2nd Semester

2024-2025
Deanship of Preparatory Year
and Supporting Studies
Architecture & Planning Track
PHYSICS 109
WEEK 5
Chapter 3
Motion along a straight line
OBJECTIVES:
The main objectives of this lecture are:
Section 3.1 Position, Displacement, and Average Velocity
Section 3.2 Instantaneous Velocity and Speed
Section 3.3 Average and Instantaneous Acceleration
Section 3.4 Motion with Constant Acceleration
Section 3.5 Free Fall
Section 3.6 Finding Velocity and Displacement from Acceleration

3
Introduction
Mechanics is concerned with the motion of bodies under the action of forces, and
it may be divided into two main branches:
i) Kinematics describes the possible motions of objects using, the motion terms
(position, time, distance, displacement, velocity, acceleration).
ii) Dynamics deals with forces acting on and in a body at rest or moving with
constant velocity.
Displacement, velocity, and acceleration are classified as
vectors as they have direction in addition to magnitude.

Position is the location of the object at a specific time,

relative to an origin (starting point). It is a vector quantity.
▪The change in Position is direction of movement.
▪Direction can be given as a movement through space
Ex 1: (N S E W) or in coordinate plane (+ or -) or up & down.
3
Section 3.1: Position, displacement, and average velocity | PP.106

What is the DISTANCE ?

What is the DISPLACEMENT ?
Distance is a scalar quantity which refers to
"how much ground an object has covered"
during its motion.

✓ It can never be negative.

Displacement is a vector quantity which

refers to "how far out of original position an
object is“, it is the object's overall change (Δ)
in Position.

x = x2 − x1
✓ It can be negative.
✓ It represents the shortest path between two points.
✓ It has both magnitude, direction and unit: + or – sign.
✓ It has units of [length]: meters.
5
Section 3.1: Position, displacement, and average velocity | PP.106

Ex 3: ▪ Walking distance = 10+10=20m

▪ Displacement = +10-10= 0 m

Check Your Understanding | PP.110

A cyclist rides 3 km west and then turns around and rides 2 km east.

(a) What is his displacement?

∆𝑥 = −3 + 2 = −1 km (1 km west)

(b) What is the distance traveled?

𝑑 = 3 + 2 = 5 km
(c) What is the magnitude of his displacement?
∆𝑥 = ∆𝑥 = −1 = 1 km 6
Section 3.1: Position, displacement, and average velocity | PP.106

Ex 4: An ant starts at 𝑥 = 20 𝑐𝑚 on a piece of graph paper and walks

alone the x-axis to 𝑥 = − 20 𝑐𝑚. It then turns around and walks back to
𝑥 = − 10 𝑐𝑚. (a) the ant’s displacement ? (b) the total distance ?

Solution:
▪ Displacement ∆ 𝑥 = 𝑥𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑜𝑠. – 𝑥𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑜𝑠. = – 10 – 20 = – 30 cm

▪ Distance travelled = 40 + 10 = 50 cm

Final Pos. Initial Pos.

-x +x
-20 cm -10 cm +20 cm

x=0 cm
Reference line
7
Section 3.1: Position, displacement, and average velocity | PP.106

▪ In everyday language, most people use the terms speed and velocity do
not have the same meaning.
➢ What is the difference between Speed and Velocity ?

Speed refers to how far an object travels in a given time interval, regardless
of the direction. It is scalar.

Ex 5: If a car travels 240 km in 3 hours, what is its speed ? v = 240km / 3h = 80 km/h

Velocity is the rate of change of displacement. It is a vector.

▪ The average velocity ≠ the average speed.

Ex 6: The magnitude of the average velocity for the marathon runner
is zero, but the average speed is clearly not zero.
8
Section 3.1: Position, displacement, and average velocity | PP.106
Ex 7: The position of a runner is given in fig. During a 3.00 s time interval,
the runner’s position changes from 𝑥1 = 50.0 𝑚 to 𝑥2 = 30.5 𝑚. What is
the runner’s average velocity ?

Solution:
∆𝑥
average velocity 𝑣ҧ =
∆𝑡

∆𝑥 = 𝑥2 − 𝑥1 = 30.5 𝑚 − 50.0 𝑚
∆𝑥 = −19.5 𝑚
x=0 cm
∆𝑥 −19.5 𝑚
So 𝑣ҧ = = = −6.50 𝑚/𝑠 Reference line
∆𝑡 3.00 𝑠

The runner’s average velocity is 6.5 m/s to the left.

9
Check Your Understanding | PP.109

Ex 8: You walk 2.0 m East, 4.0 m South, 16 m West, and finally 4.0 m North. The
entire motion lasted for 24 s.
26 𝑚
- Average speed = = 1.1 𝑚/𝑠
24 𝑠
Ƹ
(2.0𝑖−4.0 Ƹ
𝑗−16 Ƹ
𝑖+4.0 𝑗)Ƹ 𝑚 −14𝑖Ƹ 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚
- Average velocity = = = −0.58𝑖Ƹ = 0.58 (West)
24 𝑠 24 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠

Ex 9: Jill sets out from her home to deliver flyers for her yard sale. The entire
trip took 58 min. What was her average velocity and speed during this trip ?

Average speed = 3.75 𝑘𝑚Τ58 𝑚𝑖𝑛

= 0.065 𝑘𝑚/𝑚𝑖𝑛

Average velocity = −0.75 𝑘𝑚Τ58 𝑚𝑖𝑛

= −0.013 𝑘𝑚/𝑚𝑖𝑛

𝐻𝑊: 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝐼

10
Section 3.2: Instantaneous Velocity and Speed | PP.110

➢ Since objects in the real world move continuously through space and time,
we would like to find the velocity of an object at any single point.

The instantaneous speed is the speed at any given instant

in time.

Ex 10: Your instantaneous speed is given

by your car’s speedometer: v =75 mil/h

The instantaneous Velocity has a magnitude that is equal to its instantaneous

speed at a given instant in time and has a direction that corresponds to the
object’s motion at that instant.

▪ If a car moves at a constant velocity, its average and instantaneous velocities

have the same value.

11
Section 3.3: Average and Instantaneous Acceleration | PP.116
What is Acceleration?
Acceleration is the rate at which velocity changes. It is shown as 𝒂 .
∆𝒗 𝒗𝟐 − 𝒗𝟏
ഥ=
𝒂 =
∆𝒕 𝒕𝟐 − 𝒕 𝟏

The instantaneous acceleration is, in the limit as the time

interval becomes infinitesimally short.

▪ 𝒂 is a vector quantity and has a dimension of [L/T2] and unit m/s2 .

▪ The direction of the acceleration vector (𝒂 ) depends on if the object

is speeding up or slowing down.

✓ If an object is slowing down, then its acceleration is in the

opposite direction of its motion, it is called Deceleration.

✓ If an object is speeding up, then its acceleration is in the same

direction of its motion.
12
Section 3.3: Average and Instantaneous Acceleration | PP.116

Animation: Direction of velocity and acceleration

13
Section 3.3: Average and Instantaneous Acceleration | PP.116
Ex 11: A racehorse coming out of the gate accelerates from rest to a velocity of
15.0 m/s due west in 1.80 s. What is its average acceleration?

Solution: ∆𝑣 = 𝑣2 − 𝑣1 = −15.0 𝑚Τ𝑠

−15.0 𝑚Τ𝑠
𝑎ത = = −8.33 𝑚Τ𝑠 2
1.80 𝑠

- The negative sign indicates that acceleration is toward the west.

Ex 12: An automobile is moving to the right along a straight highway. Then the
driver steps on the brakes. If the initial velocity is 𝑣1 = 15.0 𝑚Τ𝑠, and it takes 5.0 s
to slow down to 𝑣2 = 5.0 𝑚Τ𝑠. What was the car’s average acceleration ?

Solution:
∆𝑣 𝑣2 − 𝑣1
𝑎ത = =
∆𝑡 𝑡2 − 𝑡1

5.0 − 15 𝑚Τ𝑠
𝑎ത = = −2.0 𝑚Τ𝑠 2
5.0 𝑠
14
Section 3.3: Average and Instantaneous Acceleration | PP.116

Ex 13: Direction of velocity and acceleration

velocity acceleration Motion

+ + Speeding up
− − Speeding up
+ − Slowing down
− + Slowing down
+ or − 0 Constant Velocity
0 + or − Speeding up from rest
0 0 Remaining at rest

15
Section 3.4: Motion with Constant Acceleration | PP.124
▪ When an object accelerates at a constant rate, we say that it is uniformly
accelerated (the magnitude and direction of the acceleration are constants).
▪ In this case, the average acceleration ā, is the same as the instantaneous
acceleration a.
We have five equations relating position, velocity, acceleration and time called
kinematics equations to solve uniform acceleration problems.

𝑣 = 𝑣0 + 𝑎𝑡 ∆𝑥 = 𝑣0 𝑡 + 12𝑎𝑡 2

𝑣 2 = 𝑣0 2 + 2𝑎 ∆𝑥 ∆𝑥 = 𝑣𝑡 − 12𝑎𝑡 2 What is the missing

variable in each one
of these equation ?
𝑣0 + 𝑣
∆𝑥 = 𝑡
2

Ex. 3.7: An airplane lands with an initial velocity of 70.0 m/s and then
decelerates at 1.50 m/s2 for 40.0 s. What is its final velocity?
𝑣 = 𝑣0 + 𝑎𝑡
𝑣 = 70.0 + (−1.50) × 40.0
𝑣 = 10.0 𝑚/𝑠 16
16
Problem-Solving Hints

❑ Read the problem thoroughly.

❑ Draw a diagram
▪ Choose a coordinate system, label initial and final points, indicate a
positive direction for velocities and accelerations

❑ Label all quantities, be sure all the units are consistent

▪ Convert if necessary

❑ Choose the appropriate kinematic equation

❑ Solve for the unknowns

❑ Check your results

17
Section 3.4: Motion with Constant Acceleration | PP.124

Ex 14: How long does it take a car to cross a 30.0 m wide intersection after the light
turns green, if the car accelerates from rest at a constant 2.00 m/s2 .

Known wanted
𝑥0 = 0 𝑡
𝑥 = 30.0 𝑚
𝑣0 = 0
𝑎 = 2.00 𝑚Τ𝑠 2

1 2
Solution: 𝑥 = 𝑥0 + 𝑣0 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡
2

1 2 2
2𝑥 2𝑥 2 30.0 𝑚
⇒ 𝑥 = 𝑎𝑡 ⇒ 𝑡 = ⇒𝑡= = 2
= 5.48 𝑠
2 𝑎 𝑎 2.00 m/s

18
Section 3.5: Free Fall | PP.136 / Galileo Galilei Theory
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) theory says that free falling object
would gain equal amounts of velocity in equal amounts of time,
this means that :
1) the object’s speed increases as it falls
2) the rate at which it picks up speed does not change during the
fall.

▪ Gravitational acceleration does NOT depend on the weight of

the object.
▪ Gravity accelerates all objects down regardless if they are going up,
going down, stopped, or going sideways.

Check Your Understanding

Ex 15: You have two small balls: m1=2 kg and m1=10 kg. The balls are dropped
from second story balcony at the exact same time. Which one hits first to the
ground ?
Nearly the same

19
Section 3.5: Free Fall | PP.136
▪ Any object moving under the influence of gravity only,
and no other force, is in free fall.
▪ In the free-fall, acceleration always points down, no matter
what direction an object is moving (up or down).
𝐦
𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 = 𝟗. 𝟖 , downward
𝐬𝟐

Kinematics Equations for Objects in free fall

𝑣 = 𝑣0 − 𝑔𝑡 Where: 𝑔 = 9.8 𝑚/𝑠2

𝑣 2 = 𝑣0 2 − 2𝑔 ∆𝑦
∆𝑦 = 𝑣0 𝑡 − 12𝑔𝑡 2

Ex 17: A tennis ball is beaten downward with an initial speed of 5 m/s. How fast, in
m/s, is the ball falling after 3s? (Air friction is neglected)

Solution: 𝑣 = 𝑣0 − 𝑔𝑡 = −5 − 9.8 × 3 = − 34.4 m/s

20
Section 3.5: Free Fall | PP.136
▪ In the absence of air resistance, all objects (hammer and feather as shown below)
fall with the same constant acceleration regardless their masses .

Ex 16: An apple falls from rest from a tree and takes 1.5 s to reach the floor.
i) How high up did it fall from?
ii) What is its velocity just before it hits the ground?

Solution: 𝑦0 = 0
1
𝑖)∆𝑦 = 𝑣0 𝑡 − 12𝑔𝑡 2 = 0 − 9.8 1.5 2 = −11𝑚
2
𝑦 = −11𝑚
𝑖𝑖) 𝑣 = 𝑣0 − 𝑔𝑡 = 0 − 9.8 1.5 = −14.7 𝑚/𝑠
21
Ex. 3.15: A player hits a baseball straight upward at home plate and the ball is caught
5.0 s after it is struck.

Reference line

Problem-Solving Strategy:
1. Draw the reference line, write initial and final positions for the motion.
2. Record the knowns and unknowns from the description.
3. Decide which equations to use.
22
Ex. 3.15: A player hits a baseball straight upward at home plate and the ball is
caught 5.0 s after it is struck.
(a) What is the initial velocity of the ball?
∆𝑦 = 𝑣0 𝑡 − 12𝑔𝑡 2 0 = 𝑣0 (5.0) − 12(9.8)(5.0)2 𝑣0 = 24.5 𝑚/𝑠

(b) What is the maximum height the ball reaches?

𝑣 2 = 𝑣0 2 − 2𝑔 ∆𝑦 0 2
= 24.5 2
− 2 9.8 ∆𝑦 ∆𝑦 = 30.6 𝑚

(c) How long does it take to reach the maximum height?

𝑣 = 0 at the top ➔ 𝑣 = 𝑣0 − 𝑔𝑡 0 = 24.5 − 9.8𝑡 𝑡 = 2.5 𝑠 (half time of flight)

(d) What is the acceleration at the top of its path?

𝑎 = − 𝑔 = − 9.80 𝑚/𝑠2 all the time!

(e) What is the velocity of the ball when it is caught? Assume the ball is hit
and caught at the same location.
Total time =2 ∙ 𝑡 = 2 × 2.5 = 5.0 𝑠
𝑣 = 𝑣0 − 𝑔𝑡 = 24.5 − 9.8 × 5.0 = −24.5 𝑚/𝑠
23
Graphical Analysis of Linear Motion | PP.109

 Let's look position − time graph for an object moving with constant velocity.
 X-axis is always “time” and Y-axis is always “position”.

The slope of the (x-t) graph is velocity:

∆𝑥 𝑥𝑓 −𝑥𝑖
𝑣 = =
∆𝑡 𝑡𝑓 −𝑡𝑖

Ex 19: What is the slope in x-t graph?

∆𝑥 11
𝑣= = = 11 𝑚/𝑠
∆𝑡 1

Stationary motion

▪ If an object is at rest, a horizontal line is drawn

on a distance-time graph.
▪ Time is increasing to the right, but its position
does not change.
24
Section 3.2: Velocity-time graph P.112

Ex 3.2: What is the velocity;

(a) between t=0 and 0.4?

∆𝑥 𝑥𝑓 −𝑥𝑖 0.4−0
𝑣= = = 0.4−0 = 1 𝑚/𝑠
∆𝑡 𝑡𝑓 −𝑡𝑖
Solution:
(b) at t=0.6 ? 𝑣=0

(c) at t=1.45s ?
∆𝑥 𝑥𝑓 −𝑥𝑖 0.2−0.4
𝑣= = = 1.6−1.2 = −0.5 𝑚/𝑠
∆𝑡 𝑡𝑓 −𝑡𝑖

(d) total displacement ?

∆𝑥 = 𝑥𝑓 − 𝑥𝑖 = 0 − 0 = 0 𝑚

(e) total distance ? 𝑑 = 0.5 + 0 + −0.5 = 1 𝑚

25
Graphical Analysis of Linear Motion | PP.109
Uniform motion
 If an object is moving at a steady speed, it means we expect
the same increase in distance in a given time.

 Time is increasing to the right, and distance is increasing

steadily with time.
• The graph indicates two objects are covering the same
distance in a given time.
• The slope (speed) of dashed line is larger than the slope of
the solid one.
• A steeper slope indicates a larger distance moved in a
given time.

Non - uniform motion

a2≠0 Non-uniform
• The object increased its a2=0 motion
speed. It is accelerating. a1=0

26
Graphing Velocity in One Dimension | PP.109

• Velocity-time (v-t) graph shows an object’s velocity as a function of time.

• A horizontal line = constant velocity (+ or -) / Uniform Motion.

V (m/s)
- An object can have a positive
Constant speed v=4 m/s (right or up)
or negative velocity.

0 t (s) - If an object isn’t moving, its

velocity = zero.
Constant speed v = -5 m/s (left or down)

The slope of the (v-t) graph is acceleration:

∆𝑣 𝑣𝑓 −𝑣𝑖
𝑎 = =
∆𝑡 𝑡𝑓 −𝑡𝑖
Ex 20: What is the acceleration in v-t graph?
∆𝑣 𝑣𝑓 −𝑣𝑖 60−30
𝑎 = = = = 7.5 m/s2
∆𝑡 𝑡𝑓 −𝑡𝑖 7−3
27
Graphing Velocity in One Dimension | PP.109

• A straight sloped line = constant acceleration (+ or -).

➢ Acceleration = change in velocity over time.

If the v-t graph has positive slope If v-t graph has negative slope
N
N

1
velocity (m/s)

velocity (m/s)
time (s) time (s)

S S
1-Positive velocity and positive 3-Positive velocity and negative acceleration: object
acceleration: object is speeding up! is slowing down

2- Negative velocity and positive acceleration: 4- Negative velocity and negative acceleration:
object is slowing down. object is speeding up! (in negative direction)
28
Displacement From Area Under The v-t Graph | PP.109
1-For the motion with constant velocity: the area under the v-t
graph is rectangle shape.
• Because height is actually velocity and width is actually time,
area under the graph is: height × width = velocity × time

Displacement (d) = Area under the v-t graph

2-For the motion with steeper (up or down)

velocity: the area under the v-t graph is
triangle, thus the area= Area of triangle.
½ base × height

• Area above the time axis = forward (positive) displacement.

• Area below the time axis = backward (negative) displacement.
“forward area”
• Total area (above + below) = total distance traveled. v

• Net area (above - below) = net displacement. t

“backward area” 29
Section 3.2: Velocity-time graph P.112

P. 39: Find

(a) acceleration at t=12 s

∆𝑣 𝑣𝑓 −𝑣𝑖 6−0
𝑎= = = 20−0 = 0.3 𝑚/𝑠2
∆𝑡 𝑡𝑓 −𝑡𝑖

(b) acceleration at t=60s ?

∆𝑣 𝑣𝑓 −𝑣𝑖 2−2
𝑎= ∆𝑡
= 𝑡𝑓 −𝑡𝑖
= 70−50 = 0 𝑚/𝑠2

(c) displacement between t= 20-50 s?

∆𝑥 = +

∆𝑥 = 12 50 − 20 6 − 2 + 50 − 20 2 − 0 = 60 + 60 = 120 𝑚

(d) displacement between t=95-100 s ?

∆𝑥 = = 12 100 − 95 −2 − 0 = −5 𝑚
30
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