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Class 11 · Physics · Part 1

Chapter 2: Motion in a Straight Line

Revision notes, practice numericals, a question bank, assertion and reason questions and answers to the NCERT questions. Tap a group to open it; opening one closes the others.

2.1IntroductionKinematics, point objects, position, displacement and average velocity

Motion and kinematics

  • Motion is the change in position of an object with time. We describe it with the ideas of position, velocity and acceleration.
  • Kinematics describes motion without asking what causes it. The causes (forces) belong to Chapter 4.
  • Rectilinear motion is motion along a straight line. For rectilinear motion with uniform acceleration a few simple equations hold.
  • The idea of relative velocity shows that motion is relative.

Point objects

  • In this chapter objects in motion are treated as point objects. This is a good approximation when the size of the object is much smaller than the distance it moves in the time considered.
  • A railway carriage moving smoothly between two stations can be treated as a point object. A spinning cricket ball that turns sharply on hitting the ground cannot, because its spin matters.

Position, displacement and path length

  • Choose an origin and a positive direction on the line (usually to the right). The position x is positive on one side of the origin and negative on the other.
  • Displacement Δx = x₂ − x₁ is the change of position. It can be positive, negative or zero.
  • Path length is the total length of the path covered. It is never negative and is always at least |Δx|; they are equal when the particle never turns back.
  • Example: a man goes from home to a market 2.5 km away and returns home. His displacement is 0 but his path length is 5 km.

Average velocity and average speed

  • Average velocity v̄ = Δx / Δt = (x₂ − x₁)/(t₂ − t₁). It has a sign.
  • Average speed = total path length divided by the time interval. It is never negative.
  • The average speed over an interval is greater than or equal to the magnitude of the average velocity. They are equal only if the particle moves in one direction without turning back.
  • The average velocity does not say how fast the object moves at different instants during the interval.
2.2Instantaneous velocity and speedThe limit of the average velocity

Definition

  • The instantaneous velocity (or simply velocity) at an instant t is the limit of the average velocity as the time interval becomes infinitesimally small: v = lim(Δt→0) Δx/Δt = dx/dt.
  • It is the rate of change of position with time at that instant, the differential coefficient of x with respect to t.
  • On an x–t graph, the velocity at an instant is the slope of the tangent to the curve at that instant. Shortening the chord P₁P₂ towards P, its slope approaches the slope of the tangent.
  • For uniform motion, the velocity is the same as the average velocity at all instants.
t (s)x (m)23456061218P (t = 4 s)tangent at P: slope = vdashed chord P₁P₂: average velocity
The instantaneous velocity at P is the slope of the tangent. As the chord P₁P₂ is shortened towards P, its slope approaches the slope of the tangent (3.84 m s⁻¹).

Numerical meaning of the limit

  • For x = 0.08 t³ (x in metres, t in seconds), the average velocity centred at t = 4 s is 3.92 m s⁻¹ for Δt = 2 s, 3.86 for 1 s, 3.845 for 0.5 s, 3.8402 for 0.1 s and 3.8400 for 0.01 s.
  • The values approach 3.84 m s⁻¹, which is exactly dx/dt = 0.24 t² = 0.24 × 16 at t = 4 s.
  • Example: for x = a + bt² with a = 8.5 m and b = 2.5 m s⁻², v = dx/dt = 2bt = 5.0 t m s⁻¹. So v = 0 at t = 0 and v = 10 m s⁻¹ at t = 2.0 s. The average velocity from 2.0 s to 4.0 s is (x(4) − x(2))/2 = 15 m s⁻¹.

Instantaneous speed

  • Instantaneous speed is the magnitude of the instantaneous velocity. Velocities +24 m s⁻¹ and −24 m s⁻¹ both have speed 24 m s⁻¹.
  • Over a finite interval the average speed can be larger than the magnitude of the average velocity, but at an instant the speed always equals the magnitude of the velocity, because over an infinitesimal interval the particle does not turn back.
2.3AccelerationRate of change of velocity

Definition

  • Galileo found that the rate of change of velocity with time is constant for free fall, while the rate of change with distance is not. This led to the idea of acceleration.
  • Average acceleration: ā = (v₂ − v₁)/(t₂ − t₁) = Δv/Δt. Its SI unit is m s⁻².
  • Instantaneous acceleration: a = lim(Δt→0) Δv/Δt = dv/dt. It is the slope of the tangent to the v–t curve at that instant.
  • Acceleration can be positive, negative or zero. It arises from a change in speed, in direction, or both. (In this chapter only constant acceleration is studied.)
  • If the velocity is v₀ at t = 0 and v at time t, constant acceleration gives a = (v − v₀)/t, i.e. v = v₀ + at.

Graphs of motion with constant acceleration

  • x–t graph: it curves upward for positive acceleration, downward for negative acceleration and is a straight line for zero acceleration. For constant acceleration it is a parabola.
  • v–t graph (constant acceleration): a straight line. (a) Positive velocity with positive acceleration: line rising. (b) Positive velocity with negative acceleration: line falling towards zero. (c) Negative velocity with negative acceleration: line falling below the axis. (d) Negative acceleration with a change of direction: the line crosses the axis; the particle moves in the positive direction before it and in the negative direction after it.
  • For uniform motion the v–t graph is a line parallel to the time axis and the acceleration is zero.
txa > 0: curves upwardtxa = 0: straight linetxa < 0: curves downward
Position–time graphs for motion with positive, zero and negative acceleration. The graph curves up, is a straight line, or curves down.

Area under the v–t graph

  • The area under the v–t curve between two instants is the displacement in that interval. For constant velocity u the area is u × T (a rectangle), which is the displacement. (Velocity × time is a length.)
  • Areas below the time axis count as negative displacement; add the absolute values of all areas to find the distance covered.
  • Velocity and acceleration cannot change values abruptly in a real situation. The sharp kinks in the idealised graphs are smooth in reality.
2.4Kinematic equations for uniformly accelerated motionv = v₀ + at, x = v₀t + ½at², v² = v₀² + 2ax

Deriving the equations from the v–t graph

  • From the definition of constant acceleration: v = v₀ + at (2.4).
  • The displacement is the area under the v–t line = triangle + rectangle = ½ (v − v₀) t + v₀ t. Using v − v₀ = at: x = v₀ t + ½ a t² (2.6).
  • The same area can be written x = ((v + v₀)/2) t = v̄ t, so the average velocity is the arithmetic mean of the initial and final velocities (constant acceleration only).
  • Eliminating t using t = (v − v₀)/a: v² = v₀² + 2ax (2.8).
tvelocityv₀vtrectangle: v₀ ttriangle: ½ (v − v₀) tslope = ax = v₀ t + ½ a t²
Area under the v–t line = rectangle (v₀t) + triangle (½ (v − v₀)t) = displacement, and v − v₀ = at gives x = v₀t + ½at².

The set of equations

  • v = v₀ + at
  • x = v₀t + ½ a t²
  • v² = v₀² + 2 a x
  • These connect five quantities v₀, v, a, t, x. They assume the particle is at x = 0 when t = 0. If it starts at x₀, replace x by x − x₀: x = x₀ + v₀t + ½at² and v² = v₀² + 2a(x − x₀).
  • All the quantities are algebraic (they may be positive or negative). Substitute them with their proper signs. The equations are true only if the acceleration is constant in magnitude and direction.

Deriving the equations by calculus

  • From a = dv/dt: ∫ dv = ∫ a dt gives v − v₀ = at.
  • From v = dx/dt: ∫ dx = ∫ (v₀ + at) dt gives x − x₀ = v₀t + ½at².
  • Writing a = dv/dt = v dv/dx, v dv = a dx, and integrating gives v² = v₀² + 2a(x − x₀). This method works for non-uniform acceleration too, if a is known as a function.

Free fall

  • An object released near the earth's surface and moving under gravity alone (no air resistance) is in free fall. Its acceleration is g = 9.8 m s⁻² downward, constant if the height is small compared with the radius of the earth.
  • With the upward direction positive, a = −g. For an object released from rest at y = 0: v = −gt, y = −½gt², v² = −2gy.
  • Galileo's law of odd numbers: distances covered in successive equal intervals of time by a body falling from rest are in the ratio 1 : 3 : 5 : 7 …. Proof: positions at τ, 2τ, 3τ… are y₀, 4y₀, 9y₀… with y₀ = ½gτ², so the distances are y₀, 3y₀, 5y₀, 7y₀….
0τ2τ3τ4τ1 y₀3 y₀5 y₀7 y₀y = −½ g t²y₀ = −½ g τ² (distance in the first τ)Distances in successive intervals τ:1 : 3 : 5 : 7 : … (odd numbers)
Galileo's law of odd numbers: a body falling from rest covers distances in the ratio 1 : 3 : 5 : 7 … in equal successive intervals of time.

Vertical throw upward

  • A ball thrown upward at v₀ has a = −g. At the highest point v = 0, so h = v₀²/2g and the time to the top is v₀/g. It returns to the starting level after 2v₀/g with the same speed.
  • Example: a ball is thrown up at 20 m s⁻¹ from 25 m above the ground (g = 10 m s⁻²). It rises 20²/(2 × 10) = 20 m. Using 0 = 25 + 20t − 5t² in one step gives t = 5 s to reach the ground. (The same result comes by adding the time up 2 s and the time down 3 s.)
  • Using the equation with proper signs for the whole motion is better, because we need not worry about the path.

Stopping distance and reaction time

  • Stopping distance d = v₀²/2|a| (from 0 = v₀² − 2|a|d). It is proportional to v₀²: doubling the speed makes it four times as large. This is why speed limits matter near schools.
  • Reaction time is the time a person takes to observe, think and act. Drop a ruler between a friend's fingers: d = ½ g t_r² so t_r = √(2d/g). For d = 21.0 cm: t_r = √(2 × 0.21/9.8) = 0.2 s.

Relative velocity (one dimension)

  • The velocity of A relative to B is v_AB = v_A − v_B (both measured from the ground, with signs).
  • A bullet fired forward from a moving van has a ground velocity equal to the sum of the van's velocity and the muzzle velocity. Its velocity relative to a car moving in the same direction is the ground velocity of the bullet minus the car's velocity.
  • (The contents page of the chapter lists relative velocity; this short note is added because Exercise 2.14 uses it.)
PonderPoints to ponderCommon confusions

Remember

  • The origin and the positive direction are a choice; state them before assigning signs to displacement, velocity and acceleration.
  • If a particle is speeding up, acceleration is in the direction of velocity; if slowing down, it is opposite. This does not depend on the choice of axis. The sign of the acceleration alone does not tell whether the speed rises or falls.
  • Zero velocity at an instant does not mean zero acceleration. A ball at the top of its path has v = 0 but a = −g.
  • The definitions v = dx/dt and a = dv/dt are exact and always valid. The kinematic equations are true only for constant acceleration (in magnitude and direction).
Quick referenceFormulas at a glanceRevise before the exam

Key results

  • v = dx/dt; a = dv/dt; a = v dv/dx
  • Constant acceleration: v = v₀ + at; x = v₀t + ½at²; v² = v₀² + 2ax; x = ((v + v₀)/2) t
  • Distance in the nth second from rest: ½ a (2n − 1) (general: v₀ + a(n − ½))
  • Free fall: a = −g = −9.8 m s⁻²; maximum height v₀²/2g; time of flight 2v₀/g; ratio of distances 1 : 3 : 5 : 7

Common mistakes

  • Using the kinematic equations when the acceleration changes.
  • Forgetting the sign of g or of the velocity after the direction reverses.
  • Taking the average of two speeds (instead of dividing total distance by total time) when equal distances are covered at different speeds.
  • Confusing the area under a v–t graph (displacement) with the area under an a–t graph (change in velocity).
  • Thinking that zero velocity means zero acceleration.