A Mathematical

Model of Motion
CHAPTER 5
PHYSICS

5.1 Graphing Motion in One

Dimension
Interpret graphs of position versus time for
a moving object to determine the velocity
of the object
Describe in words the information
presented in graphs and draw graphs from
descriptions of motion
Write equations that describe the position
of an object moving at constant velocity

Parts of a
Graph
X-axis
Y-axis
All

axes must be labeled with

appropriate units, and values.

5.1 Position vs. Time

The x-axis is always
time
The y-axis is always
position
The slope of the line
indicates the velocity
of the object.
Slope = (y2-y1)/(x2-x1)

d1-d0/t1-t0
d/t

Uniform Motion
Uniform

motion is defined as equal

displacements occurring during
successive equal time periods
(sometimes called constant velocity)
Straight lines on position-time graphs
mean uniform motion.

Given below is a diagram of a ball rolling along a table. Strobe

pictures reveal the position of the object at regular intervals of time,
in this case, once each 0.1 seconds.

Notice that the ball covers an equal distance between flashes. Let's assume this
distance equals 20 cm and display the ball's behavior on a graph plotting its xposition versus time.

The slope of this line would equal 20 cm divided by 0.1 sec or 200 cm/sec. This
represents the ball's average velocity as it moves across the table. Since the
ball is moving in a positive direction its velocity is positive. That is, the ball's
velocity is a vector quantity possessing both magnitude (200 cm/sec) and
direction (positive).

Steepness of slope on PositionTime graph

Slope

is related to velocity
Steep slope = higher
velocity
Shallow slope = less
velocity

Different Position. Vs. Time graphs

Uniform Motion

Constant positive velocity

(zero acceleration)

Constant negative velocity

(zero acceleration)

Accelerated
Motion

Increasing positive velocity

(positive acceleration)

Decreasing negative velocity

(positive acceleration)

Different Position. Vs. Time

Changing slope means changing velocity!!!!!!

Decreasing negative slope = ??

Increasing negative slope = ??

X
B
A

t
C
A Starts at home (origin) and goes forward
slowly
B Not moving (position remains constant as time
progresses)
C Turns around and goes in the other direction
quickly,
passing up home

During which intervals was he traveling in a positive direction?

During which intervals was he traveling in a negative direction?
During which interval was he resting in a negative location?
During which interval was he resting in a positive location?
During which two intervals did he travel at the same speed?
A) 0 to 2 sec B) 2 to 5 sec C) 5 to 6 sec D)6 to 7 sec E) 7 to 9 sec F)9 to 11 sec

Graphing w/
Acceleration
t

A Start from rest south of home; increase speed gradually

B Pass home; gradually slow to a stop (still moving north)
C Turn around; gradually speed back up again heading south
D Continue heading south; gradually slow to a stop near the
starting point

You try it..

Using the Position-time graph given to
you, write a one or two paragraph story
that describes the motion illustrated.
You need to describe the specific motion
for each of the steps (a-f)
You will be graded upon your ability to
correctly describe the motion for each
step.

Tangent
Lines

On a position vs. time graph:

SLOPE

VELOCITY

SLOPE

SPEED

Positive

Positive

Steep

Fast

Negative

Negative

Gentle

Slow

Zero

Zero

Flat

Zero

Increasing &
Decreasing

Increasing
Decreasing

On a position vs. time graph:

Increasing means moving forward (positive direction).
Decreasing means moving backwards (negative direction).

Concavity
t

On a position vs. time graph:

Concave up means positive acceleration.
Concave down means negative acceleration.

x
Q

Special
Points

Inflection Pt.
Peak or
Valley
Time Axis
Intercept

P, R

Change of concavity,
change of acceleration

Turning point, change of

positive velocity to
negative

P, S

Times when you are at

home, or at origin

5.2 Graphing Velocity in One

Dimension
Determine, from a graph of velocity versus
time, the velocity of an object at a specific
time
Interpret a v-t graph to find the time at
which an object has a specific velocity
Calculate the displacement of an object
from the area under a v-t graph

5.2

Velocity vs. Time

X-axis is the
time
Y-axis is the
velocity
Slope of the
line = the
acceleration

Different Velocity-time graphs

Different Velocity-time graphs

Velocity vs. Time

Horizontal lines = constant velocity
Sloped line = changing velocity

Steeper

= greater change in velocity per

second
Negative slope = deceleration

Acceleration vs. Time

Time is on the x-axis
Acceleration is on the
y-axis
Shows how
acceleration changes
over a period of time.
Often a horizontal
line.

All 3 Graphs
t

v
t

a
t

Real life
Note how the v graph is pointy and the a graph skips. In real life,
the blue points would be smooth curves and the orange segments
would be connected. In our class, however, well only deal with
constant acceleration.
v
t

a
t

Constant Rightward Velocity

Constant Leftward Velocity

Constant Rightward
Acceleration

Constant Leftward Acceleration

Leftward Velocity with

Rightward Acceleration

Graph Practice
Try making all three graphs for the following scenario:
1. Newberry starts out north of home. At time zero hes
driving a cement mixer south very fast at a constant speed.
2. He accidentally runs over an innocent moose crossing
the road, so he slows to a stop to check on the poor moose.
3. He pauses for a while until he determines the moose is
squashed flat and deader than a doornail.
4. Fleeing the scene of the crime, Newberry takes off again
in the same direction, speeding up quickly.
5. When his conscience gets the better of him, he slows,
turns around, and returns to the crash site.

Area Underneath v-t Graph

If you calculate the area underneath

a v-t graph, you would multiply
height X width.
Because height is actually velocity
and width is actually time, area
underneath the graph is equal to
Velocity X time or
Vt

Remember that Velocity = d

t
Rearranging, we get d = velocity X t

So.the area underneath a velocity-time

graph is equal to the displacement during
that time period.

positive area

Area
t

negative area
Note that, here, the areas are about equal, so even though a
significant distance may have been covered, the displacement is
about zero, meaning the stopping point was near the starting point.
The position graph shows this as well.
x

Velocity vs. Time

The area under a velocity time graph indicates

the displacement during that time period.
Remember that the slope of the line indicates
the acceleration.
The smaller the time units the more
instantaneous is the acceleration at that
particular time.
If velocity is not uniform, or is changing, the
acceleration will be changing, and cannot be
determined for an instant, so you can only find
average acceleration

5.3 Acceleration
Determine from the curves on a velocitytime graph both the constant and
instantaneous acceleration
Determine the sign of acceleration using a
v-t graph and a motion diagram
Calculate the velocity and the
displacement of an object undergoing
constant acceleration

5.3 Acceleration

Like speed or velocity,

acceleration is a rate
of change, defined as
the rate of change of
velocity
Average Acceleration
= change in velocity
Elapsed time

V 1 V 0
a
t
Units of acceleration?

Rearrangement of the equation

V 1 V 0
a
t

at v1 v 0
v 0 at v1

v1 v 0 at

Finally

v1 v 0 at

This equation is to be used to find (final)

velocity of an accelerating object. You can
use it if there is or is not a beginning
velocity

Displacement under Constant

Acceleration

Remember that displacement under

constant velocity was

d = vt
With

or

d1 = d0 + vt

acceleration, there is no one

single instantaneous v to use, but
we could use an average velocity
of an accelerating object.

Average velocity of an accelerating

object would simply be of sum of
beginning and ending velocities

Average velocity of an accelerating object

V = (v0 + v1)

So.
d1 d 0 vt
d1 d 0 1 / 2(v1 v 0)t

d1 d 0 1 / 2(v1 v 0)t

Key equation

Some other equations

d 1 d 0 v 0t 1 / 2at

This equation is to be used to find

final position when there is an
initial velocity, but velocity at time
t1 is not known.

If no time is known, use this to find

final position.

v1 v 0
d1 d 0
2a
2

Finding final velocity if no time is

known

v1 v 0 2a (d 1 d 0)
2

The equations of importance

V 1 V 0
a
t

v1 v 0 at
d d 0 1 / 2(v1 v 0)t

d d 0 v 0t 1 / 2at

v1 v 0
d1 d 0
2a
2

v1 v 0 2a (d 1 d 0)
2

Practical Application
Velocity/Position/Time equations

Calculation of arrival times/schedules of aircraft/trains

(including vectors)
GPS technology (arrival time of signal/distance to
satellite)
Military targeting/delivery
Calculation of Mass movement (glaciers/faults)
Ultrasound (speed of sound) (babies/concrete/metals)
Sonar (Sound Navigation and Ranging)
Auto accident reconstruction
Explosives (rate of burn/expansion rates/timing with det.
cord)

5.4 Free Fall

Recognize the meaning of the
acceleration due to gravity
Define the magnitude of the acceleration
due to gravity as a positive quantity and
determine the sign of the acceleration
relative to the chosen coordinate system
Use the motion equations to solve
problems involving freely falling objects

Freefall
Defined

as the motion of an
object if the only force acting
on it is gravity.
No

friction, no air resistance, no drag

Acceleration Due to Gravity

Galileo Galilei recognized

about 400 years ago that,
to understand the motion
of falling objects, the
effects of air or water
would have to be ignored.
As a result, we will
investigate falling, but
only as a result of one
force, gravity.

Galileo Galilei 1564-1642

Galileos Ramps

Because gravity causes

objects to move very fast,
and because the timekeepers available to
Galileo were limited,
Galileo used ramps with
moveable bells to slow
down falling objects for
accurate timing.

Galileos Ramps

Galileos Ramps

To keep accurate time, Galileo used a water

clock.

For the measurement of time, he employed a large

vessel of water placed in an elevated position; to the
bottom of this vessel was soldered a pipe of small
diameter giving a thin jet of water, which he collected
in a small glass during the time of each descent... the
water thus collected was weighed, after each descent,
on a very accurate balance; the difference and ratios
of these weights gave us the differences and ratios of
the times...

Displacements of Falling Objects

Looking at his results, Galileo realized that
a falling ( or rolling downhill) object would
have displacements that increased as a
function of the square of the time, or t2
Another way to look at it, the velocity of an
object increased as a function of the
square of time, multiplied by some
constant.

 Galileo

also found that all objects,

no matter what slope of ramp he
rolled them down, and as long as
the ramps were all the same
height, would reach the bottom
with the same velocity.

Galileos Finding
Galileo

found that, neglecting

friction, all freely falling objects
have the same acceleration.

Hippo & Ping Pong Ball

In a vacuum, all bodies fall at the same rate.
If a hippo and a
ping pong ball were
dropped from a
helicopter in a
vacuum (assuming
the copter could fly
without air), theyd
land at the same
time.

When theres no air resistance, size and shape matter not!

Proving Galileo Correct

Galileo could not
produce a vacuum
to prove his ideas.
That came later with
the invention of a
vacuum machine,
and the
demonstration with
a guinea feather
and gold coin
dropped in a
vacuum.

Guinea Feather and Coin/NASA

demonstrations

Acceleration Due to Gravity

Galileo calculated that all freely falling

objects accelerate at a rate of

9.8 m/s

This value, as an acceleration, is known as

Acceleration Due to Gravity

Because

this value is an acceleration

value, it can be used to calculate
displacements or velocities using the
acceleration equations learned
earlier. Just substitute g for the a

Example problem

A brick is dropped from a high building.

What

is its velocity after 4.0 sec.?

How far does the brick fall during this time?

The Churchs opposition to new

thought

Church leaders of the time held the same views

as Aristotle, the great philosopher.
Aristotle thought that objects of different mass
would fall at different ratesmakes sense
huh??????
All objects have their natural position. Rocks
fall faster than feathers, so it only made sense
(to him)
Galileo, in attempting to convince church leaders
that the natural position view was incorrect,
considered two rocks of different mass.

Falling Rock Conundrum

Galileo presented this in his book
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief
World Systems(1632) as a discussion
between Simplicio (as played by a church
leader) and Salviati (as played by Galileo)
Two rocks of different masses are dropped
Massive rock falls faster???

Rocks continued

Now consider the two rocks held together by a

length of string.
If the smaller rock were to fall slower, it would
impede the rate at which both rocks would fall.
But the two rocks together would actually have
more mass, and should therefore fall faster.
A conundrum????? The previously held views
could not have been correct.

Galileo had data which proved Aristotle

and the church wrong, but church leaders
were hardly moved in their position that all
objects have their correct position in the
world
Furthermore, the use of Simplicio (or
simpleton) as the head of the church in his
dialog, was a direct insult to the church
leaders themselves.