notes/education/physics/PHYS2210/Unit 1.md

Motion in a straight line is one dimensional.

Kinematics or the physics of motion has 4 noteworthy parameters: time (t), position (x), velocity (v), and acceleration (a).

Kinematic problems have a start and end of motion.

Displacement

Displacement is calculated with the formula:

\Delta x = \text{x-value of final position} - \text{x-value of initial posiion}

Velocity

Average velocity over a time interval \Delta t is defined to be: the displacement (net change in position), divided by the time taken.

\bar{v} = \dfrac{\text{final position-initial position}}{\text{final time - initial time}} = \dfrac{x_2 - x_1}{t_2 - t_1} = \dfrac{\Delta x}{\Delta t}

Speed (m/s) is defined to be the total distance traveled divided by the time taken. Speed and velocity are not the same.

v_{\text{instant}} = v = \lim_{\Delta t \to 0}\frac{\Delta x}{\Delta t} = \frac{dx}{dt}

• x(t) -> position as a function of time