Saint Louis University

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE

Department of Mechanical Engineering

MODULE 2: KINEMATICS

MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE (Rectilinear Motion)

Motion is apparent in widely ranging phenomena. Historically, motion was
one of the first phenomena to be studied carefully. Some progress was made in
the understanding of motion in ancient times, particularly by the philosophers of
classical Greece, but it was not until the Renaissance that the basic laws of
motion were discovered. Many individuals made important contributions, but
two stand above the rest: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and Isaac Newton (1642-
1727).

Motion is defined as the continuous change in the position of a body. The

study of the motion of a body irrespective of the causes is the branch of
mechanics called Kinematics, which comes from a Greek word meaning
“motion”.
In our study of motion we will be using a particle (an object whose
dimensions are negligible for the problem at hand and whose position is
represented by a mathematical point) as a model, which is actually a very small
body. However, larger bodies like a car or a sled can be represented by the
particle if all parts of it can be considered to be moving in the same way or it
does not rotate or change its shape while moving.

We start our study with the simplest type of motion a body can undergo.
This is called rectilinear motion or motion along a straight line. For the analysis,
we will be considering the line of motion as a coordinate axis, i.e. the x-axis if the
line of motion is horizontal or the y-axis if the line of motion is vertical.
2.1 BASIC CONCEPTS:

1. POSITION (x) of the body. This is to indicate the location of the body at any time
as it moves. It is the distance from a given reference point along the path at any
time.

 The reference point should not be confused with the starting point
although sometimes they are considered the same for convenience.
 In cases where the line of motion is the y-axis, position is denoted by (y)

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

2. DISPLACEMENT (X) - this is the change in the position of the body during a
certain length of time.
 the Greek letter “delta” () stands for “change in” a quantity.

X = X2 - X1

where x1 - is the initial position or position at time t 1

x2 - is the final position or position at time t 2

 Displacement is different from distance traveled in the sense that
displacement is a vector quantity directed from the initial to the final
position. However in rectilinear motion, the magnitude of the
displacement is the same as the distance travelled.

3. Time instant (t) and Time Interval (t)

Time instant is a point in time, i.e. at the time 5 seconds after starting or time
2 seconds before it stops, etc.
Time interval is a length of time, i.e. during the first 10 seconds or during the
time from t1 = 5 seconds to t2 = 10 seconds etc.

4. Velocity of the body. Generally, the velocity is the rate of change in the
position of the body. From this, it can be seen how fast a body is moving
including its direction of motion.
Average Velocity (vav) is the velocity of a body taken during a time
𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 ∆𝒙
𝒗𝒂𝒗 = = ∆𝒕
𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒍

interval or between two points along its path.

Instantaneous Velocity (v) is the velocity of a body at a particular time
instant or point along its path.
5. Acceleration of the body is the rate of change in the velocity of the body. A
body is said to be accelerating when the velocity is changing. This can happen
in the form of a change in the magnitude of the velocity i.e. the body moves

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

faster and faster or slower and slower, or in the form of a change in the
direction. In rectilinear motion however, acceleration can happen mostly in the
form of a change in magnitude (except at the instant when the body reverses
its direction).

Average acceleration (aav) is the acceleration of the body taken during a

time interval or during a certain displacement.
𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 ∆𝒗
𝒂𝒂𝒗 = =
𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒍 ∆𝒕

Instantaneous acceleration (a) is the acceleration at a given time instant

or point along its path.

2.2 Uniformly Accelerated Rectilinear Motion or UARM

UARM is one common type of rectilinear motion. In this type of motion, the
change in velocity for consecutive equal time intervals is constant. For example,
if the change in velocity during the first 5 sec is 20 m/s, the change in velocity
during the second 5 sec will also be 20 m/s, so also during the third 5 sec and so
on. The body therefore can be observed to be moving faster or slower at a
uniform rate.
If the acceleration is in the same direction as the velocity the body moves
faster. In this case the acceleration is considered to be positive relative to the
velocity. If the acceleration is opposite to the velocity the body moves slower. In
this case the acceleration is said to be negative relative to the velocity.
Basic Equations used for Analyzing UARM:
To simplify the equations, it will be assumed here that initially (at t = 0), the
position X = 0, Thus the time interval t will be the same as time instant t because
ti = 0 and tf = t.
The displacement X will also become same as position X because Xi = 0
and Xf = X at time instant t.
Therefore v av = X/t = X/t and since v av = (vi + vf)/2 then

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

(𝐯𝐢 + 𝐯𝐟 )𝐭
𝐗=
𝟐
In UARM, the average acceleration is equal to the instantaneous acceleration
therefore
𝐯𝐟 − 𝐯𝐢
𝑎 = 𝐚𝐚𝐯 =
𝐭
The two equations above are considered as the basic equations for analyzing
UARM. Any problem involving UARM can already be solved or analyzed by just
using these 2 equations. However, in many instances, the two will always be
used together to solve even only a single quantity. Therefore there is a need for
additional equations that will enable us to solve for a quantity directly using only
one equation. To obtain these additional equations, we simply solve the two
basic equations simultaneously by elimination of a particular unknown quantity.
That’s why these additional equations are called derived equations.
If vf is eliminated from the basic equations,

X = vi(t) + (1/2)at2

If vi is eliminated,

X = vf (t) - (1/2)at2

If t is eliminated

vf2 = vi2 + 2aX

Thus, there are 5 equations for analyzing UARM, each one having its own
particular application.
** note that the subscript “i” refer to initial property while the subscript “f” are
final properties.

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Examples:

1. Determine the average speed of a car that travels 80 km/hr for 2 hr, 100
km/hr for 1 hr and at 30 km/hr for 0.5 hr?

Illustration of path and behavior of motion:

0 1 2 3

Solution:
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝛥𝑋
vave = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 = 𝛥𝑡

Where:
ΔX = X01+X12+X23
X01 = (80 km/hr)(2hr) = 160 km ---- displacement after the first 2 hours
X12 = (100 km/hr)(1hr) = 100 km – displacement during the next hour
X23 = (30 km/hr)(o.5hr) = 15 km – displacement during the last half hour

Therefore: ΔX = 160km + 100km + 15 km = 275km

Total time interval: Δt = 2 + 1 + 0.5 = 3.5 hr

Vave = 275 km/3.5 hr = 78.5714 km/hr

2. You normally drive on a freeway at an average speed of 105 km/hr, and

the trip takes 2 hr and 20 min. On a Friday afternoon, however, heavy traffic
slows you down and you drive the same distance at an average speed of
only 70 km/hr. How much longer does the trip take?

Solution:
Time difference = time during rainy days – time during normal day

1 ℎ𝑟
Let: tn = time on a normal day = 2 hr + (20min x 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛) = 2.3333hrs
Solving for the distance travelled:
X = (105 km/hr)(2.3333hr) = 245 km

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Solving for time of travel during rainy day (t R)

tR = 245 km/(70 km/hr) = 3.5 hrs

Therefore:
Time difference = tR –tN = 3.5hr – 2.3333hr = 1.1667 hr

The trip during a rainy day takes 1.1667 hrs longer compared to that on a
normal day.

3. A car moving with constant acceleration covers the distance between two
points 60 m apart in 6s. Its velocity as it passes the second point is 15 m/s.
(a) what is its velocity at the first point? (b) What is the acceleration?

X = 60m ; t = 6s; a =?

1 2

V1 =? V 2 = 15 m/s

a. Solving for initial velocity:

X = (vi + vf) t / 2
60m = (v1 + 15 m/s)(6s)/2

v1 = 5 m/s
b. Solving for acceleration:
X = vf (t) - (1/2)at2
60m = (15m/s)(6s) – ½(a)(6s)2
a = 1.6667 m/s2

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

2.3 Free Falling Bodies:

An excellent example of motion with (nearly) constant acceleration is a free

falling body. A body, which is dropped from a roof of a building, is a freely falling
body if there is no air resistance. However, there is a more accurate meaning of
a free falling body. It is a body such that the only force acting on it is the pull of
gravity. This implies that there is no air resistance or air friction, for air friction is
considered a force acting on a moving body.
The motion of falling bodies has been studied with great precision. When the
effects of air can be neglected, Galileo is right; all bodies at a particular location
fall with the same downward acceleration, regardless of their size or weight. (The
constant acceleration of a free falling body is called the acceleration due to
gravity.) If the distance of the fall is small compared to the radius of the earth, the
acceleration is constant.
In the following discussion we use an idealized model in which we neglect the
effects of the air, the earth’s rotation,, and the decrease of acceleration with
increasing altitude.
a. y = (vi + vf)t/2
b. vf = vi + gt
c. y = vit + ½ gt2
d. y = vft - ½ gt2
e. vf2 = vi2 + 2gy

Where:
y = vertical displacement of the free falling body
g = constant acceleration due to gravity
vf = final velocity
vi = initial velocity
t = time elapsed
Note: for convenience, the following concept should be applied:
 The value of acceleration due to gravity “g” is always negative (g = -9.81
m/s2; g = -32.2 ft/s2; g = - 981 cm/s2)

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

 Velocities directed upward are positive, while velocities directed downward

are negative.
 If the vertical displacement “y” is above the reference point (starting point)
of the free falling body, it is positive, otherwise it is negative.
 The velocity at the highest point of a free falling body thrown vertically
upward is zero.

EXAMPLE PROBLEM ON FREE-FALL:

You throw a ball vertically upward from the roof of a tall building. The ball
leaves your hand at a point even with the roof railing with an upward speed of
15 m/s ,the ball is then in free fall. On its way back down, it just misses the
railing. Find (a) the ball’s position and velocity 1.00 s and 4.00 s after leaving
your hand; (b) the ball’s velocity when it is 5.00 m above the railing; (c) the
maximum height reached; (d) the ball’s acceleration when it is at its maximum
height.

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Solution:

Assume that starting (y = 0 ) is the point where the object was released.
Given: vi = 15 m/s upward --- initial velocity of the ball
a) Find the ball’s position and velocity 1.00 s and 4.00 s after leaving your hand

At t = 0:

Position:
y = vit + ½ gt2
y = (15m/s)(1s) + 1/2 (-9.81m/s2)(1s)2
y = 10.095 m

Velocity:

vf = vi + gt
vf = 15m/s +(-9.81m/s2)(1s)
vf = 5.19 m/s

1 second after release, the ball is 10.095 m above starting point with a velocity
of 5.19 m/s and directed upward
At t = 4s:

Position:
y = vit + ½ gt2
y = (15m/s)(4s) + 1/2 (-9.81m/s2)(4s)2
y = -18.48 m

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Velocity:

vf = vi + gt
vf = 15m/s +(-9.81m/s2)(4s)
vf = -24.24 m/s

4 second after release, the ball is 18.48 m below starting point with a velocity
of 24.24 m/s m/s and directed downward.

b) ) the ball’s velocity when it is 5.00 m above the railing

vf2 = vi2 + 2gy

vf2 = (15 m/s)2 + 2(-9.81m/s2)(5m)
vf = ±11.26 m/s
We get two values of because the ball passes through the point y = 5m,twice,
once on the way up (so is positive) and once on the way down (so is negative)

c) the maximum height reached

vf2 = vi2 + 2gy at the maximum height final velocity v f =0
0 = (15m/s)2 + 2(-9.81m/s2)y
y = 11.47m

d) the ball’s acceleration when it is at its maximum height.

At any point along the path of the projectile acceleration is always
constant, therefore a = 9.81 m/s2 directed downward.

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

2.1 Motion in Two-Dimensions

PROJECTILE MOTION
Projectile motion is an important special case of two dimensional motion.
A projectile is any body that is given an initial velocity and then follows a
path determined entirely by the effects of gravitational acceleration and air
resistance. The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.
To analyze this common type of motion, we’ll start with an idealized model,
representing the projectile as a single particle with an acceleration (due to
gravity) that is constant in both magnitude and direction. We’ll neglect the
effects of air resistance and the curvature and rotation of the earth.
Projectile motion is always confined to a vertical plane determined by the
direction of the initial velocity (velocity of projection). This is because the
acceleration due to gravity is purely vertical; gravity can’t move the projectile
sideways. Thus projectile motion is two-dimensional. We will call the plane of
motion the xy-coordinate plane, with the x-axis horizontal and the y-axis vertically
upward. The x-component of acceleration is zero, and the y-component is
constant and equal to –g (By definition, g is always positive; with our choice of
coordinate directions, ay is negative.)
In projectile motion
a = g = 9.80 m/s2 directed downward

Thus,
ax = 0 and ay = - 9.80 m/s2

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

EQUATIONS USED IN ANALYZING PROJECTILE MOTION

II. HORIZONTAL COMPONENT

x = v xt
III. VERTICAL COMPONENT
𝑣𝑖𝑦 +𝑣𝑓𝑦
a. y = ( )t
2
b. vfy = viy + gt
c. y = viyt + ½ gt2
d. y = vfyt - ½ gt2
e. vfy2 = viy2 + 2gy

EXAMPLE PROBLEM ON PROJECTILE MOTION

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

1. An object is launched at a velocity of 20 m/s in a direction making an

angle of 25° upward with the horizontal.
a) What is the maximum height reached by the object?
b) What is the total flight time (between launch and touching the
ground) of the object?
c) What is the horizontal range (maximum x above ground) of the
object?

a) What is the maximum height reached by the object?

The formulas for the components Vx and Vy of the velocity and

components x and y of the displacement are given by:
Vx = V0 cos(θ) Vy = V0 sin(θ) - g t
x = V0 cos(θ) t y = V0 sin(θ) t - (1/2) g t2

In the problem V0 = 20 m/s, θ = 25° and g = - 9.8 m/s2.

The height of the projectile is given by the component y, and it reaches its
maximum value when the component VBY is equal to zero. That is when the
projectile changes from moving upward to moving downward.(see figure
above)

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

VBY = V0 sin(θ) + g t
0 = (20m/s)sin25 +(-9.81m/s2)t

Solving for t = 0.86s (time to reach maximum height)

Find the maximum height by substituting t by 0.86 seconds in the

formula for y
𝒗𝟎𝒚 +𝒗𝒃𝒚
y=( )t
𝟐
y = (20sin25 +0)(0.86s)/2
y = 3.635m
b) What is the total flight time (between launch and touching
the ground) of the object?

The time of flight (t) is the interval of time between when projectile is launched
until the projectile touches the ground and is located at y = 0.

Thus

y = voyt + ½ gt2
0 = (20sin25)(t) + ½(-9.81m/s2)t2
Solving for t
t = 1.72 s

c) What is the horizontal range (maximum x above ground) of

the object?
x = voxt
Where t is the time from launch to point where projectile
nearly reaches the ground. In this case it is the time solved in
letter (b) t =.172 s
Therefore X = (20cos25)(1.72s)
X = 31.176m

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 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING and ARCHITECTURE
Department of Mechanical Engineering

ASSIGNMENT 2: DUE ON JUNE 24

1. A subway train starts from rest at a station and accelerates at a rate of 1.6
m/s2 for 14 s. It then runs at constant speed for 70 s after which it slows down
at a rate of 3.5 m/s2 until it stops at the next station. Find the total distance
covered.
2. A freight train moving at an initial speed of 40 m/s puts on its breaks,
producing a deceleration of 0.5 m/s2. (a) How long will it take the train to
travel the next 100 m? (b) At what speed will it be traveling the end of this
100 m?
3. How fast must a ball be thrown vertically upward to reach a height of 12 m
from the point where it was thrown? How long will it take for the ball to go
back to its original position?
4. A champagne bottle is held upright 1.2 m above the floor as the wire
around its cork is removed. The cork then pops out, rises vertically and falls
to the floor 1.4 s later. (a) What height above the bottle did the cork
reach? (b) What was the cork’s initial velocity? (c) What is its velocity jus
before it strikes the ground?
5. A boy throws a stone from the top of a building 46.0 m above ground. The
stone is thrown at an angle of 33.0° below the horizontal and strikes the
ground 55.6 m away from the building, find the following: (a) Time of flight.
(b) Initial speed. (c) The magnitude and the direction of the velocity of the
stone just before it strikes the ground.
6. A major leaguer hits a baseball so that it leaves the bat at a speed of 30.0
m/s and at an angle of 36.9o above the horizontal. You can ignore air
resistance. (a) At what two times is the baseball at a height of 10 m above
the point at which it left the bat? (b) Calculate the horizontal and vertical
components of the baseball’s velocity at each of the two times calculated
in part (a). (c) What are the magnitude and direction of the baseball’s
velocity when it returns to the level at which it left the bat?

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