Linear Motion

❏ Objectives:

Define the terms: distance, displacement, speed, velocity, acceleration;

Apply displacement-time and velocity-time graphs
Finding the gradient for straight lines only
discuss Aristotle's arguments in support of his "law of motion”, that is, v
Some terms to understand

Distance, s

Distance is a scalar quantity which refers to how far an object travels or how much ground
an object has covered during its motion.
Unit: m

Displacement, s
Displacement is a vector quantity which refers to how far an object travels in a particular
direction.
This is usually the shortest distance between two points
Unit: m
 ★ Speed , v

Speed is a scalar quantity representing the distance traveled per

unit time
This is how fast an object travels.
 ➔ Instantaneous speed

We can see that for

This is the actual speed at any given every second a
distance of 6 cm is
instant of time. covered
Uniform speed / constant speed occurs
if the object covers equal distances in
equal time intervals, no matter how
small the time intervals are. We can see that
there is no
predicted pattern
for this motion
● Velocity , v

This is a vector quantity as

such the direction must be
considered
● Velocity , v
Acceleration , a
If the speed is constant and the
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxFYfumAAlY&t=147s direction changes, then the velocity
also changes.
The rate of change of velocity. Hence the object is accelerating. For
The change in velocity with time. example - moving in a circle with a
constant speed, the direction is
changing and so velocity is also
Equation changing.
Acceleration = change in velocity/ time taken
a = Δv/Δt
Unit: ms-1/s = ms-2 (metre per second squared) If the velocity of an object changes by equal
amounts in equal times, no matter how
small the time intervals are, we say that the
object is moving with constant or uniform
acceleration.
Motion Graphs
 Displacement time graphs

The displacement-time graph of a moving object tells the distance covered by a

moving object with a change in time. The displacement is a vector quantity. The
slope or the gradient of this graph indicates the object's velocity. The
displacement-time graph is also known as the position-time graph, which
represents the motion of an object. Here, in the graph, the moving object’s
displacement is shown on the y-axis and is a dependent variable, whereas the
time is shown on the x-axis and is an independent variable.

The correlation between the displacement and the velocity of the object gives
rise to different types of slope shapes in the displacement-time graph. For
example, if the displacement of the moving object increases with time, the graph
shows a constant positive velocity. On the other hand, if the displacement of the
moving object decreases with the duration of time, the graph shows a constant
negative velocity.
 Displacement time graphs

When the object is at rest

An object is at rest, which means that the velocity

of the object is zero, which indicates that the
difference between the position of the object at
different times will be zero because the object is
not moving. Therefore, the slope of the graph will
be zero. The graph will give us a straight line that
is parallel to the x-axis of the graph, which is
depicted by time.

NB: The displacement is

constant , therefore the
object is NOT moving
 Displacement time graphs

When velocity is constant

A uniform motion is the type of motion in which the
object moves in a straight line at a constant speed.
The velocity of the moving object is constant
throughout the motion.
Displacement-time graph of a uniform motion is the
graph between the displacement and time when the
motion of an object is uniform, which means the
object's velocity is constant. This graph gives a NB: Displacement increases uniformly with
straight line with a non-zero slope. time.
Therefore the object has a velocity because
velocity is the change in displacement with
time.
The gradient of the line represents the velocity
 Displacement time graphs

Object was moving with a constant or

uniform velocity, then it stopped
moving, then continued moving
returning to its original position
because the final displacement is
ZERO.
 Displacement time graphs

Since the gradient is

The displacement increases
non-uniformly. changing, and the gradient
Hence velocity is changing and gives the velocity of the
the object is accelerating. object or body in motion,
In general, a curved
displacement-time graph
this graph shows that the
indicates non-uniform motion. object is accelerating.
 Activity 1

An object travels a distance of 4m for 2s at a constant speed, it then stops

moving for 4s, after which it returns to its original position in 3 s.

A. Sketch a displacement - time graph to represent this journey

B. Determine the initial velocity of the object
C. Determine the final velocity of the object
D. Determine the time for the entire journey
E. What is the total distance travelled by the object?
F. Determine the average speed of the object.
1
 Velocity time graphs

Velocity is constant, therefore

the object is NOT
accelerating.
Velocity time graphs
Velocity time graphs
Velocity time graphs
Velocity time graphs
Velocity time graphs
Velocity time graphs

Non uniform accelerated

motion. The gradient
decreases as you go along
the time axis.
Velocity time graphs
Velocity time graphs
More Motion Graphs
More Motion Graphs
Equation of Motions
Equations of motion
Laws of Motions
★ 1st law of motion

First Law- The law of inertia

A body will continue in a uniform motion unless acted upon by an

unbalanced external force.
Inertia is the natural tendency of a body to resist change in its state.

Explanation
An object at rest will remain at rest or an object in motion will remain in
motion until a force comes along to change it.

Examples:
1. A sprinter beyond the finish line of a race
2. A ball rolling on the ground
3. Can you think of any more examples??
★ 2nd law of motion

Examples
Pushing a small car and
pushing a van
Car crash Examples:
Can you think of any other
example?
★ 3rd law of motion Examples
1. Putting clothes on clothing
line
2. When we jump from a surface
3. Can you think of any other
example?

Recall
F = ma
W = mg
Therefore g is an acceleration and is called
the acceleration due to gravity, g = 10ms-2.