Kinematics

(a) define displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration.

1. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
• Displacement - the linear distance of an object or a point, in a specified direction, from
some reference point.
• Speed - the rate of change of the total distance travelled.
• Velocity - the rate of change of displacement of a body.
• Acceleration - the rate of change of velocity of a body.

1.1 Displacement
Example 1
A car travels 3.0 km due east from point O to A and then a further 3.0 km due north of A. What
are the distance covered and its displacement?

Distance, x = 3 + 3 = 6 km
s

3 km Displacement, s = 32 + 32

3 km = 4.2 km at 45°

1.2 Average speed and average velocity

• Average speed refers to the total distance travelled over the total time taken.

total distance travelled

Average speed = Units: m s-1
total time taken

• Average velocity refers to the total displacement travelled over the total time taken.

total displacement
Average velocity = Units: m s-1
total time taken
• The average speed is not equal to the magnitude of the average velocity.

1.3 Instantaneous speed and average velocity

• Instantaneous speed is the speed at a particular point or a particular instant of time.
• Instantaneous speed = gradient of the distance-time graph at that instant
• Instantaneous velocity is the velocity at a particular point or a particular instant of time.

∆s ds
v = lim =
∆t → 0 ∆t dt
• Hence instantaneous velocity v can be defined as rate of change of displacement
• It is equal to the gradient of the displacement-time graph.

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 Instantaneous vs Average
Instantaneous Average s
ds ∆s ∆s s1
v= < v >= < v >= =
dt ∆t s1 ∆t t1
dv ∆v ∆s ds
a= < a >= v=
dt ∆t t dt
(0,0) t1 t = t1
Gradient at the point Total ∆ divided by
in time time ∆t

1.4 Acceleration
• An object whose velocity is changing is said to have an acceleration.
∆v dv
a = lim =
∆t → 0 ∆t dt
• It is a vector quantity. Unit: m s-2
• Acceleration can arise from a change in either magnitude or direction of the velocity or both.
Example 2
Reference
Point

Object Sign of Velocity Sign of Displacement

Ambulance -ve -ve
Motorcycle +ve -ve
Cow -ve +ve
Race Car +ve +ve

(b) use graphical methods to represent displacement, speed, velocity and

acceleration;
(c) find displacement from the area under a velocity-time graph;
• Velocity-time graph: Area under graph =>displacement
v/ms-1

t/s

• The area beneath the v-t graph is the displacement. The area can be found by counting
squares if the area is irregular.

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 (d) use the slope of a displacement-time graph to find the velocity;
s/m
• Displacement-time graph: Gradient => velocity

∆s

∆t t/s
t1
(e) use the slope of a velocity-time graph to find acceleration.
• Velocity-time graph: Gradient => acceleration v/ms-1

∆v

∆t t/s
t1
• Acceleration-time graph: Area under graph => velocity
a/ms-2

t/s

• The area beneath the a-t graph is the distance.

Graph Gradient Area under

graph
s-t v -
v-t a ∆s
a-t - ∆v

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 (f) derive, from the definitions of velocity and acceleration, equations which represent
uniformly accelerated motion in a straight line;
2. DERIVATIONS OF EQUATIONS OF MOTION
• Let us consider a body experiencing a uniform acceleration, a, while moving in a straight
line.
• We will consider its motion during a time interval t.
• Let u be its velocity at the beginning of the internal, v the velocity at the end of the internal
and s its displacement during the interval t.
• Since we have earlier learnt that acceleration = gradient of v-t graph,

change in velocity v −u
a = = (1)
change in time t

• We also learnt that displacement = area under v-t graph,

Or for constant a, average velocity = (initial velocity + final velocity)/2
vave = (v + u)/2
hence

s = vave t => s= 1
2
(v + u )(t ) (2)

• Rearranging (1), we obtain the first of three equations as given

I. v = u + at

• Substituting I. into (2),

s = 1
2
[(u + at ) + u ](t ) = 1
2
[2u + at ](t )

II. s = ut + 1
2
at 2

• Combining (1) & (2) and eliminating t,

s = 1
2
(v + u ) v − u 
 a 

2as = v2 − u 2

III. v2 = u 2 + 2as

• Condition for application of equation of motion

1. uniform acceleration
2. linear motion

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 (g) solve problems using equations which represent uniformly accelerated motion in a
straight line, including the motion of bodies falling in a uniform gravitational field
without air resistance.
3. MOTION DUE TO GRAVITY
• When the pull of gravity is the only force experienced by an object near the Earth, the
object is said to be in free fall.
• A body in free fall (Earth) experiences a constant acceleration of

g = 9.81 ms-2

Example 3
A boy standing at the edge of a cliff of 20 m above sea level, throws a stone straight up with a
speed of 25 ms-1.
(a) How long does it take to reach its highest point?
(b) How high does the ball rise above its release point?
(c) How long will it take for the stone to reach a point 25 m above its release point?
(d) Calculate the velocity of the stone when it hits the water surface.

Sign Convention: ↑ & → positive,

(a) v = u + at
0 = 25 + (-9.81)t
t = 25 / 9.81 = 2.5 s

(b) s = ut + 1
2
at 2
= 25 (2.5) + (0.5)(-9.81)(2.5)2
= 31.8 m

(c) s = ut + 1
2
at 2
25 = 25t + (0.5)(-9.81)t2
4.905t2 -25t + 25 =0
− (−25) ± (−25) 2 − 4(4.905)(25)
t=
2(4.905)
t = 1.37s or 3.73 s (3sf)

(d) v2 = u 2 + 2as
= (25)2 + 2(-9.81)(-20)
v = 31.9 ms-1

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 (h) describe qualitatively the motion of bodies falling in a uniform gravitational field
with air resistance.
4. EFFECTS OF AIR RESISTANCE
• The force that the air exerts on a body moving through it, called air resistance (the
technical term is drag force), always act in a direction opposite to the object's velocity.
• The magnitude of the air resistance depends on the density of the air and on the speed of
the body through the air; the faster the body a moves, the greater air resistance.
• When a body is falling vertically from rest, the weight is always constant and acting
downwards throughout.
• The table below gives the stages of motion that describes how air resistance and
subsequently the body motion changes.

Qualitative Description of Motion Forces Diagrams

At the instant which the object is released: F = mg

u = 0 ms-1 ⇒ No air resistance
A
Net force acting on object = weight W.
Object accelerates and downward velocity increases.

Downward velocity ⇒ Upward air resistance. F = mg - Fd

B Net force acting on object < W F>0
Object accelerates and downward velocity increases.

Air resistance = Weight Fd = mg

Net force acting on object = 0 N F=0
C Net Acceleration = 0 ms-2
Velocity does not increase any further (Terminal velocity
vt ).

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 • Consider a body being dropped from rest. (u = 0)
• Choosing the origin at the point of projection, downwards as the positive direction.
Without air resistance With air resistance
-2
a/ms a/ms-2

g g

0 t 0 t

v/ms-1 v/ms-1

vt

0 t 0 t

s/m s/m

0 t 0 t
Free Falling object (under constant gravitational acceleration)
• Velocity
• Without air resistance : constant gradient (constant acceleration)
• => constant rate of increase in velocity
• With air resistance : (i) decrease in gradient (decrease in net acceleration:
due to increasing air resistance, Rair)
=> velocity increasing at a decreasing rate
(ii) gradient decreases to zero:
if time long enough (no net acceleration: Weight = Rair )
=> constant terminal velocity reached
• Displacement
• Without air resistance: a symmetrical graph
• With air resistance: (i) Decrease in maximum height reached and range of object

v (ii) Graph most likely asymmetrical s

w/o Rair
w/o Rair
w Rair
w Rair
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t t
 (i) describe and explain motion due to an uniform velocity in one direction and an
uniform acceleration in a perpendicular direction.
5. PROJECTILE MOTION
• Sometimes, bodies in free fall have an initial horizontal velocity. In such cases, the motion
is no longer occurs in a straight line. The motion is now non-linear (also known as projectile
motion).
• Consider a body projected at an angle θ and with initial velocity u.
• Projectile Motion
• Motion with uniform velocity in one direction (x) and uniform acceleration in a
perpendicular direction (y)

• x-direction: Uniform velocity => use sx = ux t

• y-direction: Uniform acceleration => use Equations of Motion (E.O.M)

CASE 1: Object moving up and then down CASE 2: Object moving only downwards
ux = u
uy = u sin θ
uy = 0

ux = u cos θ

_x__ __y__ __x__ __y__

ux = u cos θ uy = u sin θ ux = u uy = 0
sx = ux t sx = ux t
use E.O.M use E.O.M
=> sx = (u cos θ)t => sx = u t
e.g. v = u + at e.g. s = ut + ½ at2
vy = uy + (-g)t sy = uy t + ½ gt2
vy = u sin θ + (-g)t
sy = ½ gt2
NOTE: At maximum height, e.g. v = u + at
vy = 0
vy = gt