Kinematics of a Particle

Rectilinear Kinematics

Prepared by Hui Kar Hoou

 Continuous Motion

 Rectilinear Kinematics
 Kinematics characterized by specifying at any given
instant (t), position (s), velocity (v), and acceleration (a)

 Position, s
 Location of the particle at any given instant
 Continuous Motion

 Displacement, Δ𝑠
 Change of its position
 Δ𝑠 = 𝑠 ′ − 𝑠
 Continuous Motion

 Velocity, v
 Rate of change of a displacement
 Average velocity
Δ𝑠
 𝑣𝑎𝑣𝑔 =
Δ𝑡
 Instantaneous velocity
𝑑𝑠
 𝑣=
𝑑𝑡
 +ve & -ve velocity indicates direction of a speed
 Continuous Motion

 Acceleration, a
 Rate of change of a velocity
 Average acceleration
Δ𝑣
 𝑎𝑎𝑣𝑔 = Δ𝑡
 Instantaneous acceleration
𝑑𝑣
 𝑎=
𝑑𝑡
 𝑎 = 0 means 𝑣 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
 +ve & -ve acceleration indicates accelerating / decelerating
 Continuous Motion

𝑑𝑠 𝑑𝑣
 By eliminating 𝑑𝑡 for 𝑣 = and 𝑎 =
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
 𝑎 𝑑𝑠 = 𝑣 𝑑𝑣
 Continuous Motion

 Constant acceleration, 𝑎 = 𝑎𝑐
𝑑𝑣
 𝑎𝑐 =
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑠
 𝑣=
𝑑𝑡
 𝑎𝑐 𝑑𝑠 = 𝑣 𝑑𝑣
 Continuous Motion

 For constant acceleration

 𝑣 = 𝑣0 + 𝑎𝑐 𝑡
1
 𝑠 = 𝑠0 + 𝑣0 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑐 𝑡 2
2
 𝑣 2 = 𝑣02 + 2𝑎𝑐 𝑠 − 𝑠0
 Example 1

The car in Fig. moves in a straight line such that for a

short time its velocity is defined by
𝑣 = 0.9𝑡 2 + 0.6𝑡 𝑚/𝑠 , where 𝑡 is in seconds.
Determine its position and acceleration when 𝑡 = 3 𝑠.
When 𝑡 = 0, 𝑠 = 0. (Ans. 𝑠 = 10.8 𝑚, 𝑎 = 6 𝑚/𝑠 2 )
 Hints: Example 1

 Position
𝑠 𝑡
 0
𝑑𝑠 = 0
𝑣 𝑑𝑡

 Acceleration
𝑑𝑣
 𝑎=
𝑑𝑡
 Example 2

During a test a rocket travels upward at 75𝑚/𝑠, and

when it is 40 𝑚 from the ground its engine fails.
Determine the maximum height 𝑠𝐵 reached by the
rocket and its speed just before it hits the ground. While
in motion the rocket is subjected to a constant
downward acceleration of 9.81 𝑚/𝑠 2 due to gravity.
Neglect the effect of air resistance. (Ans. 𝑠𝐵 = 327 𝑚,
𝑣𝐶 = 80.1 𝑚/𝑠)
Hints: Example 2

 Maximum height, velocity

 𝑣 2 = 𝑣02 + 2𝑎𝑐 𝑠 − 𝑠0
 Erratic Motion

 Changing motion
 Position (s), velocity (v), acceleration (a) cannot be
described by a single continuous mathematical
function
 It is convenient to represent the motion as a graph
s-t, v-t, and a-t graph

s
𝑣 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑠
𝑑𝑡
v
𝑎 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑣
𝑑𝑡
a
 v-s and a-s graph

𝑠1
1 2 𝑑𝑣
𝑣1 − 𝑣02 = 𝑎 𝑑𝑠 𝑎=𝑣
2 𝑠0 𝑑𝑠
 Example 3

The car in Fig. starts from rest and travels along a

straight track such that it accelerates at 10 𝑚/𝑠 2 for
10 𝑠, and then decelerates at 2 𝑚/𝑠 2 . Draw the v-t and
s-t graphs and determine the time t’ needed to stop the
car. How far has the car travelled?
(Ans. 𝑡 ′ = 60 𝑠, 𝑠 = 3000 𝑚)
 Hints: Example 3

 Time, t’
 Δ𝑣 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎 − 𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ
 Δ𝑣 = 0 (car in stop condition)

 Distance, Δ𝑠
 Δ𝑠 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣 − 𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ
THANK YOU