Chapter 2

Motion Along a Straight Line

2.1 Motion
2.2 Position and displacement
2.3 Average velocity and average speed
2.4 Instantaneous velocity and speed
2.5 Acceleration
2.6 Constant acceleration: a special case
2.7 Free-fall acceleration
1
2.1 Motion

- Kinematics is the part of mechanics that describes the

motion of physical objects.
- Motion will be along a straight line.
- We will assume that the moving objects are
“particles,” i.e., we restrict our discussion to the
motion of objects for which all the points move in the
same way.

2
2.2 Position and displacement

- Consider an object moving along a straight line taken to

be the x-axis. The object’s position at any time t is
described by its coordinate x(t) defined with respect to
the origin O.
- The coordinate x can be positive or negative depending
whether the object is located on the positive or the
negative part of the x-axis. 3
- Displacement: If an object moves from position x1 to
position x2 , the change in position is described by the
displacement
x  x2  x1

- Displacement is a vector quantity that has both

magnitude and direction. In this restricted one-
dimensional motion the direction is described by the
algebraic sign of Δx.
- Consider as an example the motion of an object from an
initial position x1 = 5 m to x2 = 200 m and then back to
x1 = 5 m. Even though the total distance covered is 390
m the displacement then is Δx = 0.
4
2.3 Average velocity and average speed
- One method of describing the motion of an object is to
plot its position x(t) as a function of time t.

x2  x1 x
vavg  
t2  t1 t

5
 x2  x1 2  (4) 6 m
vavg     2 m/s
t2  t1 4 1 3s

Average Speed savg

The average speed is defined in terms of the
total distance traveled in a time interval Δt (and savg  total distance
not the displacement Δx as in the case of vavg). t

Note: The average velocity and the average speed for the same
time interval Δt can be quite different. 6
2.4 Instantaneous velocity and speed
- In order to describe how fast an object moves at any time
t we introduce the notion of instantaneous velocity v (or
simply velocity).
- Instantaneous velocity is defined as the limit of the
average velocity determined for a time interval Δt as we
let Δt → 0.
x dx
v  lim 
t dt
t  0
7
 - From its definition instantaneous
velocity is the first derivative of
the position coordinate x with
respect to time. It is thus equal to
the slope of the x versus t plot.

 Speed
p
- We define speed as the magnitude
of an object’s velocity vector.

8
2.5 Acceleration
Average Acceleration
- We define the average acceleration aavg between t1 and t2
as: v  v v
aavg  2 1

t2  t1 t Units: m/s2

Instantaneous Acceleration
- If we take the limit of aavg as Δt → 0 we get the
instantaneous acceleration a, which describes how fast
the velocity is changing at any time t.
v dv dv d  dx  d 2 x
a  lim  , a    2
t dt dt dt  dt  dt
t  0
- The acceleration is the slope of the v versus t plot. 9
2.6 Constant acceleration: a special case
dv
a  dv  adt. If we integrate both sides of the equation we get:
dt
 dv   adt  a  dt  v  at  C. Here C is the integration constant.
C can be determined if we know the velocity v0  v(0) at t  0:
v(0)  v0  (a)(0)  C  C  v0  v  v0  at (eq. 1)
dx
v  dx  vdt   v0  at  dt  v0 dt  atdt . If we integrate both sides we get:
dt
at 2
 dx   v0 dt a  tdt  x  v0t  2  C . Here C  is the integration constant.
C  can be determined if we know the position xo  x(0) at t  0:
a
x(0)  xo  (v0 )(0)  (0)  C   C   xo
2
at 2
x(t )  xo  v0t  (eq. 2)
2
10
 at 2
v  v0  at (eq. 1) ; x  x0  v0t  (eq. 2)
2
If we eliminate the time t between equation 1 and equation 2 we get:
v 2  v02  2a  x  x0  (eq. 3)
Below we plot the position x(t ), the velocity v(t ), and the acceleration a versus time t:

at 2
x  x0  v0t 
2
The x(t) versus t plot is a parabola that intercepts
the vertical axis at x = x0.

v  v0  at
The v(t) versus t plot is a straight line with
slope = a and intercept = v0.

The acceleration a is a constant.

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2.7 Free-fall acceleration
- Close to the surface of the Earth all objects move toward
the center of the Earth with an acceleration whose
magnitude is constant and equal to 9.8 m/s2. We use the
symbol g to indicate the acceleration of an object in free
fall. a
y If we take the y-axis to point upward
B
then the acceleration of an object in
free fall a = -g and the equations for
free fall take the form:
v  v0  gt (eq. 1)
gt 2
x  xo  v0t  (eq. 2)
2
A
v 2  v02  2 g  x  xo  (eq. 3) 12
Sample Problem 1:
An automobile travels on a straight road for 40 km at 30 km/h. It
then continues in the same direction for another 40 km at 60 km/h.
(a) What is the average velocity of the car during this 80 km trip?
(Assume that it moves in the positive x direction.)
(b) What is the average speed?
(c) Graph x versus t and indicate how the average velocity is found
on the graph.

(a) During the first part of the motion, the displacement is x1 = 40 km and the
time interval is (40 km)
t1   133
. h.
(30 km / h)

During the second part the displacement is x2 = 40 km and the time interval is
(40 km)
t2   0.67 h.
(60 km / h)
Both displacements are in the same direction, so the total displacement is
x = x1 + x2 = 40 km + 40 km = 80 km.
13
 The total time for the trip is t = t1 + t2 = 2.00 h. Consequently, the average
velocity is (80 km)
vavg   40 km / h.
(2.0 h)

(b) In this example, the numerical result for the average speed is the same as the
average velocity 40 km/h.
(c) As shown below, the graph consists of two contiguous line segments, the first
having a slope of 30 km/h and connecting the origin to (t1, x1) = (1.33 h, 40
km) and the second having a slope of 60 km/h and connecting (t1, x1) to (t, x)
= (2.00 h, 80 km). From the graphical point of view, the slope of the dashed
line drawn from the origin to (t, x) represents the average velocity.

14
Sample Problem 2:

The position of an object moving along an x-axis is given by x =

3t - 4t2 +t3, where x is in meters and t in seconds. Find the
position of object at the following values of t:
(a) 1s,
(b) 2s,
(c) 3s,
(d) 4s,
(e) What is the object displacement between t = 0 and t = 4s?
(f) What is its average velocity for the time interval from t = 2 s
to t = 4 s.
(g) Graph x versus t for 0  t  4 s and indicate how the answer
for (f) can be found on the graph.

15
Using x = 3t – 4t2 + t3 with SI units understood is efficient (and is the approach we
will use), but if we wished to make the units explicit we would write
x = (3 m/s)t – (4 m/s2)t2 + (1 m/s3)t3.
(a) Plugging in t = 1 s yields x = 3 – 4 + 1 = 0.
(b) With t = 2 s we get x = 3(2) – 4(2)2+(2)3 = –2 m.
(c) With t = 3 s we have x = 0 m.
(d) Plugging in t = 4 s gives x = 12 m.

For later reference, we also note that the position at t = 0 is x = 0.

(e) The position at t = 0 is subtracted from the position at t = 4 s to find the
displacement x = 12 m.
(f) The position at t = 2 s is subtracted from the position at t = 4 s to give the
displacement  x = 14 m. Then, leads to v  x  14 m  7 m/s.
t
avg
2s

(g) The horizontal axis is 0  t  4 with SI units

understood.

Not shown is a straight line drawn from the point at

(t, x) = (2, –2) to the highest point shown (at t = 4 s) Average velocity and
which would represent the answer for part (f). average speed 16
Sample Problem 3:

The position of a particle moving along the x axis is given in

centimeters by x = 9.75 + 1.5t 3, where t is in seconds. Calculate

(a)The average velocity during the time interval t = 2.00 s to t =

3.00s;
(b)The instantaneous velocity at t = 2.00 s;
(c)The instantaneous velocity at t = 3.00 s;
(d)The instantaneous velocity at t = 2.50 s;
(e)The instantaneous velocity when the particle is midway
between its position at t = 2.00 s and t =3.00 s.
(f) Graph x versus t and indicate your answer graphically.

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(a) We plug into the given equation for x for t = 2.00 s and t = 3.00 s and obtain x2
= 21.75 cm and x3 = 50.25 cm, respectively. The average velocity during the
time interval 2.00  t  3.00 s is
x 50.25 cm  2175
. cm
vavg  
t 3.00 s  2.00 s
which yields vavg = 28.5 cm/s.
(b) The instantaneous velocity is v  dx  2
dt 4.5t
, which, at time t = 2.00 s, yields v = (4.5)(2.00)2 = 18.0 cm/s.
(c) At t = 3.00 s, the instantaneous velocity is v = (4.5)(3.00)2 = 40.5 cm/s.
(d) At t = 2.50 s, the instantaneous velocity is v = (4.5)(2.50)2 = 28.1 cm/s.
(e) Let tm stand for the moment when the particle is midway between x2 and x3 (that
is, when the particle is at xm = (x2 + x3)/2 = 36 cm). Therefore,
xm  9.75  15
. tm3  t m  2.596
in seconds. Thus, the instantaneous speed at this time is v = 4.5(2.596)2 = 30.3
cm/s.
(f)The answer to part (a) is given by the slope of the
straight line between t = 2 and t = 3 in this x-vs-t plot.
The answers to parts (b), (c), (d) and (e) correspond
to the slopes of tangent lines (not shown but easily
imagined) to the curve at the appropriate points. 18
Problems:
1. A person goes out for a bike ride to a nearby town. A record of
the trip is as follows: 30 minutes at 30 km/hour, 15 minutes at 40
km/h, 5 minutes at 0 km/h for a break, and 20 minutes at 15 km/h.
a) What is the distance the person traveled? [30 km]
b) What is the average velocity? [25.71 km/hr]
2. A car increases its velocity from 15 m/s to 25 m/s in the distance
of 20 m.
a) Find the magnitude of this acceleration. [10 m/s2]
b) Find the time it takes for the car to travel this distance. [1 s]
3. A car starts from rest and travels for 10 seconds with a constant
acceleration of 3.0 m/s2. The driver then applies the brakes
causing a constant negative acceleration of –4.0 m/s2. Assuming
the brakes are applied for 2.0 seconds:
a) How fast is the car going at the end of braking? [22 m/s]
b) How far has the car gone at the end of braking? [202 m] 19
4. A ball is thrown straight up in the air and passes a certain window
0.30 s after being released. It passes the same window on its way
back down 1.50 s later. What was the initial velocity of the ball?
[10.3 m/s]

5. A model rocket is launched from rest and its engine delivers a

constant acceleration of 8.2 meters per square second for 5.0 s
after which the fuel is used up. Assuming the rocket was launched
straight up into the air.
a) Find the maximum altitude reached by the rocket. [188.3 m]
b) Find the total time the rocket is in flight. [15.4 s]
(assume no air resistance)
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6. A basketball is dropped from a height of 2.00 meters above the
ground. On the first bounce the ball reaches a maximum height of
1.10 meters where it is caught. Find the velocity of the ball:
a) just before it makes contact with the ground, [-6.3 m/s]
b) just after it leaves the ground after the bounce, [4.64 m/s]
c) the total time from drop to catch (neglecting the time the ball is
in contact with the ground). [1.11 s]
7. A cat with a constant velocity of 4.0 m/s runs by a stationary dog.
After 1 second, the dog decides to chase the cat. The dog
accelerates at 1.5 m/s2.
a) How long does it take the dog to catch the cat? [6.19 s]
b) How far away from the spot where the dog was sitting has the
cat gone when it is caught by the dog? [28.7 m]
(assume constant velocity for the cat)
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