VELOCITY AND ACCELERATION

2.0 VELOCITY AND ACCELERATION

INTRODUCTION
As a first step in studying classical mechanics, we describe motion in terms of spaces and time
while ignoring the agents that caused that motion. This portion of classical mechanics is called
kinematics. (The word. kinematics has the same root as cinema. Can you see why?) In this
chapter we consider only motion in one dimension, that is, mo- motion along a straight line. We
first define position, displacement, velocity and acceleration. Then, using these concepts, we
study the motion of objects traveling in one dimension with a constant acceleration.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this unit are to:
1. Analyzing linear motion
2. Analyzing motion graphs

LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing the unit, students should be able to:
1. Define and describe how to measure displacement, mean and instantaneous values of
speed, velocity and acceleration.
2. Use graphical methods to represent displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration
3. Understand and use the properties of displacement-time graphs, velocity-time graphs, and
acceleration-time graphs.
4. Derive and use equations which represent uniformly accelerated motion in a straight line
5. Describe the motion of bodies falling in a gravitational field with and without air resistance -
terminal velocity.
6. Describe and explain motion due to a uniform velocity in one direction and uniform
acceleration in a perpendicular direction.

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2.1 Displacement

When we say that a person has walked 7 kilometers, we give no indication either of the
actual distance between his initial and final positions or of the direction of the final position
relative to the initial position. He could be at any point within a radius of 7 km: he could even be
back at his initial position. Distance is therefore a scalar quantity, i.e it has magnitude only. If,
however, the person has walked 3 km eastwards, as represented by AB in fig. 6.1, and then
walked 4 km northwards, as represented by BC, his final position C is 5 km away from his initial
position A. This change of position is termed the displacement and is independent of the path
followed and of the time taken; thus, he could have reached C by going north-north-east from A
to D and then south-east from D to C, as shown by the dotted lines in fig. 6.1.

4 km

A B
3 km

Fig. 6.1 Displacement.

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Since displacement has both magnitude and direction, it is a vector quantity and
can be represented by a straight line drawn to scale in the direction of the displacement.
From fig. 6.1, it will be seen that during the first part of the 7 km journey from A to C, the
displacement is 3 km in an easterly direction and this can be represented by a horizontal
vector AB, drawn to a scale of, say, 1 cm to 1 km. During the second part of the journey,
the displacement is 4 km in a northerly direction and is represented in fig. 6.1 by vector
BC, 4 cm long, drawn vertically at B.
The resultant displacement is represented to scale by the straight line AC. By
measurement, the length of AC is found to be 5 cm and the angle between AC and AB is
53o; i.e. the resultant displacement is 5 km in a direction 53o north of east and can be
determined by adding vectorially the component displacements.

2.2 Speed
If a motor car travels 1.2 km in 2 minutes, its speed is 0.8 kilometers per minute,
or 0.8 X 20 = 48 kilometers per hour. In general, we can say that the speed of a body is
the distance traversed in unit time, or the rate at which distance is traversed. The distance
can be expressed in any convenient unit such as a meter, a kilometers, etc., and the unit
of time can also be any convenient value such as an hour, a minute or a second.
If a motor car travels a distance of 48 km in one hour, its average speed is 48
km/h, but it is extremely unlikely that the car will travel at exactly this speed during the
whole hour – its speed will be at times higher and at other times lower than this value. A
body has constant speed only if it moves over equal distances in equal intervals of time –
however short the interval.
The average speed of a body is the total distance divided by the time; thus, if a
body travels a distance s meters in t seconds, the average speed, v meters per second, is
given by:
s(metre)
v
t(second)
Example 6.1:
If a motor car is traveling at a speed of 100 km/h, what is the speed in meters/second?
Solution:
km  1h  1000m  1
100     0.28ms
h  3600s  1km 

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Example 6.2
If an aero plane travels a distance of 8000 km at a constant speed in 12 h, calculate
(a) its speed in m/s
(b) the number of km traveled in 20 minutes, and
(c) the time taken to travel 100 km.
Solution :
(a) distance = 8000 x 1000 = 8 x 106 m time = 12 x 3600 = 43200 s

s 8  10 5
v   18.52ms 1
t 43200
s
(b) time = 20 x 60 = 1200 s from equation v 
t
s  vt  (1200 )(18.52)  2.22  10 4 m  22.2km

It will be noted that we have not taken any account of direction of motion of the
aero plane – in other words, the speed of a body is independent of the direction of
motion.

2.3 Graphs relating distance, time and speed

The relationships between distance and time and between speed and time can
usefully be represented by simple graphs.

Fig. 6.2 Distance/time and speed/time graphs for constant speed.

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Distance/time and speed/time graphs for constant speed. Fig 6.2(a) is a graph
showing the distance traveled during a period of 20 s by a body moving at a constant speed.
The slope of this straight-line graph, calculated in terms of the units used for the two axes,
is 100 m divided by 20 s, i.e. 5 m/s, and therefore represents the speed at which the body is
moving.
The horizontal line AB in fig. 6.2(b) is a graph representing the constant speed of
5 m/s derived from fig. 6.2(a)

The area shown shaded in fig. 6.2(b)

= (speed in meters/second) x (time in seconds)
= 5 [m/s] X 20 [s] = 100 m distance traveled.

Fig. 6.3 Distance/time and speed/time graphs for varying speed

Distance/time and speed/time graphs for varying speed. Fig 6.3(a) is a distance/time
graph for a body which travels a distance of 100 m in 20 s at varying speeds. The average
speed is 100 [m]/20 [s] = 5 m/s. The initial and the final speeds are zero; subsequently the
slopes of the graph at the beginning and the end on the period must be zero. The slope at any

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intermediate instant is obtained by drawing a tangent to the graph at that instant; for example, at
5 seconds, the tangent is shown by line AB.

Slope of AB = AB = 42 [m] = 5.6 m/s

AC (10 – 2.5) [s]

Similarly, it is found that the slope of the graph between 7 s and 13 s is constant at about 7.1
m/s. Thus, by drawing tangents at various points of the distance/time graph of fig. 6.3(a), the
speed/time graph of fig. 6.3(b) can be derived.
During the 1 second from 4.5 s to 5.5 s, the average speed is practically 5.6 m/s, so that
the distance traveled during that 1 second = 5.6 [m/s] X 1 [s] = 5.6 m, and is represented by the
area of the shaded strip in fig. 6.3(b). Similarly for all the thin strips into which we might divide
the area under the graph. Hence the total area enclosed by the speed/time graph of fig. 6.3(b)
represents the total distance traveled.
If the only information available about the movement of a body was the speed/time graph such
as that shown in fig. 6.4, the simplest method of determining the average speed is by means of
mid-ordinates. Thus, if the base line is divided into, say, 6 equal lengths, as in fig. 6.4, and the
mid-ordinates v1, v2, etc., are drawn and measured, then:

Average speed = v = v1 + v2 + v3 + v4 + v5+ v6

6
If t be the length of the base of the speed/time graph,
Distance traveled = area enclosed by graph
= average speed X time
= vt
Speed

O
Time
Fig. 6.4 Graphical determination of the average speed
The larger the number of ordinates used, the more accurate the result.

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2.4 Linear velocity

It was pointed out in section 6.2 that the speed of a body can be stated without any
reference to the direction of movement of that body. Consequently, speed is scalar quantity. If,
however, we specify the direction of motion as well as the speed of the body, the quantity is
then termed the velocity of the body; thus if a car is traveling in a northerly direction at a speed
of 40 kilometers/hour, the velocity is said to be 40 km/h northwards. Since velocity has both
magnitude and direction, it is a vector quantity and can be represented by a straight line drawn
to scale in the direction of the velocity. If a body travels a distance s in a constant direction in
time t, and if v is the average velocity, then:
v = s/t (6.1)
and the speed and velocity are numerically the same.

2.5 Relative velocity

When we speak of the velocity of a body, we generally mean its velocity relative to the
earth, which is itself moving at a high speed; i.e. we think of the rate of displacement as if the
earth were at rest. Similarly we sometimes speak of the velocity of one body relative to another
body which may be moving at a known velocity relative to the earth. For simplicity, we shall limit
our discussion of relative velocity to velocities in, or parallel to, a single straight line.
If a train A is traveling, say, east at 80 km/h, then relative to a second train B traveling
east at 50 km/h on a parallel track, the first train is moving at:
80 – 50 = 30 km/h

To an observer in the second train, A would appear to be traveling at 30 km/h eastward;

while to an observer on A, B would appear to be traveling westward at 30 km/h.
If the second train B had been traveling westward at 50 km/h, the first train A would be traveling
eastward relative to the second train at:
80 - (-50) = 130 km/h,

And would appear to be traveling eastward at 130 km/h to an observer in the second train B. To
an observer in A, train B would appear to be traveling westward at 130 km/h.

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2.6 Acceleration
When the velocity of a body is increasing, the body is said to be accelerating, whereas if
the velocity is decreasing, the body is said to be retarding. Retardation may be regarded as
negative acceleration. Suppose that the velocity of a train on a straight horizontal track
increases by 1.5 m/s every second from standstill until the trains attains a speed of 30 m/s, then
at the end of 1 second the speed is 1.5 m/s, at the end of the next second it is 3 m/s, at the end
of the third second it is 4.5 m/s, etc., until at the end of 20 s the velocity is 30 m/s, and the
variation of velocity with time can be represented by the straight line OA in fig. 6.5. It follows that
acceleration can be defined as the rate of change of velocity; and when the rate of change
remains constant, as in fig. 6.5, the acceleration is said to be uniform.

Velocity [m/s] A
30

20

10

O
5 10 15 20
Time [s]

Fig. 6.5 Uniform acceleration.

Suppose the initial velocity of a body moving in a straight line to be u, as shown in fig.
6.6, and suppose the velocity to increase at a uniform rate to v in time t; then, if the acceleration
is represented by the symbol a,
Change of velocity =v–u
And acceleration = a = rate of change of velocity
= change of velocity
time
=v–u
t
v = u + at (6.2)

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If u and v are expressed in meters/second and t is in seconds, then the acceleration is
inn meters per seconds every second, i.e. meters per second squared, the symbol being m/s2
(not m/s/s)
Since the velocity is assumed to vary at a uniform rate between u and v, it is
represented by the straight line AB in fig. 6.6. The average velocity is the mean of u and v,
namely ½ (u + v); hence, if s represents the distance traveled, we have:

s = average velocity x time

= ½ (u + v)t

Substituting the value for v from equation (6.2), we have:

s = ½ (u + u + at)t
= ut + ½ at2 (6.3)

Velocity
at

A v
C

Time

Fig. 6.6 Uniform acceleration.

We can derive an expression for v in terms of u, a and s by squaring the two sides of equation
(6.2) and then substituting the value of s from equation (6.3), thus:

v2 = (u + at )2
= u2 + 2uat + (at)2
= u2 + 2a(ut + ½ at2)
= u2 + 2as (6.4)
It should be noted that in the above expressions, a is positive when the body is
accelerating and negative when it is retarding.

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EXERCISES 2.1
1. A snail travels 45 cm in 20 minutes. What it velocity in m/s?
2. A car travels 50 km in 25 minutes. What is the average speed of the car?
3. How long does a bicycle with an acceleration of 0.8 m/s2 take to go from 4 to 12 m/s?
4. A ship steam at constant velocity of 30 km/h.
a) How far does it travel in a day?
b) How long does it take to travel 500 km?
5. A car that starts from rest has a constant acceleration of 4 m/s2. How far the car
travels in the first 3 s?
6 A stone is thrown vertically upwards from the ground with velocity 20 m s–1. What is
the maximum height achieved by the stone?
7 An object experiences deceleration of 6 ms-2 and is stopped in 4 s. What is the initial
velocity of the object?
8 A car moves with an initial velocity of 15 m s–1 and accelerates with constant
acceleration 4 m s–2 for 50 seconds. What is the total distance travelled?
9 An object moves with an initial velocity 20 m s–1 and experiences a retardation of
4 m s–2. What is the distance travelled between the second second and the fifth second?
10 When a driver stops his car from a velocity of 64 m s–1 in 8 s, calculate the
(a) deceleration
(b) total displacement of the car.
11 A van moves from rest with an acceleration of 2 m s–2. If the total displacement of the
van is 120 m, calculate the
(a) final velocity of the van, and
(b) total time taken to come to a stop.

12 The velocity-time graph of a train is given above. What is the distance travelled after 3
seconds?

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13 The figure shows a graph of displacement s against t for an object.

(a) Calculate the gradient of the graph m.
(b) Write an equation which relates s and t.

14 The figure shows a velocity-time graph for a student who rode bicycle from his house to
school.
(a) What is the time taken, in minutes, for the student to reach the school?
(b) State which part of the student’s journey experiences
(i) uniform velocity:
(ii) acceleration:
(iii) deceleration:
(c) Calculate the distance travelled in the first 10 seconds.
(d) What is the distance of the school from the student’s house?

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SUMMARY
The slope of a distance/time graph at instant represents the speed at the instant, and the
area enclosed by a speed/time graph represents the distance traveled.
Acceleration is the rate of change velocity and the value of the a acceleration due to
gravity at sea level almost exactly 9.81 ms-2. If the velocity of a body is accelerated uniformly
from u and v in time t, and if s is the distance traveled and a is the acceleration,
1
Average velocity = (u  v)
2
v  u  at
1
s (u  v)t
2
1
s  ut  at 2
2
v 2  u 2  2as

REFERENCES
1. Engineering Science 4th edition, E Hughes & C Hughes, Longman, 1996.
2. Applied Physics, Arthur Beiser, Schum’s Outline 2004
3. Physics For Scientists And Engineers 6th Edition By Serway And Jewett

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