Kinematics of a Particle

Masaru Q. Nakaegawa
MECHANICS
- oldest branch of Physics
- study of the bodies and systems and the forces acting on them
Basic Concepts
1. Particle: is a body of negligible dimensions

2. Rigid Body: is that body whose changes in shape are negligible compared with its overall
dimensions or with the changes in position of the body as a whole, such as rigid link, rigid disc, etc.

3. Absolute motion: the motion of body in relative to another body which is at rest or to a fixed
point located on this body.

4. Relative motion: the motion of body in relative to another moved body.

5. Scalar quantities: are those quantities which have magnitude only, e.g. mass, time, volume,
density, etc.

6. Vector quantities: are those quantities which have magnitude as well as direction, e.g. velocity,
acceleration, force, etc.
Kinematics
Branch of dynamics which is responsible to study the motion of bodies
without reference to the forces which are cause this motion, i.e. it
relates the motion variables (displacement, velocity, acceleration) with
the time
Speed
• The average speed of an object is equal to the total distance traveled
in a given unit of time.
• It is a scalar quantity because it has no direction.

∆𝑑
𝑣𝑠 =
∆𝑡

Speed and velocity are often used interchangeably in ordinary conversations.

In physics, there is a clear distinction between these two concepts.
Velocity
• Velocity is defined as the time rate of change of position.
• The velocity of an object moving along a straight path is equal to the
slope of the d-against-t graph. When the graph is a straight line, the
velocity is constant.
Velocity
The average velocity of an object is the total displacement divided by
the elapsed time.

∆𝑑
𝑣𝑎𝑣𝑒 =
∆𝑡
Velocity
Instantaneous velocity is the velocity of the object at a particular
instant. Its magnitude is equal to the slope of the line tangent to the
point corresponding to the given time t.

𝑑𝑠
𝑣= 𝑒𝑖
𝑑𝑡
𝑒𝑖 = unit tangent vector
Acceleration
Acceleration is defined as the time rate of change of velocity.

Average Acceleration Instantaneous Acceleration

∆𝑣 𝑑𝑣
𝑎𝑎𝑣𝑒 = 𝑎𝑎𝑣𝑒 =
∆𝑡 ∆𝑡
Rectilinear Translation
RECTILINEAR TRANSLATION
A type of motion in which a body moves in a straight line or is moving in the
direction parallel to its displacement.

UNIFORM MOTION
A motion with constant speed or velocity [a = 0]

UNIFORMLY ACCELERATED MOTION

A motion with constant change in velocity or of uniform acceleration
[a is (+) is accelerating or speeding up; a is (-) if decelerating or slowing down]
Rectilinear Motion
Position: The straight line path of a particle will be defined using one
coordinate axis s.

Displacement: The displacement of the particle is defined as the change in

its position
∆𝑠 = 𝑠 ′ − 𝑠
where: s’: final position of particle
s: initial position of particle

Note: ∆s is positive(+) if located to the right of s.

∆s is negative (-) if located to the left of s.
Rectilinear Motion
Kinematic Differential Equations of Motion
𝑑𝑠
(1) 𝑣 = 𝑑𝑡

𝑑𝑣
(2) 𝑎 = 𝑑𝑡

(3) 𝑎𝑑𝑠 = 𝑣𝑑𝑣

s = displacement
v = velocity
a = acceleration
t = time
Rectilinear Translation (Motion Along a Straight Line)
 𝑑𝑠
𝑣=
𝑑𝑡

Example 1
𝑑𝑣
𝑎=
𝑑𝑡

𝑎𝑑𝑠 = 𝑣𝑑𝑣

The velocity of a particle moving along the x axis is defined by v = x4 +

2x3 – 3x2 where v is in m/s and x is in m. What is the velocity when x =
2m? What is the acceleration when x = 2m?

ANSWER: v = 20 m/s, a = 44 m/s2

 𝑑𝑠
𝑣=
𝑑𝑡

Example 2
𝑑𝑣
𝑎=
𝑑𝑡

𝑎𝑑𝑠 = 𝑣𝑑𝑣

The rectilinear motion of a particle is given by s = 3v2 – 5 where s is in ft

and v in fps. When t = 0, s = 0 and v = 2 fps, determine the s-t, v-t, and
a-t relations.
𝑠 = 𝑣2 − 5 When 𝑡 = 0, 𝑠 = 0, 𝑣𝑜 = 2 fps:
Differentiating both sides with respect to t 𝑣 = 𝑣𝑜 + 𝑎𝑡
𝑑𝑠 𝑑𝑣 𝟏
𝒗 = 𝟐 + 𝟔 𝒕 ← v-t relation
= 6𝑣
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑣 = 6𝑣𝑎
𝟏 𝒇𝒕 1 2
𝒂= ← a-t relation 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑜 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡
𝟔 𝒔𝟐 2
1 1 2
a is constant regardless of time. 𝑠 = 2𝑡 + 𝑡
2 6
Uniformly accelerated motion 𝟏
𝒔 = 𝟐𝒕 + 𝟏𝟐 𝒕𝟐 ← s-t relation
 𝑑𝑠
𝑣=
𝑑𝑡

Example 3
𝑑𝑣
𝑎=
𝑑𝑡

𝑎𝑑𝑠 = 𝑣𝑑𝑣

The motion of a particle is defined by the relation a = 4t where a is in

m/s2 and t is in seconds. It is known that s = 6 m and v = 3 m/s when t =
2 sec. Find s and v at t = 10 sec.

ANSWER: v = 195 m/s, s = 627.33 m

 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 4 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

A train changes its speed uniformly from 60 mph to 30 mph in a

distance of 1500 ft. What is its acceleration?

ANSWER: a = -1.936 ft/s2

 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 5 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

What velocity did an airplane take off from a field that has a run of 500
m if it starts from rest, moves with a constant acceleration and makes
the run in 30 s?

ANSWER: v = 33.3333 m/s

 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 6 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

From the speed of 100 kph, a car decelerates at the rate of 15 m/min/sec
along a straight road. Find the distance travelled at the end of 40 sec.

ANSWER: s = 911.1111 m
 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 7 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

An airplane lands on a carrier deck at 20 mi/h and is brought to a stop

uniformly, by an arresting device, in 50 ft. Find the time required to
stop.

ANSWER: t = 3.4091 s
 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 8 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

Two buses start at the same time towards each other from terminals A
and B, 8 km apart. The time needed for the first bus to travel from A to
B is 8 minutes and for the second bus from B to A is 10 minutes. How
much time is needed by each bus to meet each other, if they traveled
at their respective uniform speeds?
 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 9 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

A train moving with constant acceleration travels 24 ft during the 10th

second of its motion and 18 ft during the 12th second of its motion.
Find its initial velocity and acceleration.
 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 10 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

Two elevators in adjacent shafts approach

each other. One from the top and the other
from the bottom. At a certain instant, the
shafts/cars are 500 ft apart. At the same
instant, the top car has a velocity of 2 fps and
accelerating at 2 fps2 while the lower car has
velocity of 3 fps and accelerating at 1 fps2.
When and where do they pass each other?
 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 11 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

A man driving his car at a

constant rate of 40 mph
suddenly sees a sheep
crossing the road 60 ft
ahead. Compute the
constant deceleration (ft/s2)
required to avoid hitting the
sheep. Assume a reaction
time of 0.5 second before
the man applies the brakes.
 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 12 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

An automobile starting from rest speeds up to 40 fps with an

acceleration of 4 ft/s2, and runs at this speed for a while. Finally, it
comes to rest with a deceleration of 5 ft/s2. If the total distance
traveled is 1200 ft, find the total time required.
 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 13 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

At the instant the traffic light turns green, an automobile that has been
waiting at an intersection starts from rest with a constant acceleration
of 2 m/s2. At the same instant, a truck travelling with a constant
velocity of 10 m/s overtakes and passes the automobile. (a) How far
beyond its starting point will the automobile overtake the truck? (b)
How fast will the car and the truck be travelling at that instant?
 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 14 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

The driver of a passenger train travelling at 30 m/s sights a freight train

whose caboose is 200 m ahead on the same track. The freight train is
travelling in the same direction as the passenger train with a velocity of
10 m/s. The driver of the passenger train applies the brakes causing a
constant deceleration of 1 m/s2, while the freight train continues to
travel at a constant speed. When and where will the collision happen?

“Caboose” is the last car of a train.

 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 15 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

A train started from rest and moved with a constant acceleration. At

one time, it was travelling 30 m/s and 160 m farther on, it was
travelling 50 m/s. Calculate the distance moved by the train from rest
to the time the train had a speed of 30 m/s.
 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 16 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

An automobile travelling at 48 kph can be stopped in a minimum

distance of 40 m by applying the brakes. If the same automobile is
travelling at 96 kph, what is the minimum stopping distance?
 𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡

Example 17 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡
1
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
𝑣𝑓2 = 𝑣𝑖2 + 2𝑎𝑠

A car starting from rest picks up at a uniform rate and passes three
electric posts in succession. The posts are spaced 360 m apart along a
street road. The car takes 10 s to travel from the first post to the
second post and 6 seconds to go fro the second to third. Where did the
car start from the first post?