Rectilinear Motion

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 Introduction
• Dynamics includes:
- Kinematics: study of the motion (displacement,
velocity, acceleration, & time) without reference to
the cause of motion (i.e. regardless of forces).
- Kinetics: study of the forces acting on a body,
and the resulting motion caused by the given
forces.
• Rectilinear motion: position, velocity, and acceleration of
a particle as it moves along a straight line.
• Curvilinear motion: position, velocity, and acceleration of
a particle as it moves along a curved line.

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Rectilinear Motion: Position, Velocity & Acceleration

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Displacement

• Displacement is a change of position in time.

• Displacement: x  x f (t f ) - xi (ti )
– f stands for final and i stands for initial.
• It is a vector quantity.
• It has both magnitude and direction: + or - sign
• It has units of [length]: meters. x1 (t1) = + 2.5 m
x2 (t2) = - 2.0 m
Δx = -2.0 m - 2.5 m = -4.5 m
x1 (t1) = - 3.0 m
x2 (t2) = + 1.0 m
Δx = +1.0 m + 3.0 m = +4.0 m
Velocity

• Velocity is the rate of change of position.

• Velocity is a vector quantity.
displacement
• Velocity has both magnitude and direction.
• Velocity has a unit of [length/time]: meter/second. distance
• We will be concerned with three quantities, defined as:
– Average velocity x x f - xi
vavg  
t t
– Average speed total distance
savg 
t
– Instantaneous  x dx
v  lim 
velocity t  0  t dt
displacement
Average Velocity

• Average velocity
x x f - xi
vavg  
t t
is the slope of the line segment
between end points on a graph.
• Dimensions: length/time (L/T) [m/s].
• SI unit: m/s.
• It is a vector (i.e. is signed), and
displacement direction sets its sign.
Average Acceleration
Note: we are plotting
velocity vs. time
• Average acceleration
v v f - vi
aavg  
t t f - ti
• Velocity as a function of time
v f (t )  vi + aavg t
• It is tempting to call a negative acceleration a “deceleration,” but note:
– When the sign of the velocity and the acceleration are the same (either positive or
negative), then the speed is increasing
– When the sign of the velocity and the acceleration are in the opposite directions, the
speed is decreasing
• Average acceleration is the slope of the line connecting the initial and
final velocities on a velocity-time graph
Instantaneous and Uniform Acceleration
• The limit of the average acceleration as the time interval goes
to zero v dv d dx d 2 v
a  lim   
t 0 t dt dt dt dt 2
• When the instantaneous accelerations are always the same,
the acceleration will be uniform. The instantaneous
acceleration will be equal to the average acceleration
• Instantaneous acceleration is the
slope of the tangent to the curve
of the velocity-time graph
Determining the Motion of a Particle

• Recall, motion is defined if position x is known for all time t.

v
dx
a
dv d 2x a
dv dv dx
 v
dv
a 2
dt dt dt dt dx dt dx

• If the acceleration is given, we can determine velocity and

position by two successive integrations.

• Three classes of motion may be defined for:

- acceleration given as a function of time, a = f(t)
- acceleration given as a function of position, a = f(x)
- acceleration given as a function of velocity, a = f(v)

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 Determining the Motion of a Particle

• Acceleration given as a function of time, a = f(t):

v t t
dv
a  f (t )   dv  f (t )dt   dv   f (t )dt  v - v0   f (t )dt
dt v0 0 0
x t t
dx
v  dx  vdt   dx   vdt  x - x0   vdt
dt x0 0 0

•Acceleration given as a function of position, a = f(x):

v x x
dv 1 2 1 2
a  f ( x)  v  vdv  f ( x)dx   vdv   f ( x)dx  v - v0   f ( x)dx
dx v0 x0
2 2 x0

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Determining the Motion of a Particle

• Acceleration given as a function of velocity, a = f(v):

v t v
dv dv dv dv
a  f (v )    dt     dt   t
dt f (v ) v0
f (v ) 0 v0
f (v )

x v v
dv vdv vdv vdv
a  f (v )  v  dx    dx    x - x0  
dx f (v ) x0 v0
f (v ) v0
f (v )

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Summary

Procedure:
1. Establish a coordinate system & specify an origin
2. Remember: x,v,a,t are related by:

v
dx
a
dv d 2x a
dv dv dx
 v
dv
a 2
dt dt dt dt dx dt dx
3. When integrating, either use limits (if known) or add
a constant of integration

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Uniformly Accelerated Rectilinear Motion
Uniformly accelerated motion acceleration = constant

v t
dv
 a  constant  dv  a  dt v - v0  at
dt v0 0
v  v0 + at
x t
dx
dt
 v0 + at  dx   v0 + at dt x - x0  v0t + 12 at 2
x0 0

x  x0 + v0t + 12 at 2

v 2 - v02   ax - x0 
v x
dv
Also: v  a  constant  v dv  a  dx 1
2
dx v0 x0

v 2  v02 + 2a x - x0 
Application: free fall 14
 Sample Problem 1:

Ball tossed with 10 m/s vertical velocity from window 20 m above

ground.
Determine:
• velocity and elevation above ground at time t,
• highest elevation reached by ball and corresponding time, and
• time when ball will hit the ground and corresponding velocity.

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SOLUTION:
• Integrate twice to find v(t) and y(t).
dv
 a  -9.81m s 2
dt
v t  t
 dv  -  9.81dt vt  - v0  -9.81t
v0 0

m  m
vt   10 -  9.81 2  t
s  s 
dy
 v  10 - 9.81t
dt
y t  t
 dy   10 - 9.81t dt y t  - y0  10t - 12 9.81t 2
y0 0

 m  m
yt   20 m + 10 t -  4.905 2 t 2
 s  s 
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Sample Problem 11.2
• Solve for t at which velocity equals zero and evaluate
corresponding altitude.
m  m
vt   10 -  9.81 2  t  0
s  s 
t  1.019s

 m  m
y t   20 m + 10 t -  4.905 2 t 2
 s  s 
 m  m
y  20 m + 10 1.019 s  -  4.905 2 1.019 s 2
 s  s 
y  25.1m

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• Solve for t at which altitude equals zero and
evaluate corresponding velocity.
 m  m
yt   20 m + 10 t -  4.905 2 t 2  0
 s  s 
t  -1.243s meaningless 
t  3.28 s

m  m
vt   10 -  9.81 2  t
s  s 
m  m
v3.28 s   10 -  9.81 2  3.28 s 
s  s 

m
v  -22.2
s

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Sample Problem 2

SOLUTION:

a  -kv • Integrate a = dv/dt = -kv to find v(t).

• Integrate v(t) = dx/dt to find x(t).
• Integrate a = v dv/dx = -kv to find
v(x).
Brake mechanism used to reduce gun
recoil consists of piston attached to barrel
moving in fixed cylinder filled with oil.
As barrel recoils with initial velocity v0,
piston moves and oil is forced through
orifices in piston, causing piston and
cylinder to decelerate at rate proportional
to their velocity.
Determine v(t), x(t), and v(x).

11 - 19
SOLUTION:
• Integrate a = dv/dt = -kv to find v(t).
v t 
dv dv t
vt 
a  -kv   - k  dt ln  -kt
dt v v 0 v0
0

vt   v0 e -kt

• Integrate v(t) = dx/dt to find x(t).

dx
vt    v0 e - kt
dt
x t  t t
 1 
- kt
 dx  v0  e dt xt   v0 - e - kt 
0 0  k 0

xt  
v0
k

1 - e - kt 
11 - 20
• Integrate a = v dv/dx = -kv to find v(x).
v x
dv
a  v  -kv dv  -k dx  dv  -k  dx
dx v0 0
v - v0  -kx
v  v0 - kx

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Uniform Rectilinear Motion

Uniform rectilinear motion acceleration = 0 velocity = constant

dx
 v  constant
dt
x t
 dx  v  dt
x0 0
x - x0  vt
x  x0 + vt

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