Scribd
Upload
21 views13 pages

3 - Intro To Kinematics

Uploaded by

dinrizkydwi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
21 views13 pages

3 - Intro To Kinematics

Uploaded by

dinrizkydwi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 13

Intro to Kinematics

Scalars and Vectors


 We will come across and use two different
'kinds' of measurements as we study physics:
1. Scalars
2. Vectors

 Because these two measurements have


fundamental differences we must:
a) be able to distinguish between them
b) follow different rules when using them
Scalars
 Scalar measurements tell us only the magnitude
of the quantity being measured
- Scalars numbers tell us "how many"

ex) 5m (distance, s)
10 s (time, Δt)
100 kmh-1 (speed, v)

 The symbols used to denote scalars are usually


letters
 scalars can be added, subtracted, multiplied,
divided, etc. just as ‘regular’ numbers can be
('regular' numbers are scalars…)
Vectors
 Vector measurements tell us the magnitude of the quantity
being measured and the direction over which it is be
measured
 Vector numbers tell us "how many" and "where"

ex) 5 m [left] (displacement, s)


100 kmh-1 [east] )
(velocity, v

 The symbols used to denote vectors are usually letters with


a small arrow above them
 Vectors can be added, subtracted, divided, etc. but we must
modify the process used according to the direction attached
to the quantity
 You CAN'T treat vectors like 'regular' numbers!
 we will learn how to add vectors that exist in a single
dimension in this course…
Intro to Kinematics
 before we can hope to understand the
physics of the moving world, we need to
define some important terms used in this
branch of physics
the branch of physics that deals with motion is
called kinematics
as it turns out, our universe behaves in a very
predictable fashion
 it appears to obey some very simple rules that can
be summarized in the form of mathematical
equations
 before we can understand and use these rules, we
need to be able to measure and define a few
fundamental quantities:
Distance and Displacement

 these expressions will appear in a few of


the kinematics equations we will be using
 Distance (s):
a scalar quantity that measures the space an
object moves through our three dimensional
world
is equal to the sum of the distances moved in
any and all spatial dimensions/directions
measured in SI base units called metres (m)
 Displacement ( s ):
a vector quantity that measures the space an
object moves through our three dimensional
world
is equal to the vector sum of the distances
moved in any and all spatial
dimensions/directions
measures a change in position (ie: the distance
between the starting point and the ending point)
measured in SI base units called metres (m)
Example:
An MMC student walks 200 m [E] to get
to school. After school this same
student walks 50 m [W] to get to work.
i. What is the total distance this student
walked?
ii. What is the displacement of the
student?
i.
s  200  50  250m
ii. s  200E  50W   150mE 
Time (Δt)
 whenever objects move through spatial
dimensions, they are also moving through the
dimension of time
 unlike spatial dimensions, all physical objects can only
move in one direction through time: forward!
 during our study of kinematics we will see that
the kinematics equations require that objects
moves through time
 this movement in the time dimension is represented as
the as ‘change in time” or Δt in equations
 expressed in SI base units called seconds (s)
Speed and Velocity
 Speed (v):
a scalar quantity that measures how far an
object travels (distance) in a given time
expressed in SI base units called metres per
second (ms-1)

 Velocity ( v ):
a vector quantity that measures the
displacement of an object in a given time
expressed in SI base units called metres per
second (ms-1)
Different “kinds” of Speed/Velocity
“Kind” of “Kind” of Definition
Speed Velocity
Initial speed/velocity of
u u object
 Final speed/velocity of
v v
object
 Average speed/velocity of
vavg vavg
object

v v Change in speed/velocity

Acceleration ( a )
 an object experiences an acceleration whenever
it’s velocity changes
 acceleration is equivalent to the rate of change of
velocity
 if an object’s speed remains constant (ie: doesn’t
change) the object is NOT accelerating!
 expressed in base units called metres per second2
(ms-2)
 Convention:
 if velocity “increases”, object is said to accelerate
 if velocity “decrease”, object is said to decelerate

You might also like