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KINEMATICS
Δx
vavg =
Δt
However, motion does not always take place with a single constant velocity. In such a
case it is necessary to know an object’s velocity at a particular instant in time. This can
be determined by taking the limit of our average velocity as the change in time, and thus
also the change in position, become increasingly small. This instantaneous velocity, v,
is therefore the derivative of the position with respect to time. For motion in one
dimension this can be denoted as:
Δx dx
v = limΔt→0 =
Δt dt
Because velocity can change, it is necessary to determine how much the velocity
changes and the time it takes for the change to occur. This is the concept of
acceleration. If an object changes its velocity by an amount Δv over a time interval Δt,
then the average acceleration is:
Δv
aavg =
Δt
KEY CONCEPTS
KINEMATICS
Thus, just as velocity is a measure of how quickly position changes, acceleration is a
measure of how quickly the velocity changes. Therefore, the instantaneous
acceleration is the limit as the time interval becomes very small, or just the derivative of
the velocity with respect to time. This can be denoted as:
Δv dv
a = limΔt→0 =
Δt dt
In the particular case where acceleration is constant, we can precisely describe the
entire motion in one dimension with the following equations:
v = v0 + at
1 2
x = x0 + v0t + at
2
2
v = v0 + 2a( x − x0 )
2
v = v0 − gt
1 2
y = y0 + v0 t − gt
2
2
v = v0 − 2g(y − y0 )
2
2
KEY CONCEPTS
KINEMATICS
A+B
B
Δr
Δy
θ
Δx
Δr = Δr = Δx 2 + Δy 2
Δy
tan θ =
Δx
Δx = Δr cosθ
Δy = Δr sin θ
Similar equations can be used to break down the velocity and acceleration vectors into
their component vectors:
v = v = vx2 + vy2
vy
tanθ =
vx
v x = v cosθ
v y = v sinθ
3
KEY CONCEPTS
KINEMATICS
a = a = ax2 + ay2
ay
tanθ =
ax
ax = acosθ
a y = a sinθ
By using the appropriate vector quantities, the kinematics equations in two dimensions
can be generalized as:
1
x = x0 + v 0 t + a t 2
2
v = v0 + a t
Or equivalently we may write two separate equations, one for the motion in the x-
direction:
1
x = x0 + v0x t + ax t 2
2
vx = v0 x + ax t
1
y = y0 + v y t + a y t 2
2
v y = v0 y + a y t
⎛ g ⎞
y = x tan θ − x 2 ⎜ 2 2 ⎟
⎝ 2v 0 cos θ ⎠
4
KEY CONCEPTS
KINEMATICS
The distance a projectile goes before returning to the height from which it was launched
is the range, R, and can be determined from the equation:
v02 sin2θ0
R=
g