Queen’s College

Physics Society 23-24

Physics Olympiad Training
Ch1 Kinematics (I)

Name: _______________________ Class:_________ ( )

Know your units!

In all your calculations, you MUST use SI units

Common SI units: Metre (m), seconds (s), kilogram (kg)

✔ m/s ❌km/h (1 m/s = 3.6 km/h)

Always convert km/h to m/s first!

Common prefixes of units:

1 k (kilo) = 1000
1 m (milli) = 0.001

e.g. 1km = 1000m, 1kg = 1000g, 1000mm = 1m

(1) Distance and displacement

1. When an object moves from point A to point B, it follows a certain path

The length of the actual path that the object travelled is called the distance

2. However, if we draw a straight line pointing from the starting point to the
finishing point with an arrow, the length and direction of the arrow represent the
displacement (位移) of the object.

We call the length of the arrow the magnitude of the displacement

You must specify both the direction and the magnitude for a displacement!
How to specify the direction of displacement?
E.g. An ant crawls from A to B, then from B to C. Find the displacement of the ant

1. By direction / compass bearing

⇒ Displacement of the ant = 5m (to the right) / 5m (to the east)

2. By sign convention (1D motion only)

We take rightwards as positive, leftwards as negative

⇒ Displacement of the ant = +5m
We could also take leftwards as positive, rightwards as
negative
⇒ Displacement of the ant = -5m

On the other hand, distance crawled by the ant = 3 + 4 = 7m (no direction)

Points to note:
- If the question is asking you the magnitude of the displacement, then you don’t
need to specify the direction
- In this case, the magnitude of the displacement = straight-line distance between
A and C

Summary:
Displacement Distance

Only depends on the initial and final Depends on the path that the object has
position of the object; taken to reach a position
Independent of the path taken

Has direction (can be +ve or -ve) Doesn’t have direction (must be +ve)

Mathematically,
Distance(d) is a scalar (純量) quantity
- It has a magnitude (i.e. size) (大小) only, but no direction (方向).
E.g. Mass, temperature, energy

Displacement(s) is a vector (矢量) quantity.

- It has both a magnitude and a direction, and you MUST consider them in
calculations
E.g. Force, velocity, acceleration
❗Vector from A to B is denoted as 𝐴𝐵, or we may use a variable 𝑥 to represent it
→ →
Finding total displacement (or resultant displacement)

For straight line (1D) motion, signs should be assigned to indicate direction.
Usually, Forward → positive, backward → negative
Upward → positive, downward → negative

Worked example

1. Peter (assumed to be a point object) jumps vertically into a swimming pool from a
diving board at 10m high. He reaches a maximum height of 3 m and finally dives for 6
m under water. Find the (a) total distance and (b) total displacement travelled.

Take downwards as negative.

(a) Total distance = 3+3+10+6=22m
(b) Total displacement = -10-6 = -16m

→ →
For motion on a plane, two (or more) displacements (say 𝑝 and 𝑞) may be added by
tip-to-tail method (首尾連接法)
→ →
- total displacement 𝑝 + 𝑞
- The direction is usually represented
by a compass bearing (e.g. N36°E)

Finding the magnitude and direction of each

vectors

- For two perpendicular displacements, the magnitude and direction of the total
displacement can be found by the Pythagoras’ theorem.

E.g. Total distance = 𝑥 + 𝑦

2 2
Total displacement = 𝑥 + 𝑦 (with the dir.)

𝑦
Direction: 𝑡𝑎𝑛 θ = 𝑥
Worked examples

1. A boy walks 4 m north and then 3 m east. Find the (a) total
distance travelled and (b) total displacement

(a) Total distance = ________7m______________

(b) The magnitude of the displacement

2 2
Magnitude = 4 + 3 = 5𝑚

The angle between AB and AC is

3
Angle = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛( 4 ) = 36. 9°

∴ The total displacement is ______5m (N36.9°E)__________________________

2. A particle moves north at 6m/s for 2 seconds, then west at 4m/s for 4 seconds.

(a) What is the distance travelled by the particle?

Distance travelled = 6x2 + 4x4 = 28m

(b) What is the displacement of the particle?

2 2
Magnitude of displacement = 12 + 16 = 20𝑚
(2) Velocity and speed

Velocity: Vector quantity → Both magnitude and direction

Speed: Scalar quantity → Only have magnitude but no direction

Velocity: 10m/s due NE

Speed: 10m/s

(Take rightwards as positive)

Velocity: - 1.5m/s (NOT 1.5m/s)
Speed: 1.5m/s

1. Average velocity over a time interval is given by

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

- The magnitude of average velocity is usually different from the average speed

2. Instantaneous velocity gives how fast an object is moving and its direction of
motion at an instant.

- Its direction represents the direction of motion at the instant

❗An object is said to be in uniform motion if its velocity is constant

Concept trap: T/F

1. The magnitude of instantaneous velocity is always the same as the

instantaneous speed (T)
2. When two objects have the same average velocity, they must have the same
average speed (F)
3. An object could be travelling at a constant speed with varying velocity (T)
4. An object in circular motion with uniform speed is undergoing uniform motion
(F)
Worked examples

1. A particle moves left at 5m/s for 5 seconds, then moves right at 4m/s for 6 seconds.
Assume that leftwards is negative and rightwards is positive.

(a) What is the total displacement of the particle?

Total displacement = -5x5+4x6= -1m

(b) What is the total distance travelled by the particle?

Total distance travelled = 5x5+4x6= 49m

2. A toy car travelled due east for 10 m in 5 s, then immediately turned north and
travelled 5 m for 1 s. What was the average velocity of the car?

2 2
Displacement = 10 + 5 = 125 𝑚
125 −1
Magnitude of the average velocity = 6
𝑚𝑠
10
Angle with the north = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛( 5
) = 63. 4°

125 −1
Average velocity = 6
𝑚𝑠 (N63.4°E)

3. Jack walks along a curve ABC, which is made up of two semi-circles AB and BC
of the same radius. His average speed is 0.8 ms-1 and it takes him 120s to finish the
journey
(a) Find the magnitude of his total displacement
(b) Find the magnitude of his average velocity

(a) Total distance = 0.8x 120=96m

96
Radius of the circle = 2π
= 15. 2𝑚
Total displacement = 15. 2 × 4 = 60. 8𝑚 (From A to C)
60.8 −1
(b) Magnitude of average velocity = 120
= 0. 5𝑚𝑠
4. A car in town X travels 120 km at N60°E to town Y and then 50km at N30°W to
town Z. (a) Find the total distance travelled by the car (b) Find the total displacement
of the car (c) If the speed of the car is uniform at 60 km h-1, find its average velocity

(a) Total distance = 120+50 = 170km

2 2
(b) Total displacement = 120 + 50 = 130km
60
(c) 3.6
× 𝑡 = 170, 𝑡 = 10. 2𝑠
130
Magnitude of average velocity = 10.2
= 12.7 m/s
50
Angle with the North = 60° − 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛( 120 ) = 37. 4°
Average velocity = 12.7 m/s (N37.4°E)

5. [2020 DSE Paper 1A Q. 4] (C)

6. [2020 DSE Paper 1A Q.4] (A)

(3) Acceleration

Acceleration (加速度) measures how fast an object changes its velocity

- Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity, i.e.

→ →
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑣−𝑢
𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛
, 𝑎= 𝑡

❗It is a vector quantity ❗

(You MUST include both direction and magnitude)
−2
- The SI unit of acceleration is metre per second squared (𝑚 𝑠 )

- An object accelerates whenever its velocity changes. Since velocity is a vector,

there is non-zero acceleration when

(1) Its speed changes (speeding up or slowing down), or

(2) changing the direction of the velocity, or
(3) both

Concept trap (T/F)

1. When acceleration = 0, its velocity must be 0 (F)
2. When velocity is 0, its acceleration must be 0 (F)
3. When change in speed is 0, its acceleration must be 0 (F)

Motion along a straight line

Remember: Signs (+ and -) should be assigned to indicate direction

(1) Negative acceleration:

If a is negative (a < 0, i.e. points in backward direction), there are two meanings:

1. An object is slowing down in the forward direction (向前減速). We say that

the object has a deceleration (減速度) or retardation.
2. An object is speeding up in the backwards direction (向後加速)
Worked examples (Take forward to be positive)

−1 −2
1. A car moving at 72 𝑘𝑚 ℎ slows down uniformly at 2 𝑚 𝑠 for 4 s on a straight
road. Find the final velocity of the car.

−2
Acceleration of the car = _____-2 𝑚 𝑠 ___________

𝑣−20
−2= 4
−1
v = 12𝑚𝑠

−1
2. A boy decelerates uniformly from 5 𝑚𝑠 to rest in 2.5 s along a straight line. Find
his (a) average acceleration, and (b) average deceleration.
0−5
(a) Avg. acceleration = 2.5
−2
= -2𝑚𝑠
−2
(b) Avg. deceleration = 2𝑚𝑠

3. A car is initially at rest. Then it moves backwards with a uniform acceleration until
−1
it reaches a speed of 10 𝑚 𝑠 . The total time taken is 5 s. Find the average
acceleration. Take forward as positive

−10−0
a= 5
−2
= -2𝑚𝑠
−1
Acceleration is 2𝑚𝑠 backwards.

(2) Positive acceleration:

If a is positive (i.e. in the forward direction), there are two meanings:

1. An object is speeding up in the forward direction (向前加速)

2. An object is slowing down in the backward direction (向後減速)
Worked examples
−1
1. A car is initially moving forward at a speed of 10 𝑚 𝑠 . It accelerates uniformly to
−1
a speed of 20 𝑚 𝑠 in 5 s. Find the average acceleration of the car.
20−10
a= 5
−2
= 2𝑚𝑠
−2
Avg. acceleration is 2𝑚𝑠 forward

−1
2. A car is initially moving backward at a speed of 10 𝑚 𝑠
. It continues to move backwards with a uniform acceleration until it slows down to a
−1
speed of 5 𝑚 𝑠 in 10 s. Find the average acceleration of the car.
(−5)−(−10)
a= 10
−2
= 0.5𝑚𝑠
−2
Avg. acceleration is 0.5𝑚𝑠 forward

3. [2018 DSE Paper 1A Q7] (B)

4. [2018 DSE Paper 1A Q. 9] (A)

Concept trap (T/F)

1. If the acceleration of an object is negative, it is slowing down (F)
2. If the acceleration of an object is 0, it must be undergoing uniform motion (F)

When does the direction of acceleration represent the direction of motion?

Acceleration having same sign with velocity