Concepts of Motion – Displacement, Velocity and Acceleration

An object is said to be in motion if it changes its position with time. A body which does not
move is said to be at rest, motionless, or stationary. An object’s state of motion or rest
cannot change unless it is acted upon by a force. Motion is described in terms of
displacement, velocity, and displacement described below.
Displacement
Displacement is the shortest distance from the initial to the final position of the object. A
displacement vector represents the length and direction of the straight path. Displacement is
a vector quantity as it has both magnitude and direction whereas distance is the scalar
quantity measuring only the length of path. For example, “Ryan traveled 5 kilometers” is
scalar and “Ryan traveled 5 kilometers in east” is vector. Distance is the actual length
traveled from initial to final position where as displacement is the shortest distance between
the two positions. Both, displacement and distance has standard unit mete rs.
Velocity
Velocity is speed in a given direction. Speed describes only how fast an object is moving,
whereas velocity gives both the speed and direction of the object’s motion being a vector
quantity. The standard unit to measure velocity is meter per second (m/s or ms -1). For
example, “10 meters per second” is scalar and “10 meters per second West” is vector.
Acceleration
Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity with time. Acceleration is the rate at
which an object speeds up or slows down. If the object speeds up it is said to have positive
acceleration. If the object slows down it is said to have negative acceleration also called as
retardation. Acceleration is also a vector quantity. The standard unit to measure
acceleration is meter per second squares (m/s 2 or ms-2).

This equation relates displacement, original velocity, constant acceleration, and

time:

It reads:

Displacement equals the original velocity multiplied by time plus one half the acceleration
multiplied by the square of time.

Here is a sample problem and its solution showing the use of this equation:

An object is moving with a velocity of 5.0 m/s. It accelerates constantly at 2.0 m/s/s, (2 m/s 2),
for a time period of 3.0 s. What is its displacement during this acceleration?

d = vot + (1/2)at2 Start here.

d = (5.0 m/s)(3.0 s) + (1/2)(2.0 m/s/s)(3.0 s)2 Plug in values with units.

d = 15 + 9 Do some intermediate mathematics.

d = 24 m Come up with a final answer.

So, this object moved 24 meters during the 3.0 seconds of the acceleration.

Solving Problems using the motion equations

Example: Starting from rest, an object accelerates at a rate of 12 m/s2. What is the velocity of the object
at the end of 3.0 seconds?

Vi = 0 (Starting from rest)

a = 12 m/s2
Vf = ?
t = 3.0 seconds
a = (Vf - Vi)/t
12 m/s2 = (Vf - 0)/3.0 secs
(Cross Multiply and Solve)
Vf = 36 m/s

Ex.2) An object at 100. m/s accelerates at a rate of 120. m/s2. What will the velocity of this object be
after .100 seconds?

a = (Vf - Vi)/t

120. m/s2 = (Vf - 100. m/s)/.100 s

• Cross Multiply

12.0 = (Vf - 100.)

Vf = 112 m/s

Derivation of the Equations of Motion

 v = u + at
Let us begin with the first equation, v=u+at. This equation only talks about the
acceleration, time, the initial and the final velocity. Let us assume a body that has a mass
“m” and initial velocity “u”. Let after time “t” its final velocity becomes “v” due to uniform
acceleration “a”. Now we know that:
Acceleration = Change in velocity/Time Taken
Therefore, Acceleration = (Final Velocity-Initial Velocity) / Time Taken
Hence, a = v-u /t or at = v-u
Therefore, we have: v = u + at

 v² = u² + 2as
We have, v = u + at. Hence, we can write t = (v-u)/a
Also, we know that, Distance = average velocity × Time
Therefore, for constant acceleration we can write: Average velocity = (final velocity + initial
velocty)/2 = (v+u)/2
Hence, Distance (s) = [(v+u)/2] × [(v-u)/a]
or s = (v² – u²)/2a
or 2as = v² – u²
or v² = u² + 2as

 s = ut + ½at²
Let the distance be “s”. We know that
Distance = Average velocity × Time. Also, Average velocity = (u+v)/2
Therefore, Distance (s) = (u+v)/2 × t
Also, from v = u + at, we have:
s = (u+u+at)/2 × t = (2u+at)/2 × t
s = (2ut+at²)/2 = 2ut/2 + at²/2
or s = ut +½ at²

GRAVITY AND FALLING BODIES

These activities demonstrate that all objects fall at the same rate, regardless of their mass - a
concept known as the law of falling bodies. Students then watch a video segment showing a
NASA astronaut dropping a feather and a hammer on the Moon. ... Gravity is the force that
exists between any two objects that have mass.

Galileo's law of falling bodies. Galileo (1564-1642) was the first to determine, at the start of the
seventeenth century, the law of constant acceleration of free-falling bodies. The law states that
the distances traveled are proportional to the squares of the elapsed times.

Gravity is the force that exists between any two objects that have mass. Weight is a measure of
the force of gravity pulling on an object. Some people think that the mass of an object and its
weight are one and the same, probably because we weigh things to determine their mass. But
weight and mass are not the same. How much something weighs depends on how strongly
gravity is pulling on it. So something will weigh less where the gravitational force on it is weaker
(as on the Moon or in space, for example), even though its mass has not changed.
Direction of gravity on a planet

We say that gravity pulls things “down”.

If that were literally true, then gravity would pull objects down like this:

Yet would happen to people on the other side of the Earth?

They’d fall off!

Obviously this never happens. Why not?

Gravity only appears to pull down locally.
In the big picture, it pulls radially inward:

This is why we can walk around the world.

How does gravity affect the velocity of a falling object?

Gravity accelerates objects towards the center of the Earth

Thus, the velocity of a falling object picks up this much speed every second (*)

g = 9.81 m/s2 (more precise)

g = 10.0 m/s2 (good approximation)

(*) air resistance will change this. That’s a separate topic.

Here’s an example of how a falling body picks up speed, with the approximation.

Here’s an example of how a falling body picks up speed, with a more precise number.

This value is only true at the Earth’s surface – the value of g decreases as one gets
further from the Earth’s surface.