AP Physics B 2014

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AP Physics B Notes Kinematics in One Dimension

Table of Contents

1. Scalar & Vectors
2. Distance vs. Displacement
3. Speed & Velocity
4. Acceleration
5. Freefall
6. Motion Graphs
7. Kinematics Animations
8. References


Scalars & Vectors:

Scalar A quantity with only magnitude and units. Ex. Length, distance, speed, time

Vector A quantity with magnitude, units and direction. Ex. Velocity, acceleration,
force

Vector Notation A vector can be denoted in a multitude of ways:
1. v = 30 m/s due west
2. a = -9.8 m/s
2

3. a = (6,8) 4. b = 20 m/s at 40 N of E







5. Handwritten: v

Resultant the addition of 2 or more vectors
1. Graphical addition:













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2. Mathematical Addition: You need trig to get direction for two dimensional
additions.


Example 1: What is the resultant of these two vectors?











3. Order does not matter when adding vectors.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/vectors/ao.html

Vector Components A single vector can be broken down into its components. In
essence, you are getting the two sides of a right triangle by knowing the hypotenuse
and the angle.


Distance vs. Displacement:

Distance The length traveled by an object
1. Symbol: d
2. Units: m

Displacement The change in the position of an object.
1. Symbol: s (your textbook uses x, the AP equations sheets both a x and r)
2. Units: m and direction

Example 2: A person walks two laps around a ! mile track. What is his distance
traveled? What is his displacement?


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Speed & Velocity:

Average Speed The total distance traveled divided by the total time to travel that
distance.
1. Symbol: v
2. Equation:
3. Units: m/s

Example 3: A 600 km cross country automobile race is won by a team of 2 drivers,
each of whom has the wheel for half the distance of the trip. If one averaged 60
km/h and the other 20 km/h, what was their overall average speed:?





Uniform speed When speed is constant, equal distances are traveled in equal intervals
of time.

Instantaneous Speed The speed at a particular instant in time.
1. The instantaneous speed is found by taking the slope of the distance vs. time
graph at a point. If the graph is curved, you must find the slope of the tangent
line to that point.

Velocity Velocity is just speed with direction. Speed is the magntiude of the velocity.
1. Positive velocity means the object is traveling in the positive direction.
2. Negative velocity means the object is traveling in the negative direction.

Example 4: The moon moves in a nearly circular orbit around the earth with an
average radius of 3.84 x 10
8
m. If it takes 27.3 days for it to complete one
revolution, determine its average orbital speed in m/s.






Example 5: A student drives from home to school at an average speed of 25.3 km/hr.
If it takes 4.72 h to get to her destination, how far did she travel?







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Acceleration:

Acceleration The rate of change of acceleration
1. Average acceleration is the change in velocity divided by the time required by
the change. It is the slope between two points on a speed vs. time graph.
Symbol: a
Equation:
A positive acceleration means the velocity is increasing by that amount
every second. A negative acceleration means the velocity is
decreasing by that amount every second.
2. Instantaneous acceleration is the acceleration at a particular instant in time. It
is the slope of the tangent line at a point on a speed vs. time graph.
Symbol: a

Uniformly Accelerated Motion
1. Uniform acceleration means constant acceleration. , let the initial
time be zero, so or . This is the first equation for
uniform acceleration.

2.

3.

4. * See overhead for derivations or click here.
5. Note: x
o
is generally zero and t is the time interval during which the motion
occurred. In physics, signs indicate direction.

Example 6: A red jaguar XJ12 can screech to a straight-line stop from 96.54 km/h in
about 3.7 s. Compute the magnitude of its acceleration.





Example 7: A bicyclist pedaling along a straight road at 25.0 km/h uniformly
accelerates at 3.00 m/s
2
for 3.00 s. Find her final speed.




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Example 8: A bullet fired from a 38 caliber handgun with a 6.00 inch barrel attains a
muzzle velocity of 330 m/s. Assuming constant acceleration, how much time does it
take to travel down the barrel?



Example 9: That same Jaguar can go from rest to 48.3 km/h in 3.8 s, accelerating
uniformly at a rate of 3.54 m/s
2
. Find its average speed and determine the distance
traveled braking.


Example 10: A Lotus Espirit super-coupe can travel 100 ft from rest in 3.30 s.
Assume the acceleration is constant. Calculate the acceleration in m/s
2
.



Example 11: It is a typical sunny day. Assume your reaction time is 0.50 s and the
acceleration of your car is 8.2 m/s
2
. What is the no-skid stopping distance when the
cars speed is initially 26.9 m/s?




Freefall

Freefall
1. When the only force acting on an object is its weight, the object is said to be
in freefall.
2. Assuming negligible air resistance, the acceleration of all objects in freefall is
-9.8 m/s
2
.
3. The symbol used for the freefall acceleration is g.
4. Since gravity only pulls in the vertical direction, g only affects vertical
velocities. The uniform acceleration equations can be applied to freefall:



5. When solving freefall problems, you must assign signs to different directions,
eg. + for up and for down. Remember that g is always in the down
direction.

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Example 12: A salmon is dropped by a hovering eagle. How far will the fish fall in
2.5 s before the bird catches it again? Neglect air drag.





Example 13: A ball is thrown straight down from the roof of a dormitory at 10.0 m/s.
If the building is 100 m tall, at what speed will the ball hit the ground? How long will
the trip take?









Example 14. A .32 caliber bullet fired from a revolver with a 3 inch long barrel will
have a relatively low muzzle speed of about 200 m/s. If it is shot straight up,
neglecting air resistance,
(a) what is the peak height of the bullet?
(b) how fast will it be moving when it returns to its original height?
(c) how long will the whole trip take?














Example 15: A ball is hurled straight up at a speed of 15.0 m/s leaving the hand of
the thrower 2.00 m above the ground. Compute the times and the balls speed when it
passes an observer sitting at a window in line with the throw 10.0 m above the point
of release.




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Motion Graphs:

1. On a position vs. time graph
The displacement is the change in Y
The average velocity is the slope between two points on the graph. If the
slope is negative, the objects velocity is in the negative direction.
The instantaneous velocity is the slope of a tanget line to the point on the
graph. If the slope is negative, the objects acceleration is in the negative
direction.
When speed is uniform (constant), equal distances are traveled in equal
intervals of time. A graph of distance vs. time would be linear.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L3a.html


2. On a velocity vs. time graph
The distance traveled is the area under the graph. (area below the x axis
means it changed direction of travel)
The average acceleration is the slope between two points on the graph. If
the slope is negative, the objects acceleration is in the negative direction.
The instantaneous acceleration is the slope of a tangent line to the point on
the graph. If the slope is negative, the acceleration of the object is in the
negative direction.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L4a.html


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Simulation:
http://www.ngsir.netfirms.com/englishhtm/Kinematics.htm
Summary:
http://online.cctt.org/physicslab/content/Phy1/review/constantvelocitygraphs.asp
Freefall Graphs:
http://online.cctt.org/physicslab/content/Phy1/lessonnotes/freefall/lessonfreefall.a
sp


Kinematics Animations:

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/kinema/kinemaTOC.html


References:

http://online.cctt.org/physicslab/content/PhyAPB/review/summaries/mechanicsI.asp
www.physicsclassroom.com