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Motion
An object is said to be in motion if its position changes with time. To measure
change in position, we need a reference point (called Origin).

Motion is relative
It means a person sitting in a moving train seems at rest to fellow passengers,
while he seems to be moving for people on the platform.

Think and Act

Motion can be useful or harmful to us. For example the Erratic and uncontrolled
motion of water in a tsunami or flood can be dangerous. Whereas controlled
motion of water in a river can be useful for hydroelectric power.

Distance & Displacement

An object starts from O (reference point). It goes till A and then comes back to
C.

The total path length covered will be (60+35) = 95km.

This path length is called Distance.
Distance is the actual length of the path covered by a body.
Distance has only magnitude. It has no direction. Hence Distance is a Scalar
quantity.
SI unit = meter (m).

However, If we want to locate the final position of the object w.r.t its initial
position or we want to know how far the object has moved from its initial
position, then we need Displacement.
Displacement is the shortest distance between the initial and final position of an
object.
Displacement has both magnitude and direction. Displacement is a Vector
quantity. SI unit = meter (m).

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Fact: Distance and displacement are equal during straight line motion.

Scalar quantity: A physical quantity having only magnitude (size) but no

direction is called a Scalar quantity. Eg. Distance, Speed, Mass.

Vector quantity: A physical quantity having both magnitude as well as

direction is called a Vector Quantity. Eg. Displacement, Velocity, Acceleration.

Points to remember:
1. Distance is always positive, but Displacement can be Positive,
Negative or Zero.
2. Distance is always greater than or equal to displacement. Hence ratio
of Distance to Displacement is always greater than or equal to 1.
3. Expression “100 km” is distance, but “100 km in the north direction” is
displacement.
4. Distance travelled cannot be zero, but displacement can be zero. If the
final position is the same as the initial position, then displacement is zero.
Eg. Circular motion.
5. When an object moves on a circular track, the distance covered after a
single round is the Circumference (= 2𝜋r), but Displacement will be
Zero.

Difference between distance and Displacement:

Distance Displacement
It is the actual length of the path It is the shortest distance between the
covered by a body. initial and final position of the object.

It is a scalar quantity. It is a vector quantity.

Distance is always positive. It can be Displacement can be Positive,
zero only when the object is at rest. Negative or Zero.

Activity 7.4
Speedometer gives Instantaneous Speed. Odometer gives Distance travelled.

Questions:
1. Is it possible that the train in which you are sitting appears to move while
it is at rest? Explain with an example?

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2. Find Distance and Displacement after moving half, quarter of a circle?

3. A body travels a distance of 3 km towards East, then 4 km towards North
and finally 9 km towards East. What is the total distance travelled and the
resultant displacement?

Uniform Motion and Non-Uniform Motion

Uniform Motion: A body is said to be in uniform motion if it covers equal
distance in equal intervals of time.
● Uniform motion is Straight Line motion.
● Distance time graph is a straight line.
● Speed is constant in Uniform motion.

Non Uniform Motion: A body has non uniform motion if it covers unequal
distance in equal intervals of time or vice versa.
● Example freely falling object, a car on a busy Street
● Distance time graph is a curved line.
● Non uniform motion is also called Accelerated motion.
Activity 7.5

Speed: Rate of Motion

Speed of an object is the distance travelled by the object in unit time.
Speed = Distance/Time
SI unit = metre per second (m/s).
Other Units = centimeters per second (cm/s), km per hour (km/h).
1km = 1000m, 1m = 100 cm, 1 hr = 60 min, 1 min = 60 seconds, 1 hr = 3600
seconds.

Speed has only magnitude but no direction, hence it is a scalar quantity.

Average speed
Average speed of a body is defined as the ratio of total distance travelled to the
total time taken.
Average Speed = Total Distance / Total Time

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SI unit = metre per second (m/s)

Problems on Average Speed:

1. A car travels 30 km at a uniform speed of 40km/h and the next 30 km at a uniform speed of
20 km/h. Find its average speed.
2. On a 120 km track, A train travels the first 30 km at a uniform speed of 30 km/h. How fast
must the train travel the next 90 km so as to average 60 km/h for the entire trip? (90 km/h)
3. A train travels at a speed of 60 km/h for 0.52 hours, at 30 km/h for the next 0.24 hours and
then at 70 km/h for the next 0.71 h. What is the average speed of the train? (59.9 km/h)
4. A motorcyclist drives from A to B with a uniform speed of 30 km/h and returns back with a
speed of 20 km/h. Find its average speed. (24 km/h)
When neither the distance nor the time is given, then In such problems, always take the
distance between A and B as x km. Hence total distance becomes x+x=2x. Since speed is
already given, calculate Time using the formula Time = Distance/Speed.
5. Abdul, while driving to school, computes the average speed for his trip to be 20 km/h. On his
return trip along the same route, there is less traffic and the average speed is 30 km/h. What is
the average speed for Abdul’s trip?

Velocity: Speed with Direction

Velocity is the speed of an object moving in a definite direction.
OR
Distance travelled in a given direction is displacement. Hence velocity of an
object is the displacement per unit time.

Velocity = Speed + Direction = Displacement/Time

Velocity is a vector quantity: It has both magnitude as well as direction.

SI unit = metre per second (m/s).

Velocity is the sum of Speed and Direction. It can be changed either by

changing the speed or the direction of motion.

Imp Point: If velocity changes at a uniform rate, then Average velocity is the
Arithmetic mean of Initial and Final velocity.
vav = (u + v) / 2

Difference between speed and velocity:

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Speed Velocity
Speed is the distance travelled by an Velocity is the speed of an object in a
object in unit time. definite direction.
Speed has only magnitude. Velocity has magnitude as well as
direction.
Speed is a scalar quantity. Velocity is vector quantity.
For a moving body, speed is always Velocity can be Positive, Negative
Positive. and Zero.

Expression “25 km per hour” is speed; but “25 km per hour in north direction”
is velocity.

Uniform velocity
Velocity is the sum of Speed and Direction. Hence a Uniform velocity means
both the speed and the direction are constant. A body has uniform velocity if it
travels with a uniform speed in a straight line.

(Speed & velocity) and (Distance & Displacement) are equal only for
straight line motion.

Questions:
1. A boy moving along a circular path of radius 10m completes 3/4 th of the circle in 10
seconds. Find the magnitude of velocity of the boy.
2. Draw velocity-time graph for an object thrown vertically upward.
3. From the Displacement time graph, draw a velocity time graph.
4. On a number line, show distance/displacement and speed/velocity.

Acceleration: Rate Of Change Of Velocity

Acceleration of a body is defined as the rate of change of its velocity with time.
Symbol ‘a’.
Acceleration = Change in Velocity/ Time
= (Final velocity - Initial velocity)/ Time
= (v – u) / t

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Acceleration is positive if velocity increases with time and vice-versa. Negative

acceleration is called Retardation or Deceleration.

SI Unit = “metre per second square” or m/s2.

When we say acceleration is 10 m/s2., it means velocity is increasing by 10 m/s
every second.

1. Acceleration is a vector quantity. It has both magnitude and direction.

2. V Imp: Acceleration is along the direction of motion (or velocity) if
velocity is increasing, Eg. Speeding up the car, A body dropped from a
height (free fall).
3. V Imp: Acceleration is opposite to the direction of motion (or velocity) if
velocity is decreasing, Eg. Throwing a ball upward, Slowing down a
car.

Uniform acceleration
A body has uniform acceleration if it travels in a straight line and its velocity
changes at a uniform rate. Example: A freely falling object, A ball rolling
down an inclined plane.

Non uniform acceleration: A body has non uniform acceleration if its velocity
changes at a non uniform rate. Example: Car moving on a busy street.

Velocity time graph of uniformly accelerated motion is a straight line.

Velocity time graph of non uniform acceleration is a curved line.

Acceleration due to gravity

Earth attracts all objects towards it. Due to this force, the velocity of the object
changes and hence an Acceleration is produced.
Acceleration produced in a body due to gravity is called Acceleration due to
gravity. It is represented by ‘g’. Its actual value is 9.8 ms-2. For convenience, it
is taken as 10 ms-2.
1. When a body is thrown vertically upwards, its velocity keeps decreasing
at the rate of 9.8 m/s per second, while during downward motion it
velocity increases by 9.8 m/s per second.

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2. Acceleration due to gravity always acts in the vertically downward

direction.
3. At the highest point velocity is zero, but acceleration due to gravity is still
acting.

Activity 8.8, Example 8.4, NCERT

1. A trolley while going down an inclined plane has an acceleration of 5
m/s2. What will be its velocity 5 seconds after the start?
2. A ball hits a wall horizontally at 6.0 m/s. It rebounds horizontally at 4.4
m/s. The ball is in contact with the wall for 0.040 s. What is the
acceleration of the ball?

Graphical representation of Motions

Slope Area Horizontal Straight Curved Line
Line Line
y/x y✕x Slope is Zero Uniform Non Uniform
Slope Slope

Distance- Time Graph

● Slope (Gradient) of Distance-Time graph gives Speed.

● Steeper the graph ⇒ Greater the slope (speed).
● Straight line means Uniform slope = Uniform Speed.
● Curved line means Non-uniform speed
● Horizontal graph means Slope is zero = Speed is zero. Object at Rest.

Velocity-Time graphs
● Slope (Gradient) of Velocity-Time graph gives Acceleration.
● Steeper the graph ⇒ Greater the slope (Acceleration).
● Straight line means Uniform slope = Uniform Acceleration.

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● Curved line means Non-uniform Acceleration.

● Horizontal graph means Slope is zero = Acceleration is zero. Constant
velocity.
● Area under the Velocity-Time graph gives Displacement.

1. If the velocity time graph is a straight line parallel to the time axis, it
means Zero Acceleration or Constant Velocity.

2. Velocity time graph is a straight line for Uniform acceleration.

3. Velocity-time graph is a curved line for Non uniform acceleration.

4. Velocity-time graph when initial speed is not zero.

Questions:
1. V.Imp*** Draw velocity time graph for a stone thrown vertically
upwards and then coming downwards after attaining the maximum
height?

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2. Imp A car travelling at 52 km/h applies the brakes and stops in 5 s.

Another car going at 3 km/h applies brakes slowly and stops in 10 s. On
the same graph paper, plot the speed versus time graphs for the two cars.
Which of the two cars travelled farther after the brakes were applied?

Equations of Motion
For uniformly accelerated motion, the three equation of motion are:
v = u + at s = ut + (½) at2 v2 = u2 + 2as

1. Body starts from rest, initial velocity, u = 0.

2. Body comes to rest, final velocity, v = 0.
3. A ball thrown upward, at highest point, final velocity, v = 0.
4. Body moves with uniform velocity, acceleration, a= 0.

Equations of motion from graphs

Consider the Velocity-Time graph.

● At time t = 0, the body has initial velocity u, represented by OA.
● After time ‘t’, the body has final velocity v, represented by CB.
● The velocity changes from u (= OA) to v (= CB) in time t (= OC).

1. Acceleration, a = change in velocity/Time Taken

a = (v - u)/t
⇒ v = u + at (1)

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2. Distance, s = area OABC (trapezium)

= area of the rectangle OADC + area of the triangle ABD
= (OA × OC) + 1/2 (AD × BD)
Putting OA = u, OC = AD = t and BD = CB – CD = (v-u), and using v –
u = at from eq (1),
⇒ s = ut + (½)at2 (2)

3. Distance, s = area OABC (trapezium) =(½) [(OA + BC) ×OC]

Substituting OA = u, BC = v and OC = t,
⇒ s = (½)[(u+v)*t]
But t = (v-u)/a,
(𝑣+𝑢)(𝑣−𝑢)
⇒ s = (½) 𝑎
⇒ v2 = u2 + 2as (3)

Examples, NCERT
1. If displacement is proportional to square of time, then object moves with?
(i) uniform velocity (ii) uniform acceleration (iii) increasing acceleration
(iv) decreasing acceleration.
2. When the distance an object travels is directly proportional to the length
of time, it is said to travel with (i) zero velocity(ii) constant speed (iii)
constant acceleration (iv) uniform velocity.

Uniform Circular Motion (UCM)

When a body moves in a circular path with uniform speed, its motion is called
Uniform circular motion.
In UCM, speed remains constant but direction keeps changing, which means
velocity is changing. Hence UCM is Accelerated motion.
Example: Motion on the merry go round is accelerated, even if speed is
constant because direction is changing.

For motion along a straight line, Acceleration is in the direction of motion (or
velocity), if Speed is increasing OR opposite to the direction of motion (or
velocity), if Speed is decreasing.

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In UCM, Acceleration is perpendicular to the direction of motion. It is towards

the center of the circle. Hence it is called Centripetal acceleration. Force
necessary to keep a body in circular motion is called Centripetal Force.

Speed = Circumference / Time = 2πr / t

Examples:
● Satellites moving around earth.
● Earth moving around the sun.
● Tip of the hand of a clock.
● Cyclist cycling on a circular track with uniform speed.

Difference between Uniform Linear and Circular motion:

Uniform Linear Motion Uniform Circular Motion
Body travels in a straight line with Body travels on a circular path with
uniform speed. uniform speed.
It is a Non-Accelerated motion. Speed It is an Accelerated Motion. Speed is
and direction of motion doesn’t uniform but direction is continuously
change. changing.

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