CHAPTER 3

KINEMATICS
3.1.1 Displacement, 3.1 Motion
position, velocity, in One
speed and Dimension
acceleration

3.1.2 Instantaneous
Velocity and Speed
CHAPTER 3
KINEMATICS

3.1.3 Free Fall

3.2 Motion
in Two
Dimension

3.2.1 Projectile
Motion
 Learning outcomes

By the end of this chapter, student should:

i. Able to understand the concept of kinematics.

ii. Able to solve the free fall and projectile problems.

iii. Able to solve problems in kinematics.

Position, displacement, velocity, speed &
acceleration
Position
 The object’s position is its location with respect to a
chosen reference point
◦ Consider the point to be the origin of a coordinate
system
Position, displacement, velocity, speed &
acceleration
Displacement
 Displacement is defined as the change in position
during some time interval
◦ Represented as x
x ≡ xf - xi
◦ SI units are meters (m)
◦ x can be positive or negative
 Different than distance –
the length of a path followed
by a particle
Displacement
Example
 Ali walking 70m to the east then turning
around and walking back (west) a distance of
30m. Calculate the total distance and
displacement for his journey.

 Total distance
= 100 m
 Displacement

= 40 m
 Exercise

The position of a runner as a function of time is

plotted as moving along the x axis of a coordinate
system. During a 3.00 s time interval, the
runner’s position changes from x1=50.0 m to
x2=30.5 m, as shown in Fig 1. What was the
runner’s average velocity?

Fig. 1
 Solution:

-The displacement is
∆x = x2-x1
∆x = 30.5m – 50.0m
= -19.5m
-Time elapsed or time interval is
∆t = 3.00s
xis  19.5m
 The average velocity
v   6.50ms 1
t 3.00 s

Negative sign tells us that the runner’s average velocity is 6.50m/s to the left
Position, displacement, velocity, speed &
acceleration
Speed & Velocity
 Speed is how far an object travel in a given time
Distance
Speed 
Time Interval
 Velocity signify both the magnitude of how fast
the object moving and the direction in which it is
moving

Displacement x xf  xi
Velocity  v x , avg  
Time Interval t t
 Exercise

The position of an object moving along an x – axis is

given by x  3t  4t 2 ,t 3where x is in meters and t in
seconds. Find the position of the object at the
following values of t
a) 1 s (Ans: 0 m)
b) 4 s (Ans: 12 m)
c) What is the object’s displacement between t = 2 s
and t = 4 s (Ans: 14 m)
d) What is its average velocity for the time interval
from t=2 s to t=4 s? (Ans: 7 m/s)
 Example

An automobile maintains a constant acceleration of

8 m/s2. If its initial velocity was 20 m/s due north,
what will its velocity be after 6 s?
 Acceleration

A car accelerates
along a straight road
from rest to 90 km/h
in 5.0 s. What is the
magnitude of its
average
acceleration?
 Exercise

A car moving in a straight line starts at x = 0 at t =

0. It passes the point x = 25.0 m with speed of 11.0
m/s at t = 3 s. It passes the point x = 385 m with a
speed of 45.0 m/s at t = 20 s. Find
a) The average velocity at 3 s to 20 s (Ans: 21.2 m/s)
b) The average acceleration between t = 3 s and t = 2
s (Ans: 2 m/s2)
Position, displacement, velocity, speed &
acceleration
Acceleration
 Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity
Velocity
Acceleration 
Time Interval
 Average acceleration is the rate of change of the
velocity
v x v xf  v xi
ax ,avg  
t tf  t i
 SI Unit for acceleration is ms-2
Position, displacement, velocity, speed &
acceleration

Instantaneous Velocity
 The instantaneous velocity is define as a limit of
an average velocity, as the time interval gets
smaller and smaller
 The instantaneous velocity shows the velocity of
an object at one point
Instantaneous Velocity
 On a graph of a particle’s position vs. time, the
instantaneous velocity is the tangent to the curve
at any point.
Instantaneous Velocity
 The instantaneous
velocity is the slope of
the line tangent to the
x versus t curve
 This would be the

green line
 The light blue lines

show that as t gets

smaller, they
approach the green
line
Instantaneous Velocity
 The general equation for instantaneous velocity
is
x dx
v x  lim 
t 0 t dt
 The instantaneous velocity can be positive,
negative or zero
Instantaneous Speed
 The instantaneous speed is the magnitude of the
instantaneous velocity
 The instantaneous speed has no direction
associated with it
Instantaneous Acceleration
 The instantaneous acceleration is the average
acceleration in the limit as the time interval
becomes short
Instantaneous Acceleration
 Like velocity, acceleration is a rate
 In a sense, acceleration is “a rate of a rate”
 This can be expressed as:

2
dv d  dx  d x
a    2
dt dt  dt  dt
 Example

1.A jet engine moves along an experimental track. We

will treat the engine as if it were a particle. Its position
as a function of time is given by the equation x = At2 +
B, where A = 2.10 m/s2 and B = 2.80 m
a)Find the displacement of the engine during the time
interval t1 = 3 s and t2 = 5 s
b)Find the average velocity during this time interval
c)Derive a general expression for the instantaneous
velocity as a function of time, and determine the
magnitude of the instantaneous velocity at t = 5 s
d) its instantaneous acceleration as a function
of time.
 Solution

a) At ti = 3 s, the position is
xi  Ati2  B  (2.10m / s 2 )(3s ) 2  2.80m  21.7 m
At tf = 5 s, the position is
x f  (2.10m / s 2 )(5s ) 2  2.80m  55.3m
The displacement is thus
xf - xi = 55.3m-21.7m = 33.6m
b)The magnitude of the average velocity
x x f  xi 33.6m
v     16.8m / s
t t f  ti 2s
c) Instantaneous
dx velocity
d
v  ( At 2  B )  2 At
dt dt
v  2 At  2(2.10m / s )(5s )  21.0m / s
2
 Exercise

1. A cheetah is crouched 20 m to the east of an observer’s

vehicle. At time t = 0 the cheetah charges antelope and
begin to run along a straight line. During the first 2.0s of
the attack, the cheetah’s coordinate x varies with time
according to the equation x = 20 m + (5.0 m/s2)t2
a) Find the displacement of the cheetah between t1 = 1.0 s and
t2 =2.0 s.
b) Find the average velocity during the same time interval
c) Derive a general expression for the instantaneous velocity
as a function of time, and from it find the instantaneous
velocity at time t1 =1.0 s and t2 = 2 s
(Ans: 15 m , 15 m/s, 10 m/s and 20 m/s)
 3.1.3 Freely Falling Object

Most common examples of motion with constant

acceleration - object fall freely near the Earth’s
surface.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) claimed that all object
light or heavy fall with the same acceleration at least
in the absence of air.

Fig. 1: Falling apple at equal time interval. The apple

falls farther during each successive interval, which
means it is accelerating
 Galileo’s specific contribution about motion of falling
objects:
 At a given location on the earth and in the absence of air
resistance, all objects fall with the same constant acceleration

 This acceleration is due to the gravity, g = 9.81 ms-2

 The effect of air resistance are often small and we will neglect them
for the most part.
When dealing with freely falling object, we can make use
of kinematics equation for constant acceleration
•a = g = 9.80 ms-2
•If motion is vertical, substitute
y in x, yo in xo,
yo = 0 (unless specified)
•vo is initial velocity, xo is initial
position = yo
 Free Fall – an object dropped

Initial velocity is zero

Let downward be
positive
Use the kinematic
equations vo= 0
 Generally use y instead of
a=g
x since vertical
Acceleration is
 ay = g = 9.81 m/s2
 Free Fall – an object thrown downward

ay = g = 9.81 m/s2

Initial velocity  0
 With downward being
positive
vo≠ 0
vo = +ve
a=g
 Free Fall -- object thrown upward

v = 0 (at max height)

 Let direction be positive at
any point above the release
point and negative at any
point below the release point vo≠ 0 = +ve
 Initial velocity is upward, so
v = -ve
positive v = +ve
 The instantaneous velocity a = -ve
a = -ve
at the maximum height is
zero
 ay = - g = - 9.81 m/s2
everywhere in the motion
 Example

A rubber ball is dropped from rest. Find its velocity

and position after 2 and 4 seconds.
 Example

Suppose that a ball is dropped from a tower 70.0 m

high. How far will it have fallen after a time t1= 1.00 s, t2
= 2.00 s and t3 = 3.00 s?
SOLUTION
1 2
y1  yo  vo t  at
2
1
 0  0(1.00s)  (9.80 ms 2 )(1.00 s) 2
2
 4.90m

and so on for t2 = 2.00 s and t3 = 3.00 s

(Ans:19.6 m, 44.1 m)
 Exercise:

1. Suppose the ball is thrown downward with an

initial velocity of 3.00 m/s instead of being
dropped.
a) What then would be its position after 1.00 s and
2.00 s? (Ans: 7.9 m and 25.6 m)
b) What would its velocity be after 1.00 s and 2.00 s.
(Ans: 12.8 m/s and 22.6 m/s)
Exercise: Ball thrown upward.
A person throws a ball upward
into the air with an initial velocity
of 15.0 m/s. Calculate (a) how
high it goes, and (b) how long the
ball is in the air before it comes
back to the hand. (c) how much
time it takes for the ball to reach
the maximum height, and (d) the
velocity of the ball when it returns
to the thrower’s hand (point C).
Ignore air resistance. (Ans: 11.5 m,
3.06 s, 1.53 s, -15.0 m/s)
 Excercise

A baseball thrown vertically upward from the roof of

a tall building has an initial velocity of 20 m/s.
a) Calculate the time required to reach its maximum
height
b) Find the maximum height
c) Determine its position and velocity after 1.5 s
d) What are its position and velocity after 5 s
(Ans: 2.04 s, 20.4 m, 19 m, 5.3 m/s, -23 m, -29 m/s)