CHAPTER -8

MOTION
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
It will enable the student to:
⚫ Understand the terms rest and motion.
⚫ Learn how motion and rest are relative to each other.
⚫ Learn the meaning of reference point.
⚫ Understand about physical quantities distance and
displacement.
⚫ Evaluate the numerical value of distance and
displacement.
⚫ Motion means ‘Movement’. In our daily life,
we see lots of things moving around for example:
Car passing
through from one
place to other
person riding on a
bicycle
Birds fly
 fish swims

blood flows through

veins and arteries

planets, stars and

galaxies are all in motion
etc.

•There are situations where the motion is inferred through

indirect evidences.
For example, we infer the motion of air by observing the
movement of dust and the movement of leaves and branches of
trees.
Most motions are complex. Some objects may move in
a straight line, others may take a circular path. Some
may rotate and a few others may vibrate.
⚫ In scientific terms

⚫ An object is said to be in
motion ,if it changes its
position with respect to
time and surroundings.

⚫ If it does not change its

position with respect to
time and surroundings
then it is said to be at
rest.
Motion and rest are relative terms
⚫ An object may appear to be moving for one
person and stationary for some other. For
example:
The passengers in a moving bus, the roadside
trees appear to be moving backwards. A person
standing on the road–side perceives the bus
along with the passengers as moving. However,
a passenger inside the bus sees his fellow
passengers to be at rest.
Motion and rest are relative terms
⚫ Mobile kept on the table is resting at its
position but it is moving in the sense as earth is
rotating on its axis. So for a person seeing
mobile from earth it is at rest and for person on
moon earth seems to change its position with
time and so mobile is moving.
 Describing Motion
⚫ To describe motion, we need to describe the
location of an object by specifying a ‘reference
point’.
For example:
Let us assume that a school in a city is 2 km
north of the railway station. We have specified
the position of the school with respect to the
railway station. In this example, the railway
station is the reference point.
MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT
LINE
Two different quantities that are used to
describe the overall motion of an object and
to locate its final position with reference to its
initial position at a given time are :
Distance and
Displacement
 DISTANCE
⚫ Distance in physics, is the length of the path (the line
or curve) described by an object moving through space
or the total /actual path covered by the object.
⚫ Distance is independent of direction.( e.g. Distance
between my house and school is 2km.)
⚫ Thus, such physical quantities that have only
magnitude and do not require direction for their
complete description are called Scalar
quantities.(some other examples of scalar quantities
are volume, density, speed, energy, mass, and time)
 DISTANCE
⚫ The distance travelled by a moving body cannot be
zero.
⚫ If a body covers equal distances in equal intervals of
time then it is said to be having uniform motion.
⚫ If a body covers unequal distances in equal intervals
or equal distances in unequal intervals then body is
said be having non-uniform motion.
 DISPLACEMENT
⚫ When a body moves from one position to another the
shortest distance between the initial and final position of the
body along with its direction is known as displacement.

⚫ Displacement has both direction and magnitude.(e.g.

displacement between my house and school is 2km due
North)
⚫ Such quantities that has both direction and magnitude for its
complete description are called a Vector Quantities. (some
other examples of vector quantities are force, velocity,
acceleration and momentum)

⚫ The displacement of a moving body can be zero.

 EXAMPLE-1
Consider the motion of an object moving along a straight path. The object starts
its journey from O which is treated as its reference point .Let A, B and C
represent the position of the object at different instants. At first, the object moves
through C and B and reaches A. Then it moves back along the same path and
reaches C through B. Find distance and displacement of an object.

Positions of an object on a straight line path

Distance covered = Total path length covered by the object = OA + AC

=60 km + 35 km
= 95 km
Displacement =Shortest distance between initial O and final position C=25km
 EXAMPLE-2

Find distance and displacement for

a) For motion of the object from O to A
b) For motion from O to A and back to B
c) For motion of the object from O to A and then travel back to O

a) Distance covered = Total path length covered by the object =60km.

Displacement =Shortest distance between initial and final position
=60km
b) Distance covered = Total path length covered by the object from O to A
and back to B = 60 km + 25 km = 85 km.
Displacement =Shortest distance between initial and final position
=35km
c) Distance covered = Total path length covered by the object from O to A
and back to A = OA + AO = 60 km + 60 km = 120 km.
Displacement =Shortest distance between initial position and final position
=0 km
⚫ A body is moving in a square of side 10 m. Calculate distance and displacement in
the following cases:
(a) From A to B
(b) From A to C
(c) ABCDA
(a) Distance travelled from A to B = 10 m
Displacement from A to B = 10 m
Therefore distance and displacement are equal if the object travels in the same
straight path
(b) Distance travelled from A to C = AB + BC= 10 + 10= 20 m
Displacement from A to C = AC=√ (AB2+BC2) = √ (102+102) = √ (100+100)
= √ (200) = 10√2m. (Using Pythagoras theorem)
Therefore distance travelled is always more than the displacement if there is a
change in direction of motion.
(c) Distance travelled from A, back to A = AB+ BC+CD+DA= 10+10+10+10=40m
Displacement from A, back to A = 0 m
This is because the shortest distance between initial position (A) and final
position (A) is zero. Therefore the displacement of a moving object may be zero
but distance travelled cannot be zero.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students were able to:
⚫ Explain the terms rest and motion.
⚫ Give examples of how motion and rest are relative to each
other.
⚫ Explain the meaning of reference point.
⚫ Differentiate between the physical quantities distance and
displacement.
⚫ Solve the numerical value of distance and displacement in
different situations.
THANK YOU