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I. Mechanics

• the study of the motion of objects• introduction to the language

Vectors, Scalars, Distance, Displacement, Speed, Velocity, Acceleration

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Describing motion Physics is a mathematical science. The underlying concepts

and principles have a mathematical basis. The motion of objects can be described by words. Even a

person without a background in physics has a collection of words which can be used to describe moving objects. Words and phrases such as going fast, stopped, slowing down, speeding up, and turning provide a sufficient vocabulary for describing the motion of objects. In physics, we use these words and many more. We will be expanding upon this vocabulary list with words such as distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration. As we will soon see, these words are associated with mathematical quantities which have strict definitions.

The mathematical quantities which are used to describe the motion of objects can be divided into two categories.

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Scalars and Vectors Scalars are quantities which are fully described by a

magnitude (or numerical value) alone. Vectors are quantities which are fully described by both a

magnitude and a direction.

Check your knowledge:a. 5 m scalar distanceb. 30 m/sec, East vector speedc. 5 mi., North vector displacementd. 20 degrees Celsius scalar temperaturee. 256 bytes scalar memoryf. 4000 Calories scalar energy

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Distance and Displacement Distance is a scalar quantity which refers to "how much

ground an object has covered" during its motion. Displacement is a vector quantity which refers to "how far out

of place an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.

Example:A physics teacher walks 4 meters East, 2 meters South, 4

meters West, and finally 2 meters North.distance: 12 meters, displacement: 0 meters

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Distance and Displacement - examples Cross-country skier at various times. At each of the indicated

times, the skier turns around and reverses the direction of travel. In other words, the skier moves from A to B to C to D.

The skier covers a distance of(180 m + 140 m + 100 m) = 420 mand has a displacement of 140 m, rightward.

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A football coach paces back and forth along the sidelines. The diagram below shows several of coach's positions at various times. At each marked position, the coach makes a "U-turn" and moves in the opposite direction. In other words, the coach moves from position A to B to C to D.

The coach covers a distance of(35 yds + 20 yds + 40 yds) = 95 yardsand has a displacement of 55 yards, left.

Distance and Displacement - examples

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vector quantity (such as displacement): direction-awarescalar quantity (such as distance): ignorant of direction

Distance and Displacement

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Speed: a scalar quantity which refers to "how fast an object is moving." A fast-moving object has a high speed and covers a relatively large distance in a short amount of time. A slow-moving object has a low speed and covers a relatively small amount of distance in a short amount of time. An object with no movement at all has a zero speed.

Velocity: a vector quantity which refers to "the rate at which an object changes its position." Imagine a person moving rapidly - one step forward and one step back - always returning to the original starting position: results in a zero velocity. You must describe an object's velocity as being 55 mi/hr, east. This is one of the essential differences between speed and velocity.

The direction of the velocity vector is simply the same as the direction which an object is moving.

Speed and Velocity

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It would not matter whether the object is speeding up or slowing down. If an object is moving rightwards, then its velocity is described as being rightwards. So an airplane moving towards the west with a speed of 300 mi/hr has a velocity of 300 mi/hr, west.

Note that speed has no direction (it is a scalar) and velocity at any instant is simply the speed with a direction.

Direction of Velocity

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As an object moves, it often undergoes changes in speed. For example, during an average trip to school, there are many changes in speed.

instantenous speed?average speed?

Changes in speed

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The average speed during the course of a motion is often computed using the following formula:

Meanwhile, the average velocity is often computed using the equation

Average speed/velocity

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While on vacation, Lisa Carr traveled a total distance of 440 miles. Her trip took 8 hours. What was her average speed?

She undoubtedly, was stopped at some instant in time (perhaps for a bathroom break or for lunch) and she probably was going 65 mi/hr at other instants in time. Yet, she averaged a speed of 55 miles per hour.

Average speed - example

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Instantaneous Speed - the speed at any given instant in time. Average Speed - the average of all instantaneous speeds;

found simply by a distance/time ratio.You might think of the instantaneous speed as the speed

which the speedometer reads at any given instant in time and the average speed as the average of all the speedometer readings during the course of the trip.

Occasionally, an object will move at a steady rate with a constant speed. That is, the object will cover the same distance every regular interval of time. For instance, a cross-country runner might be running with a constant speed of 6 m/s in a straight line for several minutes. If her speed is constant, then the distance traveled every second is the same.

Instantaneous Speed

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The physics teacher walks 4 meters East, 2 meters South, 4 meters West, and finally 2 meters North. The entire motion lasted for 24 seconds. Determine the average speed and the average velocity.

The physics teacher walked a distance of 12 meters in 24 seconds; thus, her average speed was 0.50 m/s.

However, since her displacement is 0 meters, her average velocity is 0 m/s. Remember that the displacement refers to the change in position and the velocity is based upon this position change.

Example

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Use the diagram to determine the average speed and the average velocity of the skier during these three minutes.

The skier has an average speed of(420 m) / (3 min) = 140 m/minand an average velocity of(140 m, right) / (3 min) = 46.7 m/min, right

Example

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Acceleration is a vector quantity which is defined as the rate at which an object changes its velocity. An object is accelerating if it is changing its velocity.

Sports announcers will occasionally say that a person is accelerating if he/she is moving fast. Yet acceleration has nothing to do with going fast. A person can be moving very fast and still not be accelerating. Acceleration has to do with changing how fast an object is moving. If an object is not changing its velocity, then the object is not accelerating.

Acceleration

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Sometimes an accelerating object will change its velocity by the same amount each second. This is referred to as a constant acceleration since the velocity is changing by a constant amount each second. An object with a constant acceleration should not be confused with an object with a constant velocity. Don't be fooled! An object with a constant velocity is not accelerating.

Note that each object has a changing velocity.

Constant Acceleration

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the object averages a velocity of approximately 5 m/s in the first second, approximately 15 m/s in the second second, approximately 25 m/s in the third second, approximately 35 m/s in the fourth second, etc. Our free-falling object would be constantly accelerating.

accelerating at a constant rate

Free-falling object

~ 35 m~ 35 m/s3 - 4 s~ 25 m~ 25 m/s2 - 3 s~ 15 m~ 15 m/s1 -2 s~ 5 m~ 5 m/s0 - 1 s

Distance Traveled During Time Interval

Ave. Velocity During Time IntervalTime Interval

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The average acceleration (a) of any object over a given interval of time (t) can be calculated using the equation

This equation can be used to calculate the acceleration of the object whose motion is depicted by the velocity-time data table above. The velocity-time data in the table shows that the object has an acceleration of 10 m/s/s. The calculation is shown below.

The (m/s)/s unit can be mathematically simplified to m/s2.

Average Acceleration

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Since acceleration is a vector quantity, it has a direction thatdepends on two things:

• whether the object is speeding up or slowing down • whether the object is moving in the + or - direction

RULE OF THUMB: If an object is slowing down, then its acceleration is in the opposite direction of its motion.

When an object is speeding up, the acceleration is in the same direction as the velocity. Thus, this object has a positive acceleration.

Direction of the Acceleration Vector

change of velocity is positive

4 – 2 = 2 positive

-4 – ( -6) =2 positive

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1.The car gains speed while moving down the incline - that is, it accelerates.

2. the car slows down slightly (due to air resistance forces). 3. along the 180-degree curve, the car is changing its

direction; once more the car is said to have an acceleration due to the change in the direction.

Direction of the Acceleration Vector

Accelerating objects have a changing velocity - either due to a speed change (speeding up or slowing down) or a direction change.

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In physics, the use of positive and negative always has a physical meaning. As used here to describe the velocity and the acceleration of a moving object, positive and negative describe a direction.

Determine the acceleration for the following two motions.

Negative Acceleration

Use a = (vf - vi) / t

a = (8 m/s - 0 m/s) / (4 s)

a = (8 m/s) / (4 s) = 2 m/s2

speeding up

a = (0 m/s - 8 m/s) / (4 s)

a = (-8 m/s) / (4 s) = -2 m/s2

slowing down

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describe motion: words, diagrams, numbers, equations, graphs

constant, rightward (+) velocity

Position vs. Time Graphs

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rightward (+), changing velocity, acceleration

Position vs. Time Graphs

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If the velocity is constant, then the slope is constant (i.e., astraight line). If the velocity is changing, then the slope is changing (i.e., a curved line). If the velocity is positive, then the slope is positive (i.e., moving upwards and to the right).

The Importance of Slope

Fast, Rightward (+)Constant Velocity

Slow, Rightward (+)Constant Velocity

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Now consider a car moving at a constant velocity of +5 m/s for 5 seconds, abruptly stopping, and then remaining at rest (v = 0 m/s) for 5 seconds.

Plot the graph!

The Importance of Slope

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Pick two points on the line and determine their coordinates. Determine the difference in y-coordinates of these two points. Determine the difference in x-coordinates for these two points. Divide the difference in y-coordinates by the difference in x-

coordinates.

Determining the Slope

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Determining the Slope

Using the two given data points, the rise can be calculated as -24.0 m (the - sign indicates a drop). The run can be calculated as 8.0 seconds. Thus, the slope is -3.0 m/s.

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Consider a car moving with a constant, rightward (+) velocity -say of +10 m/s.

Velocity vs. Time Graphs

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rightward (+) velocity, acceleration

the slope of the line on a velocity-time graph reveals useful information about the acceleration of the object

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the slope of the line on a velocity versus time graph is equal to the acceleration of the object

acceleration : 10 m/s2

Slope on a v-t Graph

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For velocity versus time graphs, the area bound by the line and the axes represents the displacement.

Area under the v-t Graph

The shaded area is representative of the displacement during from 2 seconds to 5 seconds.

This area takes on the shape of a trapezoid can be calculated using the appropriate equation.

The shaded area is representative of the displacement during from 0 seconds to 4 seconds. This area takes on the shape of a triangle can be

calculated using the appropriate equation.

The shaded area is representative of the displacement during from 0 seconds to 6 seconds.

This area takes on the shape of a rectangle can be calculated using the appropriate equation.

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Area = b * h Area = (6 s) * (30 m/s)Area = 180 m

Area = 0.5 * b * h Area = (0.5) * (4 s) * (40 m/s)Area = 80 m

Area = 0.5 * b * (h1 + h2) Area = (0.5) * (2 s) * (10 m/s + 30 m/s)Area = 40 m

Calculating area

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Determine the displacement of the object during the first second (Practice A) and during the first 3 seconds (Practice B).

The area of a triangle is given by the equation Area = 0.5 • b • h where b = 1 s and h = 10 m/sArea = 0.5 • (1 s) • (10 m/s) = 5 mThat is, the object was displaced 5 m during the first second of motion

Example

b = 3 s and h = 30 m/sArea = 0.5 • (3 s) • (30 m/s) = 45 mThat is, the object was displaced 45 m during the first 3 second of motion.

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Positive Velocity and Positive Acceleration

Negative Velocity and Positive Acceleration

Examples