Motion With Constant Acceleration

Motion with Constant Acceleration
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
 Identify which equations of motion are to be

used to solve for unknowns
 Use appropriate equations of motion to

solve a two-body pursuit problem
Motion diagram for a particle moving in a straight line in the
positive x-direction with constant positive x-acceleration ax.
Motion diagrams in the form of graphs
Notation
Important simplifications in notation:
 Taking the initial time to be zero
 When initial time is taken to be zero, use subscript 0 to
denote initial values of position and velocity
 No subscripts on the final values
 To summarize, using the simplified notation, with initial
time taken to be zero
 Make important assumption that acceleration is constant

Displacement and Position from Velocity
•
Consider that acceleration is constant
 Average velocity
 Solving for x is express to
 Average velocity is also

Solving for Final Velocity from
Acceleration and Time
•
Deriving another useful equation by manipulating
the definition of acceleration:
Substituting the simplified notation for and
Solving for v yields

Calculating Final Velocity
•
Problem 1. An airplane lands with an initial velocity
of 70.0 m/s and then decreases at 1.50 m/s 2 for
40.0s. What is its final velocity?
Solution
v0 = 70 m/s, a = -1.50m/s2, t = 40s
Req’d: vf ?
Determine which equation to use: v = v0 + at
Sketch that shows the acceleration and velocity vectors:
Significance
 The equation v = v0 + at gives insight into relationship
among velocity, acceleration, and time
Solving for Final Position with Constant
Acceleration
• Use
equation to find the third equation for the calculation
of the final position of an object at constant acceleration
 Adding v0 to each side of this equation and dividing by 2
gives
 Substitute the expression for into the equation for

displacement,
Calculating
Calculating Displacement
Displacement of
of an
an Accelerating
Accelerating Object
Object
Problem 2. Dragsters can achieve an average acceleration of
26.0 m/s2. Suppose a dragster accelerates from rest at this
rate for 5.56 s. How far does it travel in this time?
Calculating
Calculating Displacement
Displacement of
of an
an Accelerating
Accelerating Object
Object
S• O L U T I O N
 Identify the knowns:

 Substitute the values into the equation to solve for the unknown:
 Substituting the identified values of a and t gives

Solving for Final Velocity
Velocity from Distance and
Acceleration
Acceleration
• Solving
for t (time) from equation: v = v0 + at
 Substituting this equation and into :
Problem 3. Calculate the final velocity of the dragster in the

previous problem without using information about time.
Strategy:
•
Problem 3. Calculate the final velocity of the dragster in the
previous problem without using information about time.
Strategy:
Solution: v0 = 0; x – x0 = 402m; a = 26.0 m/s2
Solving for v:
Putting Equations Together
•Summary
of Kinematic Equations (constant a)
Two-Body Pursuit Problems
In a two-body pursuit problems, the motions of
the objects are coupled
A two-body pursuit scenario where car 2 has a constant velocity and car 1
is behind with a constant acceleration. Car 1 catches up with car 2 at a
later time
Cheetah
Cheetah Catching a Gazelle
A cheetah waits in hiding behind a bush. The

cheetah spots a gazelle running past at 10 m/s.
At the instant the gazelle passes the cheetah, the
cheetah accelerates from rest at 4m/s2 to catch
the gazelle. (a) How long does it take the
cheetah to catch the gazelle? (b) What is the
displacement of the gazelle and cheetah?
Cheetah
Cheetah Catching a Gazelle
S• O L U T I O N
 Equation for the gazelle:
 Equation for the cheetah:
 Solving for t by equating equations of displacements:
a. ;
 To get the displacement, either use the equation of motion
for the cheetah or the gazelle:
b.
EVERYTHING IN OUR UNIVERSE IS IN MOTION
“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of

the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the
beginning.” - Winston Churchill

Motion With Constant Acceleration

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Motion with Constant Acceleration

 Identify which equations of motion are to be

 Use appropriate equations of motion to

 Make important assumption that acceleration is constant

 Solving for x is express to

 Average velocity is also

Substituting the simplified notation for and

Solving for v yields

 Substitute the expression for into the equation for

 Identify the knowns:

 Substituting the identified values of a and t gives

 Substituting this equation and into :

Problem 3. Calculate the final velocity of the dragster in the

A cheetah waits in hiding behind a bush. The

“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of

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