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Mechanical Science

EE004-3-0

Linear Motion
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this lecture, YOU should be able to:
Definitions of velocity/acceleration
Equations of linear motion
Average velocity, acceleration
Graphical method of solution

MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0 Slide 2 of 11


LINEAR MOTION

1.1 MOVEMENT or DISPLACEMENT

This is the distance(shortest) travelled by an object between two points and is


usually denoted by x or s. Unit of displacement is meters.

1.2 VELOCITY

This is the displacement moved per second or the rate of change of displacement
with time.
Velocity is movement in a known direction so it is a vector quantity.

The symbol is v or u and it may be expressed in calculus terms as the first


derivative of displacement with respect to time so that v = dx/dt or u = ds/dt.
The units of velocity are m/s.

1.3. SPEED
This is the same as velocity except that the direction is not known and it is not a
vector and cannot be drawn as such. Speed is a scalar quantity.
MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0
1.4. AVERAGE SPEED OR VELOCITY

When a journey is undertaken in which the body speeds up and slows down, the
average velocity is defined as

TOTAL DISTANCE MOVED/TIME TAKEN.

1.5. ACCELERATION

When a body slows down or speeds up, the velocity changes and acceleration or
deceleration occurs.

Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity and is denoted with a.


In calculus terms it is the first derivative of velocity with time and the second
derivative of distance with time such that

a = dv/dt = d2x/dt2. The units are m/s2.

Note that all bodies falling freely under the action of gravity experience a downwards
acceleration of 9.81 m/s2.
MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0
WORKED EXAMPLE No.1

A vehicle accelerates from 2 m/s to 26 m/s in 12 seconds. Determine the


acceleration. Also find the average velocity and distance travelled.
SOLUTION

a = v/t = (26 - 2)/12 = 2 m/s2


Average velocity = (26 + 2)/2 = 14 m/s
Distance travelled 14 x 12 = 168 m
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No.1
1. A body moves 5000 m in 25 seconds. What is the average velocity?
(Answer 200 m/s)
2. A car accelerates from rest to a velocity of 8 m/s in 5 s. Calculate the
average acceleration.
(Answer 1.6 m/s2)
3. A train travelling at 20 m/s decelerates to rest in 40 s. What is the
acceleration?
(Answer -0.5 m/s2)

MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0


1.6. GRAPHS

It is very useful to draw graphs representing movement with time. Much useful
information may be found from the graph.

1.6.1. DISTANCE - TIME GRAPHS

Figure 1
Graph A shows constant distance at all times so the body must be stationary.

Graph B shows that every second, the distance from start increases by the
same amount so the body must be travelling at a constant velocity.

Graph C shows that every passing second, the distance travelled is greater
than the one before so the body must be accelerating.

MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0


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Linear Motion Equations

MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0 Slide 2 (of 17)


MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0
Classic version (Summary)

By substituting (1) into (2), we


can get (3) and (5)
where
s = the distance travelled from
the initial state to the final
state (displacement)( s is
sometimes replaced with R)
u = the initial velocity ( speed
in a given direction)
v = the final velocity
a = the constant acceleration
t = the time taken to move
from the initial state to the final
state

MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0 Slide 2 (of 17)


MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0
What Next?

Angular Motion
Angular displacement, velocity, acceleration
Relation between linear and angular velocity

MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0


Tutorial
1. A motor car traveling with a speed of 54km/h is
brought to rest in 10s by the application of
brakes. Calculate the distance traveled by the
car before coming to rest.
2. A car is moving at a speed of 70km/h along a
straight road. The driver of the car sees a man
crossing the road at a distance of 500m. He
suddenly applied the brakes so as to stop the
car just touching the man. Calculate the
retardation and the time taken to stop the car.

MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0


3. A Ferrari is moving with the velocity of 120km/h
given an acceleration for 25s so that it can
reach the speed at 210km/h. Calculate the
acceleration and the distance traveled during
the time.
4. A MAS plane was in emergency landing at
KLIA. The pilot had to stop the plane within
750m. The plane was touching the runway at
90km/h. Calculate the applied retardation and
the time taken.

MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0


5. A motor starting from rest given an
acceleration of 1.5m/s2 for 30s. Calculate
the final velocity and the distance traveled
during the time.
6. An LRT train was moving with the
velocity of x m/s given an acceleration of
0.8m/s2 so as to reach the speed of
170km/h in 0.6 minutes. Calculate the x
velocity and the distance traveled.
MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0
7.A ball is dropped from a tower, 180m high.
Assuming g=9.81m/s2 and the air
resistance to be negligible, calculate
i) The time taken to reach the ground
ii) The velocity of the stone when it hits the
ground
iii) The distance through which the ball falls
during the first 3.2s.

MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0


8. A van starts from rest and is accelerated at the
rate of 0.99m/s2 . What is the distance traveled
by the truck in 25s?
9. A rocket was launched vertically upwards with a
velocity of 85m/s. Calculate the maximum height
it can reach and the time taken to reach the
maximum height.

MECHANICAL SCIENCE EEI004-3-0

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