Kinematics

SCALARS and
VECTORS
2 Differentiate between scalars and vectors
 Scalars and Vectors

In Physics, some quantities have values that

depend on direction and some do not.

Scalar quantities such as mass and volume, are

completely described by a magnitude alone (a
number and a unit). Scalars do not have direction.

Vector quantities such as forces, are completely

described by a magnitude and direction.
 Kinematics
VECTOR ADDITION
2 Add vectors
 Combining Vectors / Vector Addition
Often in Physics, we need to find what the total
effect of a group of vectors is.

Resultant vector (R) is the vector that causes the

same effect from adding two or more vectors
together.

The directions for vectors can be represented by

the positive sign (+) for (right, up, North, East)
while the negative sign (-) for (left, down, West,
South).
 Combining Vectors / Vector Addition
Vectors in the same direction
40N 40N

50N 50N
−40 𝑁 + −50 𝑁 = −𝟗𝟎 𝑵
40 𝑁 + 50 𝑁 = 𝟗𝟎 𝑵, to
The (-) sign indicates direction.
the right

90N −40 𝑁 + −50 𝑁 = 𝟗𝟎 𝑵, to

the left
90N
 Combining Vectors / Vector Addition
Vectors in the opposite direction
40N 50N 50N 40N

50 𝑁 + −40 𝑁 = 𝟏𝟎 𝑵,
to the right 40 𝑁 + −50 𝑁 = −𝟏𝟎 𝑵
The (-) sign indicates direction.
10N

40 𝑁 + −50 𝑁 = 𝟏𝟎 𝑵, to
the left

10N
 Tip-to-tail Method-Vector Addition
Steps:
i. Draw a coordinate axes.
 Tip-to-tail Method-Vector Addition
ii. Plot the first vector with the tail at the origin.

A
 Tip-to-tail Method-Vector Addition
iii. Place the tail of the second vector at the tip of the
first vector.

A
 Tip-to-tail Method-Vector Addition
iv. Draw the resultant (sum) tail at origin to the tip of
the 2nd vector. (Label all vectors.)

A
+ B
A
R=
 Pythagoras’ Theorem
To solve for the magnitude of the resultant
vector (R), use the formula 𝑹 = 𝑨𝟐 + 𝑩 𝟐

R
B

A
 Pythagoras’ Theorem
c. Perpendicular Vectors (vectors at 90! to each other)

1. A man walks at 40 meters East and 30 meters North.

Find the magnitude of resultant displacement and
its vector angle.

R? B=30 m

A=40 m
 R? B=30 m

A=40 m

𝑹 = 𝑨𝟐 + 𝑩𝟐
𝑹 = 𝟒𝟎 𝒎 𝟐 + 𝟑𝟎 𝒎 𝟐
𝑹 = 𝟏𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝟐 + 𝟗𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝟐
𝑹 = 𝟐𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝟐
𝑹 = 𝟓𝟎 𝐦
 Parallelogram Method
Steps:
i. Draw a coordinate axes.
 Parallelogram Method
ii. Plot the first vector with the tail at the origin.

A
 Parallelogram Method
iii. Plot the second vector with the tail at the origin.

B
 Parallelogram Method
iv. Complete the parallelogram.

B
 Parallelogram Method
v. Draw in the diagonal, (this is the resultant).

A B
A +
R=
B
 B R

Parallelogram Method Tail to Tip Method

You obtain the same result using either method.

 Kinematics
DISTANCE and
DISPLACEMENT
2 STATE WHAT IS MEANT BY DISTANCE AND
DISPLACEMENT
Distance and Displacement
aspect distance 𝒅 displacement 𝒅
Definition total length of straight-line

Kinematics
path; has no distance from the
direction initial to final
position; with
direction
Type of
Scalar Vector
Quantity
Formula 𝑑" + 𝑑# + 𝑑$ + ⋯ (remember rules
on vector
addition)
3
 Kinematics
SPEED, VELOCITY &
ACCELERATION
2 STATE WHAT IS MEANT BY SPEED AND VELOCITY
SPEED & VELOCITY
Aspect Speed Velocity
Definition Rate of change of Rate of change of
distance displacement
Type of Scalar Vector
Quantity
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
Formula 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝒅 𝒅
𝒔= 𝒗=
𝒕 𝒕

3
¢ Velocity is the distance travelled per unit time in a
specified direction.

Kinematics
¢ Since it is vector quantity therefore the
direction of travel is important.

30
Formula for Calculating Speed
Speed = Distance time

This method can also be used to find the formulas for

velocity.
Speed
1. A bug crawls 10 cm in 5 sec.
What was the bug’s approximate
speed in cm/sec?

2. A speed-camera takes 2 photos

0.6 s apart while a car travels 12 m .
What is its speed?
Velocity
A bus travels 56 km, heading
West for an 60 minutes. What is
its velocity in km/h?
 Kinematics
SPEED, VELOCITY &
ACCELERATION
4 CALCULATE AVERAGE SPEED USING DISTANCE
TRAVELLED/TIME TAKEN.
AVERAGE SPEED / VELOCITY
¢ For most journeys, speed is not constant. Normally we take
the journey as a whole and calculate the average speed.
Average speed = Total distance
Total timetaken

Average velocity = Total displacement

Total timetaken

1. If a car is taken from the garage, driven for 100 km

before returning to the garage after 2 hours, what
is it average speed?
2. A spacecraft is orbiting the Earth at a steady
speed of 8 km/s. How long will it take to complete
a single orbit, a distance of 40,000 km?
PROBLEM SOLVING 1
¢ A boy runs 5 km due west and then return back to travel a
further distance of 4 km before resting. The whole journey

Kinematics
takes 1 hour. Calculate
— his total distance travelled,
— 5 km + 4 km = 9 km
— his average speed,
— s=d/t= 9 km / 1 h= 9km/h
— his displacement from the starting point,
— - 5 km + 4 km = - 1km; 1 km, W
— his average velocity.
— s=d/t= 1 km, W / 1 h= 1 km/h, W

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1. A car travels along the route PQRST in 30 minutes.

Kinematics
What is the average speed of the car?
A. 10 km/hour
B. 20 km/hour
C. 30 km/hour
D. 60 km/hour

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2. A man crosses a road 8.0 m wide at a speed of

Kinematics
2.0 m/s.

How long does the man take to cross the road?

A. 4.0 s
B. 6.0 s
C. 10 s
D. 16 s
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 Kinematics
3. A child is standing on the platform of a station,
watching the trains.

A train travelling at 30 m/s takes 3 s to pass the

child.
What is the length of the train?
A. 10 m
B. 30 m
C. 90 m
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D. 270 m
 Kinematics
6. The circuit of a motor racing track is 3 km in length.
In a race, a car goes 25 times round the circuit in
30 minutes.
What is the average speed of the car?
A. 75 km/hour
B. 90 km/hour
C. 150 km/hour
D. 750 km/hour

40
11. A snail moves along a ruler. It takes 20 s to move
from Q to R.

Kinematics
What is its average speed from Q to R?

41
 Kinematics
SPEED, VELOCITY &
ACCELERATION
25 STATE WHAT IS MEANT BY UNIFORM ACCELERATION
AND CALCULATE THE VALUE OF AN ACCELERATION
USING CHANGE IN
VELOCITY/TIME TAKEN.
ACCELERATION

Kinematics
¢ Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of
velocity.

Acceleration = Change invelocity

Time taken
v -u
a=
t
¢ where
¢ v = final velocity; u = initial velocity; t= time

¢ The SI unit for acceleration is m/s2.

¢ Acceleration is a vector quantity. The direction of

26
acceleration is the direction of change in velocity.
¢ There is acceleration only when velocity
changes.

Kinematics
— If velocity is constant throughout, there is
no acceleration.
— If the velocity is increasing, the object is
said to be accelerating.
— If the velocity is decreasing, then the object
is said to have negative acceleration or
deceleration or retardation.

44
PROBLEM SOLVING
1. A car accelerates from rest to 50 m/s in 10
s. Calculates the acceleration of the car.

Kinematics
2. A train, initially moving at 12 m/s, speeds up to
36 m/s in 120 s. What is its acceleration?
3. What is the acceleration of a car that speeds
up from 12 m/s to 30 m/s in 15 seconds?

45
 Kinematics
1. What must change when a body is accelerating?
A. the force acting on the body
B. the mass of the body
C. the speed of the body
D. the velocity of the body

46
 Kinematics
2. Which of the following defines acceleration?

36
 Kinematics
3. Which quantity X is calculated using this
equation?

A. acceleration
B. average velocity
C. distance travelled
D. speed

48
 Kinematics
GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF MOTION
43 RECOGNISE FROM THE SHAPE OF A SPEED-TIME GRAPH WHEN A BODY
IS
(1) AT REST,
(2) MOVING WITH UNIFORM SPEED,
(3) MOVING WITH UNIFORM ACCELERATION,
(4) MOVING WITH NON-UNIFORM ACCELERATION.
 Kinematics
DISTANCE – TIME GRAPH
44
 Kinematics
1. Which speed / time graph applies to an object at
rest?

79
2. Two distance/time graphs and two speed/time
graphs are shown.
Which graph represents an object that is at rest?

Kinematics
B 80
 Kinematics
3. Which speed-time graph shows an object moving
with non-uniform acceleration?

81
C
 Kinematics
4. The speed-time graph shown is for a bus
travelling between stops.
Where on the graph is the acceleration of the bus
the greatest?

82
B
 Kinematics
FREE FALL

109 STATE THAT THE ACCELERATION OF FREE-FALL FOR

A BODY NEAR TO THE EARTH IS CONSTANT AND IS
APPROXIMATELY 10 M/S2.
 Kinematics
FREE FALL

110 DESCRIBE QUALITATIVELY THE MOTION OF BODIES

WITH CONSTANT WEIGHT FALLING WITH AND
WITHOUT AIR RESISTANCE (INCLUDING REFERENCE
TO TERMINAL VELOCITY).
FALLING FREELY

Kinematics
¢ Any object that is being acted upon only by
the force of gravity is said to be in a state of
free fall.
¢ There are three important motion
characteristics that are true of free-falling
objects:
— Free-falling objects do not encounter air
resistance.
— All free-falling objects (on Earth) accelerate
downwards at a rate of 10 m/s2.
111
— Not affected by mass and shape of the object.
velocity (m/s)

Kinematics
time (s)
112
SKYDIVING

Kinematics
At the start of his jump the
air resistance is zero so he 113
accelerate downwards.
SKYDIVING

Kinematics
As his speed increases his
air resistance will also
114
increase
SKYDIVING

Kinematics
Eventually the air resistance will be
big enough to balance the skydiver’s
115
weight.
 How the forces change with time.
KEY
Gravity
(constant value &
always present…weight)

Air resistance
(friction)

Net force
(acceleration OR changing
velocity)
SKYDIVING

Kinematics
When he opens his
parachute the air
resistance suddenly
increases, causing
him to start slow
down.

118
SKYDIVING

Kinematics
Because he is
slowing down his air
resistance will
decrease until it
balances his weight.
The skydiver has now
reached a new, lower
terminal velocity.
119
 VELOCITY-TIME GRAPH FOR THE SKY
DIVER

Speed Parachute opens –

increases… diver slows down

Terminal
Velocit

velocity Diver hits the

reached… ground
y

New, lower terminal

Time
velocity reached
 Kinematics
1. A small steel ball is dropped from a low balcony.
Ignoring air resistance, which statement describes
its motion?
A. It falls with constant acceleration.
B. It falls with constant speed.
C. It falls with decreasing acceleration.
D. It falls with decreasing speed.

A
121
 Kinematics
2. Two stones of different weight fall at the same
time from a table. Air resistance may be ignored.
What will happen and why?

A 122
 Kinematics
8. An object is falling under gravity with terminal
velocity.
What is happening to its speed?
A. It is decreasing to a lower value.
B. It is decreasing to zero.
C. It is increasing.
D. It is staying constant.

128
9. The diagrams show a parachutist in four positions
after she jumps from a high balloon.
At which position does she have terminal velocity?

Kinematics
C
129
5. Which graph shows the motion of a heavy, steel
ball falling from a height of 2 m?

Kinematics
A
125