PHYSE - KINEMATICS

KINEMATICS deals with the motion of an object while ignoring the interactions with external agents that might be
affecting of modifying that motion.
MOTION – an act, process, or instance of changing place

DISTANCE vs DISPLACEMENT
Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to “how much ground an object has covered” during its motion
Displacement is a vector quantity. The displacement ∆𝑥 of a particle is the change in its position:
∆𝒙 = 𝒙𝒇 − 𝒙𝒊

SPEED vs VELOCITY
Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to “how fast an object is moving”.
Velocity is a vector quantity that refers to “the rate of change of its position”.

AVERAGE SPEED vs AVERAGE VELOCITY

The average speed 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑔 of a particle during a time interval ∆𝑡 depends on the total distance the particle moves that
time interval:
𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
𝒔𝒙,𝒂𝒗𝒈 =
∆𝒕
When a particle has moved from position 𝑥𝑖 to position 𝑥𝑓 during a time interval∆𝑡 = 𝑡𝑓 − 𝑡𝑖 , its average velocity
during that interval is
∆𝒙 𝒙𝒇 − 𝒙𝒊
𝒗𝒙,𝒂𝒗𝒈 = =
∆𝒕 𝒕𝒇 − 𝒕𝒊

INSTANTANEOUS SPEED vs INSTANTANEOUS VELOCITY

The instantaneous speed of a particle is defined as the magnitude of its instantaneous velocity.
The instantaneous velocity is defined as the limiting value of the ratio ∆𝑥/∆𝑡 as ∆𝑡 approaches zero. By definition, this
limit equals the derivative of x with respect to t, or the time rate of change of the position:
∆𝒙 𝒅𝒙
𝒗𝒙 = 𝐥𝐢𝐦 =
∆𝒕→𝟎 ∆𝒕 𝒅𝒕

*If the velocity of a particle is constant, its instantaneous velocity at any instant during a time interval is the same as the
average velocity over the interval. That is, 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥,𝑎𝑣𝑔 .
𝒙𝒇 = 𝒙𝒊 + 𝒗𝒙 𝚫𝒕

ACCELERATION
The rate at which the velocity of a moving object changes with respect to time.
The average acceleration of a particle is defined as the ratio of the change in its ∆𝑣𝑥 divided by the time interval ∆𝑡
during which that change occurs:
∆𝒗𝒙 𝒗𝒙𝒇 − 𝒗𝒙𝒊
𝒂𝒙,𝒂𝒗𝒈 = =
∆𝒕 𝒕𝒇 − 𝒕𝒊

The instantaneous acceleration is equal to the limit of the ratio ∆𝑣𝑥 /∆𝑡 as ∆𝑡 approaches zero. By definition, this limit
equals the derivative of 𝑣𝑥 with respect to t, or the rate of change in velocity:
∆𝒗𝒙 𝒅𝒗𝒙
𝒂𝒙 = 𝐥𝐢𝐦 =
∆𝒕→𝟎 ∆𝒕 𝒅𝒕

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 1

 PHYSE - KINEMATICS

Examples:
1. Find the (a)displacement, (b)average velocity, and (c)average speed of the car between positions A and F.

2. A particle moves along the x axis. Its position varies with time according to the expression x=−4𝑡+2𝑡2, where 𝐱 is in
meters and 𝒕 is in seconds.
a. Determine the displacement of the particle in the time intervals t = 0 to t = 1 s and t = 1 s to t = 3 s.
b. Calculate the average velocity during these two time intervals.
c. Find the instantaneous velocity of the particle at t = 2.5 s.

3. The velocity of a particle moving along the x axis varies according to the expression 𝑣𝑥 = 40 − 5𝑡 2 , where 𝑣𝑥 is in
meters per second and 𝑡 is in seconds.
a. Find the average acceleration in the time interval t = 0 to t = 2 s.
b. Determine the acceleration at t = 2 s.

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 2

 PHYSE - KINEMATICS

MOTION AT A CONSTANT ACCELERATION

When the magnitude of the acceleration is constant and the motion is in a straight line, the instantaneous and average
acceleration are equal.

Fig. 1. A particle under constant acceleration ax moving along the x-axis: (a) the position-time graph, (b) the velocity-time
graph, and (c) the acceleration-time graph.

KINEMATIC EQUATIONS:
𝑣𝑥𝑓 = 𝑣𝑥𝑖 + 𝑎𝑥 𝑡
1
𝑥𝑓 = 𝑥𝑖 + (𝑣𝑥𝑖 + 𝑣𝑥𝑓 ) 𝑡
2
1
𝑥𝑓 = 𝑥𝑖 + 𝑣𝑥𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑥 𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑥𝑓 2 = 𝑣𝑥𝑖 2 + 2𝑎𝑥 (𝑥𝑓 − 𝑥𝑖 )

Example:
1. A car traveling at a constant velocity of 45 m/s passes a trooper on a motorcycle hidden behind a billboard. One
second after the speeding car passes the billboard, the trooper sets out to catch the car. The trooper starts from rest
at 𝑡𝐵 = 0 and accelerates at a constant rate of 3 m/s2. How long does it take the trooper to overtake the car?

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 3

 PHYSE - KINEMATICS

FREE-FALL ACCELERATION
An object falling freely in the presence of the Earth’s gravity experiences a free-fall acceleration directed toward the
center of the Earth. If air resistance is neglected, if the motion occurs near the surface of the Earth, and if the range
of motion is small compared with the Earth’s radius, then the free-fall acceleration g is constant over the range of
motion, where g is equal to (-)9.81 m/s2.

CASES/ EXAMPLES OF FREE FALLING MOTION

CASE 1
 A body dropped from a height “y”
o Initial velocity, vo = 0
CASE 2
 A body thrown vertically downward from a height “y”, thus given an initial velocity but allowing only gravity
to act on it.
o Initial Velocity, vo ≠ 0, and is negative
CASE 3
 A body thrown vertically upward first and then reaching a peak point before being under free fall.
o Initial Velocity, vo ≠ 0, and positive

Example:
A stone thrown from the top of a building is given an initial velocity of
20 m/s straight upward. The stone is launched 50 m above the ground,
and the stone just misses the edge of the roof on its way down.
a. Determine the time at which the stone reaches its maximum
height.
b. Find the maximum height of the stone.
c. Determine the velocity of the stone when it returns to the
height from which it was thrown.
d. Find the velocity and position of the stone at t = 5 s.

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 4

 PHYSE - KINEMATICS

PROJECTILE MOTION is one type of two-dimensional motion under constant acceleration, where ax = 0 and ay = -g.
It is useful to think of projectile motion as the superposition of two motions:
(1) constant-velocity motion in the x-direction
(2) free-fall motion in the vertical direction subject to a constant downward acceleration of magnitude g = 9.81 m/s2.
It is also assumed that the effect of air resistance is negligible.

 Projectile – is an object projected into space (empty or not) by the exertion of a force
 Trajectory – a curvilinear path followed by a projectile and is always a parabola (if air resistance is neglected)
 Range – the horizontal distance covered by a projectile

The horizontal and vertical components of a projectile’s motion are completely independent of each other and can be
handled separately, with time t as the common variable for both components.

𝑣𝑜𝑥 = 𝑣0 cos 𝛼𝑜
𝑣𝑜𝑦 = 𝑣0 sin 𝛼𝑜

𝑣𝑜 = √𝑣𝑜𝑥 2 + 𝑣𝑜𝑦 2

CASES OF PROJECTILE MOTION

CASE 1:
Projectile is launched with an initial horizontal velocity from an elevated position and
follows a parabolic path to the ground.

CASE 2:
A projectile is launched at an angle to the horizontal and rises upwards to a
peak while moving horizontally. Upon reaching the peak, the projectile falls
with a motion that is symmetrical to its path upwards to the peak.

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 5

 PHYSE - KINEMATICS

CASE 3
A projectile is launched at an angle below the horizontal and follows a parabolic path towards
the ground.

KINEMATIC EQUATIONS FOR PROJECTILE MOTION

(y: positive upward; ax = 0; ay = -g = -9.81 m/s2 )

Horizontal Motion Vertical Motion

(ax = 0; vx = constant) (ay = -g = constant)

𝑣𝑓𝑥 = 𝑣𝑖𝑥 𝑣𝑓𝑦 = 𝑣𝑖𝑦 + 𝑔𝑡

𝑥𝑓 = 𝑥𝑖 + 𝑣𝑖𝑥 𝑡 1
𝑦𝑓 = 𝑦𝑖 + (𝑣𝑖𝑦 + 𝑣𝑓𝑦 ) 𝑡
2
1
𝑦𝑓 = 𝑦𝑖 + 𝑣𝑖𝑦 𝑡 + 𝑔𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓𝑦 2 = 𝑣𝑖𝑦 2 + 2𝑔(𝑦𝑓 − 𝑦𝑖 )

Example:
1. A ski jumper leaves the ski track moving in the horizontal direction with a speed of 25 m/s. The landing incline
below her falls off with a slope of 35°. Where does she land on the incline?

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 6