UNIFORM

ACCELERATED
MOTION (UAM)
UNIFORM ACCELERATED MOTION
(UAM)
■The velocities change in time at a
constant rate.
DERIVING KINEMATIC EQUATIONS

■ You can derive the four (4) kinematic equations that relate
distance (d), velocity/speed (v), acceleration (a), and time
(t).
■ For simplicity, we have to set the following:
V = Final velocity Vo = Initial Velocity
t = Final Time to = Initial Time
Choosing the right equations to use is the
key to solving a UAM problem correctly.
Similarly in life, when you are presented
with options, you have to choose correctly.
Making the right decisions is important.
EXAMPLE 1
As an engineer, you were asked to design a runway for an
airport. An airplane that will use this airfield must reach a
speed of 30.0 m/s before takeoff and should accelerate
at 2.00 m/s^2.
a. How much time does it take this plane to reach
the takeoff speed?
b. What must be the minimum length of the runway
for the aircraft to reach this speed?
EXAMPLE 2

Starting from rest, your bicycle can reach a

speed of 4.0 m/s in 5.0 s. Assuming that your
bicycle accelerates at a constant rate, what is
its acceleration in m/s^2?
EXAMPLE 3
A motorcycle accelerates at a constant
acceleration of 3.0 m/s^2.
a. Starting from rest, what is its speed after
2.0 s?
b. How much distance did it travel at this
time?
c. How much distance did it travel in the time
interval from 2.0 s to 5.0 s?
EXAMPLE 4

A race car accelerates uniformly from 18.5

m/s to 46.1 m/s in 2.47 seconds. Determine
the (a) acceleration and (b) the distance
travelled.
EXAMPLE 5

A bullet leaves a rifle with a muzzle velocity of

521 m/s. while accelerating through the
barrel of the rifle, the bullet moves a distance
of 0.840 m. Determine the acceleration of the
bullet (assume a uniform acceleration).
EXAMPLE 6

A plane has a takeoff speed of 88.3 m/s and

requires 1,365 m to reach that speed.
Determine (a) the acceleration of the plane
and (b) the time required to reach this speed.
FREE FALL MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION

■An important example of uniformly

accelerated motion is the free fall of an
object.
■When an object falls under the
influence of gravity alone, it is in a state
of FREE FALL.
FREE FALL MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION

■ For example, a stone dropped from the top

of a building is in free fall if the influence of
air (air resistance and wind) is neglected.
■ Likewise, a skydiver in mid-air with a
parachute is NOT in a state of free fall
because of air resistance in his parachute.
FREE FALL MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION

■Air Resistance – the force acting

opposite to the relative motion of any
object moving.
FREE FALL MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION
■ Before the time of Galileo, people believed that
heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones, and
that the speed of their fall is proportional to their
weights.
■ For example, an object with twice the mass as
another would fall faster and reach the ground
with twice the speed.
FREE FALL MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION
■ Galileo is said to have dropped objects of various
weights from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
and found that a stone twice as heavy as another
stone did not fall twice as fast.
■ He observed that objects of various weights,
when released at the same time, fell and reach
the ground at the same time.
FREE FALL MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION
■ In the absence of air, Galileo claimed that all objects,
regardless of their weights, fall at the same acceleration.
■ If you simultaneously drop a marker and a piece of
paper oriented vertically, what do you think would
happen?
■ The marker will reach the ground first. Why do you think
so?
■ This is due to the difference in the air resistance the two
objects experience during the fall.
FREE FALL MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION
■ Now, if you repeat the experiment, this time
crumpling the paper into a small wad, what do you
think will happen?
■ Both of them reach the floor at nearly the same
time.
■ Why do you think so?
FREE FALL MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION
■ According to Galileo, air acts as a resistance to light
objects with a large surface.
■ But in many circumstances, air resistance is negligible.
■ In a vacuum chamber, even light objects, such as
feather or a horizontally held paper, will reach the
ground at the same time as any other object.
■ This experiment was not possible in the time of Galileo.
FREE FALL MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION
■ Galileo has proven that all objects, in the absence
of air resistance, fall with the same constant
acceleration.
■ This acceleration is called ACCELERATION DUE TO
GRAVITY and denoted by the symbol “g”.
■ Its magnitude is approximately g = 9.8 m/s^2.
■ Its direction is downward (toward the center of the
Earth).
FREE FALL MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION
■ In the British system, g is approximately 32 ft/s^2.
■ Because it has magnitude and direction,
acceleration due to gravity is a vector quantity.
CASES OF FREE FALL
Case 1 – Dropped from rest

Case 2 – Thrown upward

CASE 1: DROPPED FROM REST
■ Consider a stone dropped from rest.
■ The moment it leaves a person’s hand, the stone’s
velocity is zero and its acceleration has a magnitude g.
■ A constant acceleration of 9.8 m/s^2 means that, as the
ball falls, its velocity increases by 9.8 m/s per second.
■ Because its velocity increases, the distance covered by
the stone in each second also increases.
CASE 1: DROPPED FROM REST
■ Example 1:
For a stone dropped from rest, compute its (a)
velocity and (b) displacement in each second.
CASE 1: DROPPED FROM REST
■ Since free fall motion is uniformly accelerated, you
can use any of the UAM equations to solve related
problems.
■ You simply have to replace d by y so that you know
that the body is moving vertically (y-axis).
■ You also have to substitute a to –g. The negative
sign means that the acceleration due to gravity is
downward.
CASE 1: DROPPED FROM REST
■ CAUTION: Take note that you have used the
negative sign for acceleration by substituting a = -g.
■ Avoid using g = -9.8m/s^2 when you substitute the
given values because that would mean applying the
negative sign twice.
CASE 1: DROPPED FROM REST
■ Example 2:
An egg was dropped from the top of a 30-m building.
a. How long does it take the egg to reach the
ground?
b. What is its speed just before hitting the
ground?
CASE 1: DROPPED FROM REST
■ Example 3:
A stone is dropped into a deep well and is heard to hit
the water 3.41 s after being dropped. Determine the
depth of the well.
CASE 1: DROPPED FROM REST
■ Example 4:
The observation deck of tall skyscraper is 370 m
above the street. Determine the time required for a
penny to free fall from the deck to the street below.
CASE 1: DROPPED FROM REST
■ Example 5:
Upton Chuck is riding the Giant Drop at Great
America. If Upton free falls for 2.60 seconds, what will
be his (a) final velocity and (b) how far will he fall?
CASE 2: THROWN UPWARD
■ In this case, you are only concerned with its motion
after leaving the thrower’s hand.
■ At this moment, because only gravity affects the
ball’s motion, it is in a state of free fall.
CASE 2: THROWN UPWARD
■ As shown in drawing, the acceleration of the ball is
constant both in magnitude and direction.
■ On its way up, its velocity is directed upward and
decreases until the ball becomes stationary (V = 0 m/s)
■ The distance covered in each time interval also
decreases because of its decreasing speed.
■ On its way down, the situation is just the same as the
motion of the ball dropped from rest.
CASE 2: THROWN UPWARD
■ Example 1:
Suppose you have thrown a ball upward on the top of
a cliff with a speed of 29.4 m/s. Compute its velocity
at each second time interval.
CASE 2: THROWN UPWARD
■ Example 2:
A ball is thrown vertically upward with a speed of 25.0
m/s.
a. How high does it rise?
b. How long does it take to reach its highest
point?