [m / s2].

# $ %
Magnitude: am = = =
!

Its direction and sense are the same as the ones for

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Physics and Chemistry 4ºESO Unit 2: Motion

INSTANTANEOUS ACCELERATION VECTOR(→): You will learn how to calculate it in future courses.
"
It is the acceleration that the object experiences at a certain moment of the motion.

INTRINSIC COMPONENTS OF ACCELERATION

They are the result of decomposing the acceleration vector in two

directions: one tangent to the path and one perpendicular.

TANGENTIAL ACCELERATION ( ): This is the component along the

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direction tangent to the path, the same as the velocity vector, and it tells
you about changes in speed (∆v).

NORMAL ACCELERATION ( ): (also called centripetal acceleration)

"'
it has a perpendicular direction to the tangent of the path. It tells you about
changes in the direction and sense of the velocity vector.

TYPES OF MOTION DEPENDING ON THE INTRINSIC COMPONENTS OF ACCELERATION

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions (explain your answers):

a) Are you moving right now?
b) Andrea is on a moving train. From Andrea’s point of view, is it the train or the streetlights of a city what is
moving?
c) Define with your words the reference frame
d) What are we referring to if we say that Marta walks 300 m before resting?
e) In which case does a moving body have a displacement equal to zero?

Exercise 2. State the kind of path (rectilinear, circular, elliptical or curvilinear) that the following objects are
following:
a) The minute hand of a clock
b) An apple that falls directly from a tree to the ground
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Physics and Chemistry 4ºESO Unit 2: Motion

c) A pendulum
d) The blades of a fan
e) A ray of light
f) Earth around the Sun

Exercise 3. Draw these positions in a Cartesian coordinate system: (3, 2), (3, –2), (–2, –3) and (–2, 3). If an
object begins at the first point and moves through the next points in a straight line and returns to the first one,
what shape is its path? Draw another path that passes through the same points in the same order but that has
curves and circular sections.

Exercise 4. Two bodies start their motion from point A and arrive at point B (add a drawing to your
explanation)
a) Can we say that they follow the same path?
b) Can we say that they perform the same displacement?

Exercise 5. A body moves in a straight line between A and B, which are separated by 10 m. It starts from A
and makes the journey four times, finally returning to B:
a) What is the distance travelled?
b) What is the displacement?

Exercise 6. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt surprised the world at the 2008 Olympics by running the 100-metre
race in 9’69 s. If a swimmer does it in 54’0 s. Calculate and compare their average velocities.

Exercise 7. In an 800-metre race, we observe that world champion David Rudisha passes the 150 m mark
after 19 s.
a) How fast if he running?
b) What will be the final time of the race if he maintains this speed?

Exercise 8. A cyclist travels at 8 km/h. If he starts from a position that is 1’5 km to the left of a lamppost that
he takes as a reference and move to the right, what will his position be after 1’5 h?
(The first thing to do to solve this exercise is to draw the reference frame and write down all the data given)

Exercise 9. Calculate, using the equation of the average velocity:

a) The distance that a motorcycle traveling at 90 km/h travels in 20 min
b) The distance a snail travels in 5 min if it travels in a straight line 10’8 m in 1’5 h.
c) The time that a light aircraft takes to finish a trip of 1656 km if the average velocity with which it is made
is 720 km/h

Exercise 10. Calculate the average acceleration of:

a) A car traveling at 72 km/h and when it sees an obstacle on the road, brakes so that in 2 s it reaches a speed
of 36 km/h
b) A space shuttle that reaches in 2 min a speed of 2’9 • 104 km/h
c) A bike that runs at 11 m/s and brakes until it stops in 5’5 s