Chapter 2

Describing Motion

Lecture PowerPoint

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 Motion
 Motion is a change in an object’s
position relative to a reference point
 Distance: total amount traveled
 Displacement: distance and direction of
the object’s change in position
Distance and Displacement
 1. Chance drives her scooter 7 kilometers
north. She stops for lunch and then drives 5
kilometers east. What distance did she
cover? What was her displacement?
 2. Anthony walks to the pizza place for
lunch. He walks 1 km east, then 1 km south
and then 1 km east again. What distance did
he cover? What has his displacement?
 3. Jose buys a new moped. He travels 3 km
south and then 4 k m east. How far does he
need to go to get back to where he started?
 Practice
 1. On his fishing trip Justin rides in a boat 12 km south.
The fish aren’t biting so they go 4 km west. They then
follow a school of fish 1 km north. What distance did they
cover? What was their displacement?
 2. Tara goes on a camel safari in Africa. She travels 5 km
north, then 3 km east and then 1 km north again. What
distance did she cover? What was her displacement?
 3. Alex goes cruising on his dirt bike. He rides 700 m
north, 300 m east, 400 m north, 600 m west, 1200 m
south, 300 m east, and finally 100 m north. What distance
did he cover? What was his displacement?
 Why do we need clear,
precise definitions?
What’s the
difference between:
average speed
and instantaneous
speed?
speed and
velocity?
speed and
acceleration?
 Speed
 Speed is how fast an object changes its location.
 Speed is always some distance divided by some time.
 The units of speed may be miles per hour, or meters
per second, or kilometers per hour, or inches per
minute, etc.
 Average speed is total distance divided by total
time.

 Practice: A car traveling at a constant speed

covers a distance of 750 m in 25 s. What is the
car’s speed? distance traveled dfinal - dinitial
average speed = 
time of travel time of travel
 Speed White Boarding
 Speed = d (units of length)
t (units of time)

1. A passenger elevator travels from the first floor

to the 60th floor, a distance of 210 m, in 35
seconds. What is the elevator’s speed?
2. A motorcycle is moving at a constant speed of
40 km/h. How long does it take the motorcycle
to travel a distance of 10 km?
3. How far does a car travel in 0.75 h if it is moving
at a constant speed of 88 km/h?
 Speed Practice
Problems
 Due Tomorrow
 Average Speed
Kingman to Flagstaff:
120 mi  2.4 hr
= 50.0 mph
Flagstaff to Phoenix:
140 mi  2.6 hr
= 53.8 mph
Total trip:
120 mi + 140 mi
= 260 mi
2.4 hr + 2.6 hr
= 5.0 hr
260 mi  5.0 hr
= 52.0 mph
 Average Speed
Kingman to Flagstaff:
120 mi  2.4 hr
= 50.0 mph
Flagstaff to Phoenix:
140 mi  2.6 hr
= 53.8 mph
Note: the average
speed for the whole trip
(52.0 mph) is not the
average of the two
speeds (51.9 mph).
Why?
 Speed (cont.)
 Rate is one quantity divided by another
quantity.
 For example: gallons per minute, pesos per dollar,
points per game.
 So average speed is the rate at which distance is
covered over time.
 Instantaneous speed is the speed at that
precise instant in time.
 It is the rate at which distance is being covered at
a given instant in time.
 It is found by calculating the average speed, over
a short enough time that the speed does not
change much.
What does a car’s speedometer
measure?
a) Average speed
b) Instantaneous speed
c) Average velocity
d) Instantaneous velocity

b) A speedometer measures instantaneous

speed.
(In a moment, we’ll discuss why a speedometer
doesn’t measure velocity.)
 Instantaneous Speed

The
speedometer
tells us how
fast we are
going at a
given instant
in time.
Which quantity is the highway
patrol more interested in?
a) Average speed
b) Instantaneous speed
b) The speed limit indicates the maximum legal
instantaneous speed.
In some cases, the highway patrol uses an
average speed to prosecute for speeding. If
your average speed ever exceeds the posted
limit they can be 100% certain your
instantaneous speed was over the posted limit.
 Graphing Motion
• Shows the motion
of an object over a
period of time
• Time  x-axis
• Distance  y-axis

• What does the

slope of the line
represent?
Distance vs. Time Graph
 Make a distance-time graph that shows
the motion of both runners. What is the
average speed of each runner? Which
runner stops briefly? Over what time
interval do they both have the same
speed? Which runner traveled at a
constant speed?
Time (s) 1 2 3 4
Sally’s 2 4 6 8
distance (m)
Alonzo’s 1 2 2 4
distance (m)
 Graphing Motion WS
 Due Tomorrow
Distance vs. Time Graph
 Class Activity -
 Velocity
 Velocity involves direction of motion as well as
how fast the object is going.
 Velocity is a vector quantity.
 Vectors have both magnitude and direction.
 Velocity has a magnitude (the speed) and also a
direction (which way the object is moving).
 A change in velocity can be a change in the
object’s speed or direction of motion.
 A speedometer doesn’t indicate direction, so it
indicates instantaneous speed but not velocity.
 Cars traveling in opposite directions on a road
with the same speed, have different velocities.
A car goes around a curve at constant
speed. Is the car’s velocity
changing?
a) Yes
b) No
a) At position A, the car has
the velocity indicated by the
arrow (vector) v1.

At position B, the car has

the velocity indicated by the
arrow (vector) v2, with the
same magnitude (speed)
but a different direction.
 Instantaneous Velocity
Instantaneous velocity is a vector quantity having:
a size (magnitude) equal to the instantaneous
speed at a given instant in time, and
a direction equal to the direction of motion at that
instant.
 Velocity Practice
 Describe the velocity of an object that
travels north 6.9 m in 3 s, then turns
and travels south 2.8 m in 4 s.
 Using the graph below,
what is the average
speed of each runner?
 Acceleration
 Acceleration is the rate at which velocity
changes.
 Our bodies don’t feel velocity, if the velocity is
constant.
 Our bodies feel acceleration.
 A car changing speed or direction.
 An elevator speeding up or slowing down.

 Acceleration can be either a change in the

object’s speed or direction of motion.
 Acceleration (cont.)

It isn’t the
fall that
hurts; it’s
the sudden
stop at the
end!
 Acceleration (cont.)
 Acceleration is also a vector quantity, with
magnitude and direction.
 The direction of the acceleration vector is that
of the change in velocity, ∆v.
 Acceleration refers to any change in velocity.
 We even refer to a decrease in velocity (a
slowing down) as an acceleration.
 Acceleration (cont.)
 The direction of the acceleration vector is that
of the change in velocity, ∆v.
 If velocity is increasing, the acceleration is in
the same direction as the velocity.
 Acceleration (cont.)
 The direction of the acceleration vector is that
of the change in velocity, ∆v.
 If velocity is decreasing, the acceleration is in
the opposite direction as the velocity.
 Acceleration (cont.)
 The direction of the acceleration vector is that
of the change in velocity, ∆v.
 If speed is constant but velocity direction is
changing, the
acceleration
is at right
angles to
the velocity.
 Average Acceleration
 Average acceleration is the change in
velocity divided by the time required to
produce that change.
 The units of velocity are units of distance
divided by units of time.
 The units of acceleration are units of
velocity dividedby units of time.
 So, the units of acceleration are units of
(distance divided by time) divided by units
of time (MUST BE THE SAME TIME
UNIT):
Average Acceleration

change in velocity
acceleration =
elapsed time
vfinal  vinitial
a
t

 Average Acceleration
(cont.)

A car starting from rest, 20 m/s

accelerates to a velocity of 20 a  4 m/s/s  4 m/s 2

m/s due east in a time of 5 s. 5s

Instantaneous Acceleration

Instantaneous acceleration is the

acceleration at that precise instant in time.
It is the rate at which velocity is changing at
a given instant in time.
It is found by calculating the average
speed, over a short enough time that the
speed does not change much.
 Practice Problems
 An airplane starts at rest and accelerates down the
runway for 20 s. At the end of the runway, its velocity is
80 m/s north. What is its acceleration?
 A cyclist starts at rest and accelerates at 0.5 m/s2 south
for 20 s. What is the cyclist’s final velocity?
 A ball is dropped and falls with an acceleration of 9.8 m/s2
downward. It hits the ground with a velocity of 49 m/s
downward. How long did it take the ball to fall to the
ground?
 A car is traveling at 60 mph and comes to a complete
stop in 30 seconds. What is its acceleration?
 Graphing Motion
To describe the car’s motion, we could note
the car’s position every 5 seconds.
Time Position
0s 0.0 cm
5s 4.1 cm
10 s 7.9 cm
15 s 12.1 cm
20 s 16.0 cm
25 s 16.0 cm
30 s 16.0 cm
35 s 18.0 cm
To graph the data in the table, let the horizontal axis
represent time, and the vertical axis represent distance.

Each interval on an
axis represents a
fixed quantity of
distance or time.
The first data point
is at 0 seconds and 0
cm.
The second data
point is at 5 seconds
and 4.1 cm.
Etc.
The graph displays information in a more useful manner
than a simple table.

When is the car

moving the fastest?
When is it moving
the slowest?
When is the car not
moving at all?
At what time does
the car start moving
in the opposite
direction?
The slope at any point on the distance-versus-time
graph represents the instantaneous velocity at that
time.
Slope is change in
vertical quantity divided
by change in horizontal
quantity.
“rise over run”
Similar to everyday
meaning:
steepest “slope” is
between 0 s and 20 s.
slope is zero (flat)
between 20 s and 30 s
slope is negative
between 50 s and 60 s
 The graph shows the position
of a car with respect to time.
Does the car ever go backward
a)
(assume
Yes, during the first
no u-turn)?
segment (labeled A).
b) Yes, during the second
segment (labeled B).
c) Yes, during the third
segment (not labeled).
d) No, never.
c) The distance traveled is
decreasing during the
third segment, so at this
time the car is moving
backward (in reverse).
 Is the instantaneous velocity at
point A greater or less than
that at point B?
a) Greater than
b) Less than
c) The same as
d) Unable to tell from this graph

a) The instantaneous velocities

can be compared by looking
at their slopes. The steeper
slope indicates the greater
instantaneous velocity, so
the velocity at A is greater.
 In the graph shown, is the
velocity constant for any time
interval?
a) Yes, between 0 s and 2 s.
b) Yes, between 2 s and 4 s.
c) Yes, between 4 s and 8 s.
d) Yes, between 0 s and 8 s.
e) No, never.

a) The velocity is constant between 0 s and 2 s. The

velocity is not changing during this interval, and the
graph is flat, it has a slope of zero.
 In the graph shown, during
which time interval is the
acceleration greatest?
a) Between 0 s and 2 s.
b) Between 2 s and 4 s.
c) Between 4 s and 8 s.
d) The acceleration does
not change.
b) The graph is steepest and
has the greatest slope
between 2 s and 4 s, the
velocity is changing fastest
during this interval making the
acceleration the greatest.
 A car moves along a straight
road as shown. Does it ever go
backward (assume no u-turn)?
a) Yes, between 0 s and 2 s.
b) Yes, between 2 s and 4 s.
c) Yes, between 4 s and 6 s.
d) No, never.

d) Although the velocity is decreasing between 4 s and 6

s, the velocity is still positive and in the same direction
(it is not negative), so the car is not moving backward.
 At which point is the magnitude
of the acceleration the
greatest?
a) Point A
b) Point B
c) Point C
d) The acceleration does not
change.
a) The magnitude of the
acceleration is greatest when the
velocity is changing the fastest.
This is where the graph of
velocity and time is steepest
(has the greatest slope).
 During which time interval is
the distance traveled by the
car the greatest?
a) Between 0 s and 2 s.
b) Between 2 s and 4 s.
c) Between 4 s and 6 s.
d) It is the same for all time
intervals.

b) The distance traveled is greatest

when the area under the velocity
curve is greatest. This occurs
between 2 s and 4 s.
For example: a car traveling on a local highway
A steep slope
indicates a rapid
change in velocity (or
speed), and thus a
large acceleration.
A horizontal line has
zero slope and
represents zero
acceleration.
For example: the 100-m Dash
The runner wants to reach top speed as soon as possible.
The greatest acceleration is at the beginning of the race.
For the remaining portion of the race, the runner continues
at a constant speed (the top speed) so acceleration is zero.
The velocity graph of an object
is shown. Is the acceleration
of the object constant?
a) Yes.
b) No.
c) It is impossible to determine
from this graph.

b) The slope of the velocity curve gradually decreases with time, so

the acceleration is decreasing. Initially the velocity is changing
quite rapidly, but as time goes on the velocity reaches a
maximum value and then remains constant.
 Uniform Acceleration
 Uniform Acceleration is the simplest form
of acceleration.
 It occurs whenever there is a constant force
acting on an object.
 Most of the examples we consider will involve
constant acceleration.
 A falling rock or other falling object.
 A car accelerating at a constant rate.

 The acceleration does not change as the

motion proceeds.
The acceleration graph for uniform acceleration is a
horizontal line. The acceleration does not change with
time.

For example,
a car moving
along a straight
road and
accelerating at
a constant rate.
The distance graph for uniform acceleration has a
constantly increasing slope, due to a constantly
increasing velocity. The distance covered grows more
and more rapidly with time.
The distance at any instant
is velocity times the time at
that instant.
The total distance covered is
average velocity times the
total elapsed time.
 The velocity of a car increases with time as
shown. What is the average acceleration
between 0 s and 4 s?

a) 4 m/s2
b) 3 m/s2
c) 2 m/s2
d) 1.5 m/s2
e) 1 m/s2

e) 4 m/s ÷ 4 sec =
1 m/s2
 The velocity of a car increases with time as
shown. What is the average acceleration
between 4 s and 8 s?

a) 4 m/s2
b) 3 m/s2
c) 2 m/s2
d) 1.5 m/s2
e) 1 m/s2

c) (12-4) m/s ÷ (8-4)

sec = 2 m/s2
 The velocity of a car increases with time as
shown. What is the average acceleration
between 0 s and 8 s?

a) 4 m/s2
b) 3 m/s2
c) 2 m/s2
d) 1.5 m/s2
e) 1 m/s2

d) 12 m/s ÷ 8 sec =
1.5 m/s2
 The velocity of a car increases
with time as shown.
Why is the average of the
average accelerations from
0 to 4 sec and 4 to 8 sec
the same as the average
acceleration from 0 to 8 sec?