Understanding laws of motion can become a pretty hectic task if you don’t fully understand the basics. This is why we are going to talk about objects in motion having a constant acceleration and explain them to you with examples. Most content out there explains the laws of motion and focuses on the derivations that ultimately lead the students to use the equations without fully understanding the concepts. In his article, we will try to explain these laws of motion and help you to develop an understanding of what these equations mean.
- Understanding the Basics
Focusing on the basics helps you to gather relevant information easily and grasp the idea of the scenario. Let’s start with discussing the uniform motion. You can understand uniform motion as an object having constant velocity without having any form of acceleration. In contrast, the motion of an object with constant acceleration is a complex one where the object is speeding up constantly as it moves through space. The acceleration is locked at a constant value; however, the velocity increases at a constant rate. In these scenarios, the acceleration can either be of a positive or negative value. The acceleration in these equations can be denoted as a constant as its value never changes.
- Explaining with Examples
Let’s look at a quick example to help understand the equations we will be using later on to solve these problems. Let’s say the initial velocity of an object given is 10 m/s when time is 0 seconds with a constant acceleration of 2 m/s². What will happen to the velocity as time changes? Here’s a simple explanation. As we already know, when t=o, the velocity is 10 m/s. At 1 second, the velocity will be 12 m/s as the acceleration per second is 2. Similarly, when it reaches 5 seconds, the velocity of the object will be 20 m/s. Another concept to remember is that whenever there is a constant acceleration, the rate of increase in velocity also remains constant.
- Exploring Concepts
A lot of factors influence the rate of acceleration in real-life scenarios except when objects are in a free fall. However, in theory, acceleration remains constant and cannot be influenced by any external factor. These equations used to describe the laws of motion are known as the Kinematic Equations that break down the movement of an object with constant acceleration and represent it using the denoted values. Each type of equation is for a different scenario so research and study the basics of these equations so that you can get an idea of choosing the right equation for the given scenario.
- Motion in One Dimension
In this type of motion, the object is normally moving in a straight line like a rock during free fall or an object with constant acceleration moving in free space. This motion in a straight line can be explained using five different equations. Besides considering the value of constant acceleration and time, these equations consider the initial velocity and displacement of the object as well.
The gravitational motion of an object in free fall is a perfect example in real life. In scenarios like these, you have to decide whether the upward direction or downward direction is positive. Let’s look at another example where we can use the equations of motion. Suppose we throw a stone from the ground in an upward direction with an initial velocity of 30 m/s and an acceleration of 10m/s², the time taken for the stone to reach the ground can be calculated by applying the third equation of motion.
x=ut+1/2at² where x=ut-5t². So, x can be denoted as 0. Therefore, 0=30t-5t²and the time then equals to around 6 seconds. Besides calculating the time taken for the stone to reach the ground, we can also find out the maximum height of the stone if we use the fourth equation of motion for calculations. Calculating the distance traveled is also possible alongside any form of displacement. It is important to understand that these concepts are not simple enough to be explained in a few simple words. Consistent practice is necessary if you want to fully grasp the idea of objects in motion.
Practice is the key if you want to refine your concepts of objects in motion and look at various scenarios that present the information differently. Moreover, focus on the factors that influence other values and try to map out a concept in your mind so that it becomes easier for you to picture these given problems. The information mentioned above is only intended to give you a very basic concept of objects in motion as there is a lot of information that still needs to be covered to fully understand these concepts.
