Study Guide in PHYS 111: PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS UNITS, DIMENSIONS AND MEASUREMENTS

MOTION ALONG STRAIGHT LINE

Uniformly Accelerated Motion along Straight Line

- Is defined as the motion in a straight line in which the direction is always the same and the
speed changes at a constant rate.
Rectilinear Motion
Horizontal Motion- Motion Along x-axis
Formulas:

Average Acceleration (a):

vf − vi
a= 𝑡−0
vf − vi
a= 𝑡

For constant acceleration (a):

Final velocity (vf) as a function of time.

vf = vi + at

*+ or - at

Final velocity (vf) as a function of distance.

vf2 = vi2 + 2aS

*+ or - 2aS

Average velocity (vave)

vi + vf
vave = 2

Final Position (S) as a function of velocity and time.

1
S= 2 (vxi - vxf) t

Final Position (S) as a function of time.

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1
S = vi t + a t2
2

1
*+ or - a t2
2

For acceleration a = 0
vf = vi = v

S=vt

Example:
1. A body starts from rest, moves in a straight line with
constant acceleration and covers a distance of 20 m in
5 s. Find the following:
a. The final velocity
b. Time required to cover half the total distance
c. Distance covered in one half the total time
d. The velocity when the half of the total distance
has been covered
e. The velocity after one half the total time.
2. A jet lands on an aircraft carrier at 140 mi/hr (= 63
m/s).
a) What is its acceleration (assumed constant) if it
stops in 2.0 seconds due to an arresting cable that
snags the airplane and brings it to a stop.
b) if the plane touches down at xi=0, what is the final
positon of the plane?
c) suppose the plane lands on the deck of the air –craft
carrier with a speed higher than 63 m/s but with the
same acceleration as that calculated in part (A). How
will that change the answer in part B if S = 75 m.
3. A car traveling a constant speed of 45.0 m/s passes a
trooper hidden behind a billboard. One second after
the speeding car passes the billboard, the trooper sets
out from the billboard to catch it, accelerating at a
constant rate of 3.00 m/s2. How long does it take her
to overtake the car?
4. An object moving with uniform acceleration has a
velocity of 12.0 cm/s in the positive x direction when
its x coordinate is 3.0 cm. If its x coordinate 2.00s
later is -5.oo cm, what is its acceleration?
5. A speed boat moving at 30.0 m/s approaches a no
wake bouy marker 100 m ahead. The pilot slows the

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Study Guide in PHYS 111: PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS UNITS, DIMENSIONS AND MEASUREMENTS

boat with a constant acceleration of -3.50 m/s2 by

reducing the throttle. A) How long does it take the
boat to reach the bouy? What is the Velocity of the
boat when it reaches the bouy?
6. A jet plane lands with a speed of 100 m/s and can
acceleration at a maximum rate of -5m/s2 as its comes
to rest. a) From the instant the plane touches the
runway, what is the minimum time interval needed
before it can come to rest? (b) Can this plane land on
a small tropical island airport where the runway is
0.800 km long?
7. The driver of a car slams on the brakes when he sees a tree
blocking the road. The car slows uniformly with an
acceleration of −5.60m/s2 for 4.20s, making straight skid
marks 62.4m long, all the way to the tree. With what speed
does the car then strike the tree?
8. In the Daytona 500 auto race, a Ford Thunderbird and
a Mercedes Benz are moving side by side down a
straightaway at 71.5m/s. The driver of the
Thunderbird realizes that she must make a pit stop,
and she smoothly slows to a stop over a distance of
250m. She spends 5.00s in the pit and then accelerates
out, reaching her previous speed of 71.5m/s after a
distance of 350m. At this point, how far has the
Thunderbird fallen behind the Mercedes Benz, which
has continued at a constant speed?

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Vertical Motion

FREE FALLING BODIES- initial velocity is zero.

Formulas:

Final Position (y) as a function of time.

y = vi t + ½ g t²
1
*+ or - g t2
2

Final velocity (vf) as a function of distance.

vf² = vi² + 2gy

1
*+ or - 2gy
2
Final velocity (vf) as a function of time.

vf = vi + gt

*+ or - gt
Example:

1. A steel ball dropped from a tower strikes the

ground in 3 seconds. Find the final velocity
with which the ball strikes the ground and the

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height of the tower.

2. A ball is thrown vertically upward, return to
the starting point in 4 seconds. Find the initial
speed.
3. A golf ball is released from rest from the top
of a very tall building. Neglecting air
resistance, calculate a) the position and b) the
velocity of the ball after 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 s.
4. A ball is thrown directly downward with an initial
speed of 8.00m/s from a height of 30.0m. After
what time interval does it strike the ground?
5. A student throws a set of keys vertically upward to
her sorority sister, who is in a
window 4.00m above. The second student catches
the keys 1.50s later. (a) With what initial velocity
were the keys thrown? (b) What was the velocity
of the keys just before they were caught?
6. A baseball is hit so that it travels straight upward
after being struck by the bat. A fan observes that it
takes 3.00s for the ball to reach its maximum
height. Find (a) the balls initial velocity and (b) the
height it reaches.
7. A stone thrown from the top of a building is
given an initial velocity of 20.0 m/s straight
upward. The building is 50.0 m high, and the
stone just misses the edge of the roof on its
way down, as shown in Figure. Using tA= 0 as
the time the stone leaves the thrower’s hand at
position A, determine :
a. the time at which the stone reaches its
maximum height,
b. the maximum height,
c. the time at which the stone returns to the
height from which it was thrown,
d. the velocity of the stone at this instant, and
e. the velocity and position of the stone at t
=5.00 s.
8. A body slides down a frictionless inclined
plane which makes an angle of 30° with the
horizontal, Compute the velocity after the
sliding 8m from rest and the time it takes to
slide 8 m.

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