3. Overview
Kinematics is a topic in
physics that describes the
motion of points, bodies and
systems in space.
Calculus can be used to
derive equations in
kinematics using derivatives
and their integrals.
5. Displacement
• The displacement of a particle simply
shows how far a point has moved in
space relative to a fixed origin point.
• This quantity is referred to as x and is a
vector.
• Considering a motion along a straight line,
if 𝑥 > 0 , the particle is to the left of the origin
if 𝑥 < 0 , the particle is to the right of the origin
• When a particle changes direction during
its movement, a motion diagram can be
sketched.
6. Example:
An object travels with displacement function 𝑥 = 10𝑡2 − 7𝑡 + 1 meters, where 𝑡 > 0
seconds.
a) What is the initial displacement of the object?
b) What is the displacement after three seconds?
7. Velocity
• Velocity is how the displacement of the
particle changes with time or the rate of
change of displacement of the particle.
• Velocity will be referred to as v and 𝑣 =
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑡
. This means that if we have an
expression of x in terms of t, we take
the derivative of the expression to find
the velocity.
• The unit of velocity is 𝑚
𝑠 .
Example:
The displacement in meters of a car
moving between points A and B is given
by 𝑥 = 40𝑡2 − 15. Find an expression of
the velocity of the car at a given point in
time.
8. Acceleration
• Acceleration describes how much
faster or slower a particle becomes
over time. Acceleration is the rate of
change of velocity of a particle.
• Acceleration will be referred to as a
and a =
𝑑𝑣
𝑑𝑡
. But we know already that
𝑣 =
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑡
, so taking the second derivative
of the displacement x with respect to
time will give us the equation 𝑎 =
𝑑2𝑥
𝑑𝑡2.
• The unit of acceleration is 𝑚
𝑠2 .
Example:
The at time t of a bird is given by 𝑥 =
3𝑡2 + 12𝑡 − 5 m. What is the velocity and
acceleration of the bird?