LINEAR MOTION BB101- ENGINEERING SCIENCE

UNIT SAINS JMSK/JUN 2014 Page 16

2.0 LINEAR MOTION
2.1 Linear Motion
Linear motion is motion in a straight line.
Examples of linear motion are:
a) A car moving in a straight line.
b) A passenger carried by the moving escalator.

Examples of non-linear motion are:
a) A snake crawling. b) A top spinning.

2.2 Uniform and nonuniform motion
Uniform motion:
Movement with a velocity that is constant and stable. In terms of direction, the
object should be running at a constant speed on a straight direction.
The motion which covers equal distance in equal interval of time.

Nonuniform motion:
Non-uniform motion is when a body that is moving along a straight line does not
travel equal distances in equal amounts of time.
Most of the motion that we come across in daily life is non-uniform motion. Moving
objects are either 'speeding up' or 'slowing down'.
In non-uniform motion, the velocity of the moving object changes, as a result of
which the object is said to have acceleration.
2.3 Distance and Displacement
Distance travelled by an object is the total length that is travelled by that object. Distance is
a scalar quantity. The SI unit of distance is m (meter).
Displacement of an object from a point of reference, O is the shortest distance of the object
from point O in a specific direction. Displacement is a vector quantity. The SI unit of
displacement is m (meter).
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Distance vs Displacement

Distance travelled = 200m
Displacement = 120 m, in the direction of Northeast
Example
The diagram below shows the path travelled by Hakim from J to M. Calculate the
displacement of Hakim.






Displacement is the distance from J to M in a straight line.
JM =

JM = 10km
Comparison between distance and displacement
Aspect Distance Displacement
Definition Total route taken by
a motion
Distance taken with
consideration of direction
Type of
quantity
Scalar quantity-with
magnitude only
Vector quantity-direction
and magnitude are
important
SI unit Metre (m)

2.4 Speed and Velocity
Speed is a scalar quantity which refers to "how fast an object is moving." Speed can be
thought of as the rate at which an object covers distance. An object with no movement at all
has a zero speed. Speed = distance travelled/time taken
J
M
K
10km
6km
2km
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Velocity is a vector quantity which refers to "the rate at which an object changes its
position." Velocity = displacement/time

Comparison between speed and velocity

Aspect Speed Velocity
Definition Rate of change of distance Rate of change of displacement
Type of
quantity
Scalar quantity-with magnitude
only
Vector quantity-direction and
magnitude are important
Formula

SI unit ms
-1


2.5 Average velocity & Instantaneous velocity
Velocity shows how fast an object is moving to which direction.
Average velocity can be calculated by dividing displacement over time.
For example, when a car moved 50 km in 2 hours, the average velocity is 25.5 km/h because

The instantaneous velocity shows the velocity of an object at one point.
For example, when you are driving a car and its speedometer swings to 90 km/h, then the
instantaneous velocity of the car is 90 km/h.
2.6 Acceleration and deceleration
An object accelerates when its velocity changes with time. Acceleration is defined as
the rate of change of velocity with time.

The acceleration of an object is regarded as positive if its velocity increases and
negative if its velocity decreases.
Negative acceleration is also known as deceleration.
An object is said to move with uniform acceleration if the rate of change of its
velocity is constant.
An object is said to move with zero acceleration if its velocity remains constant.




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Examples
a) A car increases its velocity steadily from 72 km h
-1
to 108 km h
-1
in 5 s. What is its
acceleration in m s
-2
?
Solution ,

, ,

b) An object moves from rest with a uniform acceleration of 2 m s
-2
. What is the
velocity of the object after 30 s?
Solution ,
, ,

c) A car moving at constant velocity of 30 m s
-1
came to a stop 6 s after its brake was
applied. What was the deceleration of the car?
Solution ,

, , ,

2.7 Equations of Linear Motion
Problems on linear motion with uniform acceleration can often be solved quickly using the
equations of motion. The following symbols are used in the equations of motion.
, , , ,

There are four equations of linear motion that are:
,

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Examples
a) A car is accelerated at 6 m s
-2
from an initial velocity of 2 m s
-1
for 10 seconds. What is
the final velocity, and the distance moved?
Solution

b) A car travelling at 20ms
-1
stops after the distance of 30m. What is its deceleration?
Solution

c) A driver travelling at a velocity of 108 km h
-1
notices a cow in the middle of the road
80 m in front of him. On seeing the cow, the driver instantly applies the brakes and is able
to bring the car to a stop after 6 seconds.
i. What is the deceleration of the car?
ii. Calculate the distance travelled by the car from the time the driver applies
the brakes until it comes to a stop.
iii. Is the driver able to avoid knocking the cow?
Solution

, ,

c) A ball is thrown vertically upwards with an initial velocity of 15 m s
-1
. Neglecting air
resistance, find
i. The maximum height reached,
ii. The time taken before it reaches the ground.
(Acceleration due to gravity = 10 m s
-2
)


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Solution

, ,

, ,

d) A sports car is sitting at rest in a freeway entrance ramp. The driver sees a break in the
traffic and floors the cars accelerator, so that the car accelerates at a constant 4.9 m/s
2
as it
moves in a straight line onto the freeway. What distance does the car travel in reaching a
freeway speed of 30 m/s?
Solution

OR
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2.8 Analysing Motion Graphs
Velocity Time Graph
A velocity time graph shows how the velocity of an object changes with time.
The gradient of a velocity time graph represents the acceleration of the object.
The area under a velocity time graph represents the distance travelled by the
object.


Solving Problems using Graphs which show linear motion

Example: A car moving at a velocity of 30 ms
-1
accelerates constantly and reaches a
velocity of 35 ms
-1
in 6 seconds. The car moves with a velocity of35 ms
-1
for 30 seconds. The
car then stops for 4 seconds. Calculate:
(a) the acceleration for the first 6 seconds.
(b) the deceleration for the last 4 seconds.
(c) the total distance travelled

(a)









Velocity/ms
-1

Time/s
6
m
36 40
30
35
me
A B
C
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Given :

(b) Given:


a =

(c) Total distance = Area below the graph
= Area A + Area B + Area C
=

(35
= 195 + 1 050 + 70
= 1 315 m

Study of Motion with the Ticker Timer:


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2.10 Exercises
1.Give the definition and unit for each of the following.
a)Displacement b)Distance c)Velocity d)Speed e)Acceleration
2. State the difference between:
a) distance and displacement b) speed and velocity
c) acceleration and deceleration d) Scalar quantities and vector quantities
3. A car moves in a straight line from its stationary state with a uniform acceleration. It
achieves a velocity of 120 m/s after moving through a distance of 500m. Calculate,
i. The acceleration of the car
ii. The time taken
iii. The velocity when t=3 s
4. A car moving at a velocity of 20m/s accelerates constantly and reaches a velocity of
30m/s in 10 seconds. The car moves with a velocity of 30m/s for 30 seconds. The car
then stops for 5 seconds. Calculate,
i. The acceleration for the first 10 seconds
ii. The deceleration for the last 5 seconds
iii. The total distance travelled
5. A boat moves slowly inside a marina (so as not to leave a wake) with a constant speed of
1.50m/s. As soon as it passes the breakwater, leaving the marina, it throttles up and
accelerates at 2.40m/s
2
.
i. How fast is the boat moving after accelerating for 5.00 s?
ii. How far has the boat traveled in this time?

6. A ball is thrown vertically upwards with an initial velocity of 20m/s . Calculate
i. The maximum height of the ball
ii. The total time the ball is in the air, ( take g = 9.81 m/s
2
)
iii. The time to reach a height of 15 m
iv. The velocity when the ball is at height of 15m.

7. Figure shows a velocity time graph for a moving object

i. State the meaning of each lines P, Q, and R.
ii. What is the acceleration of the objects in the first 2 seconds?
iii. What is the total distance of the object?

8. A car starts from rest and accelerates at a constant acceleration of 2m/s
2
for 5 s.
The car then travels at a constant velocity for 9 s. The brakes are then applied and the
car stops in 6 s. What is the maximum velocity attained by the car?
(i) Plot a velocity-time graph for the whole journey.
(ii) From the graph-plotted, determine the total distance travelled.
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Answer:
3. i. 14.4m/s
2
ii. 8.3 s iii. 43.2m/s 4. i. 1m/s
2
ii. -6m/s
2
iii. 1225m 5.i.13.5m/s ii.37.5m
6. i. 20.4 m ii. 4.08s iii. 0.99s iv. 10.29m/s 7. ii. 2.5 m/s iii. 45m 8. 10m/s (ii) 145m

Minimum requirement assessment task for this topic:
Theoretical Exercise (1) & Lab work (1)
Specification of Theoretical Exercise: CLO3 - C3
Specification of lab work: CLO2 - (P2),(A2)
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COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME (CLO)
Upon completion of this topic, students should be able to:
1. solve the basic engineering science problems by using related concept. (C3, LD1)
2. organize appropriate experiments to prove related physic principles (P2),(A2)
3. apply related physic principles in various situations to enhance knowledge (C3)