Chapter 2: Motion in One Dimension

- Motion is a continuous change in the object’s position.

- Three types: translational, rotational, vibrational
o Translational: a car traveling on a highway
o Rotational: the Earth’s spin on its axis
o Vibrational: the back and forth movement of a pendulum
- Use a particle model, where a particle is a point like object, an object that has mass but is of
infinitesimal size

2.1 POSITION, VELOCITY, AND SPEED

- the motion of a particle is known if the particles position in space is known at all times
- a particle’s position is the location of the particle with respect to a chosen reference point that we
can consider to be the origin of a coordinate system
- there are different types of representation of information: pictorial, graphical, tabular representation
- the displacement of a particle is defined as its change in position in some time interval, given by:
o ΔX= Xf - Xi
- Delta sign defines the change in a quantity
- Distance is the length of a path followed by a particle
- A vector quantity requires the specification of both direction and magnitude
- A scalar quantity has a numerical value and no direction
- + and – signify vector direction
- The average velocity vx, avg of a particle is defined as the particle’s displacement Δx divided by
the time interval Δt during which that displacement occurs:
ΔX
o Vx, avg=
ΔT
o Can be positive or negative, depending on sign of the displacement
- The average speed of a particle, a scalar quantity, is defined as the total distance traveled divided
by the total time interval required to travel that distance
d
o Vavg=
ΔT
- SI unit of average speed and average velocity: meters per second

2.2 INSTANTANEOUS VELOCITY AND SPEED

- We must know the velocity of a particle at a particular instant in time rather than the average
velocity over a finite time interval
- The instantaneous velocity vx equals the limiting value of the ratio Δx/Δt approaches 0:
∆x d x
o Vx= lim =
t →0 ∆t dt
- Instantaneous speed of a particle is defined as the magnitude of instantaneous velocity

2.3 ANALYSIS MODELS: THE PARTICLE UNDER CONSTANT VELOCITY

- An analysis model is a problem we have solved before, a description of either

1. The behavior of some physical entity or
2. The interaction between that entity and the environment
 - Similar to finding legal precedent
- Good model: the particle under constant velocity model can be applied in any situation in which
an entity that can be modeled as a particle is moving with constant velocity
- If the velocity of a particle is constant, its instantaneous velocity at any instant during a time interval
is the same as the average velocity over the interval
o Vx= Vx, avg
∆x
- Vx=
∆t
- Xf=Xi + VxΔt (for constant vx)
- The two above equations are used in the model of a particle under constant velocity
- The mathematical manipulations for the particle under constant velocity stem from Equation 2.6 and
2.7
- A particle under constant speed model- moving along a curved path
d
o V=
∆t

2.4 ACCELERATION

- When the velocity of a particle changes with time, the particle is said to be accelerating
- The average acceleration of the particle is defined as the change in velocity by the time interval ∆ t :
∆ Vx Vxf −Vxi
o Ax= =
∆t tf −ti
- Motion is one dimensional, so + and – signs indicate the direction of the acceleration
- Dimensions of velocity are L/T and the dimension of time is T, acceleration has dimensions of L/T 2
- The SI unit of acceleration is meters per seconds squared (m/s2)
- The instantaneous acceleration as the limit of the average acceleration as ∆ t approaches 0
∆ Vx dvx
o Ax= lim =
∆ t →0 ∆t dt
- The instantaneous acceleration = the derivative of the velocity with respect to time
- When the object’s velocity and acceleration are in the same direction, the object is speeding
up
- When the objects velocity and acceleration are in opposite directions, the object is slowing
down
- the force is proportional to acceleration
o F x α ax
- Acceleration will now mean instantaneous acceleration:
o Ax= derivative of velocity=second derivative of position
dvx d dx d 2 x
o Ax= =
dt dt dt ( )
= 2
dt
2.5 MOTION DIAGRAMS

- Pictorial representation
- Formed by imagining a stroboscopic photograph of a moving object, which shows several images of
the object taken as the strobe light flashes at a constant rate
- Represents three sets of strobe photographs of cars moving along a straight roadway in a single
direction, from left to right
 - The time intervals between flashes of the stroboscope are equal in each part of the diagram

2.6 THE PARTICLE UNDER CONSTANT ACCELERATION

- when the average acceleration over any time interval is numerically equal to the instantaneous
acceleration ax at any instant within the interval, and the velocity changes at the same rate
throughout the motion
- was the particle under constant accelerations
o vxf=vxi+axt (for constant ax)
Vxi+Vxf
o vx, avg= (for constant ax)
2
o xf= xi + (1/2)(vxi+ vxf)t (for constant ax)
o xf= xi + vxit + (1/2)(ax)(t2) (for constant ax)
o vxf2= vxi2 + 2ax (xf- xi) (for constant ax)
- the above equations are kinematic equations that may be used to solve any problem involving a
particle under constant acceleration in one dimension
- the quantities that vary during the motion are position position x f, velocity vxf, time t

2.7 FREELY FALLING OBJECTS

- all objects dropped near the Earth’s surface fall toward the Earth with the same constant acceleration
under the influence of the Earth’s gravity
- Galileo did experiments that to test this
- The conclusion:
 o A freely falling object is any object moving freely under the influence of gravity alone,
regardless of initial motion. Objects thrown up/down and released from rest are all
falling freely once they are released. Any freely falling object experiences an
acceleration directed down regardless of its initial motion
- The magnitude of the free fall acceleration by the symbol g
- At the Earth’s surface the value of g = 9.80 m/s2 ≈ 10 m/ s 2
- Ay= -g= -9.80 m/s2

2.8 KINEMATIC EQUATIONS DERIVED FROM CALCULUS

- ∆ x=∈ Vxn , avg ∆ tn

- ∆ x=lim ∈Vxn ∆ tn
tf
- ∆ x=∫ Vx ( t ) dt
ti
- ∆ x=¿ vxi ∆ t

Kinematic Equations

- Ax= dvx/dt
- dvx= ax dt
t
- vxf-vxi= ∫ Axdt
0
- if the acceleration is constant ax can be removed from the integral to give:
t
vxf-vxi=ax ∫ dt =¿ a (t-0)= a t
x x
0
- The velocity equation:
dx
- vx =
dt
t
- xf- xi= ∫ Vx dt
0