Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Greeks
— Also to understand the motion of heavenly bodies
— Systematic and detailed studies
— Geocentric model
“Modern” Ideas of Motion
Copernicus
— Developed the heliocentric system
Galileo
— Made astronomical observations with a telescope
— Experimental evidence for description of motion
— Quantitative study of motion
Position
Defined in terms of a frame of reference
— A choice of coordinate axes
— Defines a starting point for measuring the motion
o Or any other quantity
— One dimensional, so generally the x- or y-axis
Displacement
Defined as the change in position
o f stands for final and i stands for initial
— Units are meters (m) in SI
Displacement Examples
From A to B
The displacement is positive, indicating the motion was in the positive x direction
From C to F
The displacement is negative, indicating the motion was in the negative x direction
Displacement, Graphical
Vector and Scalar Quantities
Vector quantities need both magnitude (size) and direction to completely describe them
Generally denoted by boldfaced type and an arrow over the letter
+ or — sign is sufficient for this chapter
Scalar quantities are completely described by magnitude only
Velocity
It takes time for an object to undergo a displacement
The average velocity is rate at which the displacement occurs
Velocity can be positive or negative
— is always positive
Average speed is not the same as the average velocity
Velocity continued
Direction will be the same as the direction of the displacement, + or - is sufficient in one-
dimensional motion
Units of velocity are m/s (SI)
— Other units may be given in a problem, but generally will need to be converted to these
— In other systems:
US Customary: ft/s
cgs:cm/s
Speed vs. Velocity
Cars on both paths have the same average velocity since they had the same displacement in the
same time interval
The car on the blue path will have a greater average speed since the path length it traveled is
larger
Notes on Slopes
The general equation for the slope of any line is
The meaning of a specific slope will depend on the physical data being graphed
Slope carries units
Average Velocity, Non Constant
The motion is non-constant velocity
The average velocity is the slope of the straight line joining the initial and final points
Instantaneous Velocity
The limit of the average velocity as the time interval becomes infinitesimally short, or as the time
interval approaches zero
Units are m/s^2 (SI), cm/s^2 (cgs), and ft/s^2 (US Cust)
Average Acceleration
Vector quantity
When the object’s velocity and acceleration are in the same direction (either positive or
negative), then the speed of the object increases with time
When the object’s velocity and acceleration are in the opposite directions, the speed of
the object decreases with time
Negative Acceleration
A negative acceleration does not necessarily mean the object is slowing down
If the acceleration and velocity are both negative, the object is speeding up
”Deceleration” means a decrease in speed, not a negative acceleration