Republic of the Philippines Course Code: CDI2

INITAO COLLEGE Course Title: Specialized Crime Investigation

Jampason, Initao, Misamis Oriental with Legal Medicine
2nd Semester, AY 2021 - 2022 Unit: 3 (lecture)
Instructor / FB Name:
PMAJ. ROY S. MONTES (Ret.),
JD,MSCJ,RCRIM
Mobile Number:
09665713782/09706791744 SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION with LEGAL
e-mail: MEDICINE
royserojalesmontes@gmail.com
Class:
BSCRIM2 – Group 1,2,3,4&5
Module 1
Topic: Desired Learning Objectives:
 Overview of SCI  Distinguish between criminal investigation and criminal detection.
 Distinction between a  Explain how Forensic Science plays a pivotal role in the legal system.
Detective and a Crime  Distinguish between crime detective from crime scene investigator.
Scene Investigator  Identify the purpose of criminal investigation.
 The famous persons in  Identify the famous persons in the history of Forensic Science.
the history of forensic
science
Duration: 3 hours

Special Crime Investigation deals with the study of major crimes based on the application of special investigative
technique. The study concentrates more on physical evidence, its collection, handling, identification and preservation in
coordination with the crime laboratory.It is worthy to note that SCI involves a close relationship between the prober in the
 field and the crime laboratory technician.The present Criminal Justice System in our country, the court relies more on
physical evidence rather than extra-judicial confession.

Crime Scene Investigator is more often than not, a member of law enforcement who is responsible for
identifying, collecting, preserving, and packaging of physical evidence at the scene of a crime.

A Crime Scene Investigator is a rather broad title, as this maybe a;

 Crime scene leader

 Crime scene technician
 Forensic photographer
 Forensic sketch artist
 Ballistics expert
 Fingerprint expert
 DNA expert

A Crime Scene Investigator is also responsible for performing standard physical evidence collection and preservation
duties, while other CSIs perform more specialized task, such as DNA and latent print recovery. However, in general, a CSI
maybe responsible for:

 Working with law enforcement to secure the scene as to prevent the contamination of evidence
 Identifying and marking the areas of the crime scene
 Collecting, preserving, and packaging the physical evidence
 Maintaining detailed reports, logs and other tracking data
 Using scientific equipment to collect and analyze evidence
 Maintaining and repairing scientific equipment
 Testifying in court with regard to collected evidence
 Transporting physical evidence to the forensic laboratory

A crime scene investigator is called upon to utilize scientific data and technical expertise to:

 Evaluate the crime scene without destroying evidence

 Develop a plan for collecting physical evidence
 Ensure evidence is properly documented
 Ensure evidence is properly collected,handled,preserved, and transported.

A Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) is a professional who has a thorough knowledge and a keen understanding of
scientific observation and methods, the criminal justice system, and how crime scene investigation merges Science and law.

A crime scene investigator need to possess extensive knowledge in the natural sciences, as well as law enforcement
and crime scene processing. Professional Crime scene investigators (CSIs) who want to concentrate their careers in a
forensic science specialty, such as ballistics or DNA, for example, also often need to acquire additional education/ training

A Crime Scene Investigator should possess the ability to cope with difficult situations. Beyond dealing with a
potentially unnerving crime scene, these professionals must also possess keen observational and technical skills, as they are
called upon to identify and collect even the smallest amounts of physical evidence-evidence that may mean the difference
between an unsolved crime and a successful conviction.

Crime scene Investigators must also be able to work both independently and as part of an investigative team. In often-
chaotic crime scene situations, these professionals must be able to seamlessly complete the job through effective
communication and a strong understanding and appreciation of accepted protocol.

Finally, CSI professionals must be prepared to work in less-than ideal work environments, and they must be prepared
to arrive at the scene of a crime, regardless of the time of day or night.
A Detective:

 Conducts interview with suspects and witnesses

 Observe the activities of suspects
 Obtain warrants and arrest suspects
 Write detailed reports

THE FAMOUS PERSONS IN THE HISTORY OF FORENSIC SCIENCE

Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853): Considered as the Father of Toxicology

Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914): Established the first scientific system of personal identification by a series of bodily
measurements. It was later replaced by fingerprints in the early 1900s.

Francis Galton (1833-1911): First to study fingerprints and classify them for filing.

Leone Lattes (1887-1954): Discovered that blood can be categorized into four groups.

Calvin Goddard (1891-1955): Determined the comparison of bullets in guns- Ballistics.

Albert S. Osborn(1858-1946): Developed principles of document examination.

Walter C. McCrone(1916-2002): Developed advances in microscopic techniques to solve crimes and analyze
evidence.

Hans Gross (1847-1915): Studied and developed principles of criminal investigation.

Edmond Locard (1877-1966): Had a background in medicine and law, and was the first one to use scientific
methods for criminal investigation.
 Republic of the Philippines Course Code: CDI2
INITAO COLLEGE Course Title: Specialized Crime Investigation
Jampason, Initao, Misamis Oriental with Legal Medicine
2nd Semester, AY 2021 - 2022 Unit: 3 (lecture)
Instructor / FB Name:
PMAJ. ROY S. MONTES (Ret.),
JD,MSCJ,RCRIM
Mobile Number:
09665713782/09706791744 SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION with LEGAL
e-mail: MEDICINE
royserojalesmontes@gmail.com
Class:
BSCRIM2 – Group 1,2,3,4&5
Module 2
Topic: Desired Learning Objectives:
 Forensic Science as  Understand by heart the meaning of Forensic Science;
applied to Crime
Investigation  How is Science applied to Criminal and Civil Laws;
 Importance of Criminal  Role of Forensic Science in Criminal Investigations;
Profiling
 Principles of Criminal  How is criminal profiling done; and
Investigation and  Importance of Forensic Science in Law.
Detection
Duration: 3 hours  Understand by heart the principles and technique in crime investigation,
detection, apprehension of the perpetrator
 Distinguish investigation of incidents from personnel investigation
 Importance of criminal Intelligence
 Identify methodological procedures in criminal investigations

What is Forensic Science?

Forensic Science is defined it as “ The application of science to those criminal and civil laws that are enforced
by the police agencies in a criminal justice system” Forensic science deals with the application of the knowledge and
methodology of various disciplines of science to legal matters. It involves the use of multiple disciplines such as
physics, chemistry,biology,computer science and engineering for evidence analysis as well as Forensic Medicine
( Legal Medicines).

For instance, Physics is used to understand the pattern of a blood spatter, Biology to establish the source of an
unidentified suspect, Chemistry to determine the composition of drugs, and Legal Medicine to establish the cause of
death as well as the manner of death. Thus, the role of forensic science in criminal justice and the legal system is
 highly critical but is often underrated.

Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly-
on the criminal side- during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and
criminal procedure. (Wikipedia)

The Role of Forensic Science in Criminal Investigations

Forensic science is that piece without which the puzzle of a criminal investigation is incomplete. Without the
application of forensic science, criminals can never be convicted unless an eyewitness is present. While detectives and
law enforcement agencies are involved in the

collection of evidence, be it physical or digital, it is forensic science that deals with the analysis of those evidence in
order to establish facts admissible in the court of law.

Thus in a world devoid of forensic science, murderers, thieves, drug traffickers and rapists would be roaming
scot-free.

The duties and responsibilities of a forensic scientist in a criminal investigation is crucial as it involves the
careful examination of an evidence while ensuring that its is not tampered with. A diverse pool of forensic scientists
and forensic tools go into the investigation of a criminal act.

For instance, forensic pathologists are skilled at determining the cause of a death by performing autopsies. An
autopsy helps establish the cause and manner of death through the examination of body fluids and tissues. Forensic
Scientists analyze physical evidence (fingerprints,blood hair etc.) collected from the incident scene to identify
suspects. Additionally, forensic professionals use image modification tools to search for criminals absconding from
the law for a long time. This tool enables them to digitally age a photograph to understand how the individual would
look at aging.

Criminal Profiling- Getting inside a criminal’s mind

This needs no introduction as we have often encountered its use in popular television series such as Criminal Minds,
Law & Order, Profiler and the film, Silence of the Lambs. Criminal profiling dates back to 1888 and is believed to have been
originally used and adapted by the FBI.

Criminal profiling enables forensic scientists to zero down on suspects by determining a criminal’s patterns and
personality. It is based on a psychological evaluation of the belongings seized from an offender. This helps in drawing a
complete social and psychological assessment of the offender. Although it is often questioned for its accuracy, effectiveness
and scientific validity, its role in the criminal investigation cannot be neglected.

The basic steps of criminal profiling include in-depth analysis pf the crime scene, analyzing the incidence and drawing
comparisons with similar events in the past, evaluation of the victim’s background and activities, considering all the possible
motives and preparing a detailed description of the suspects in order to compare it with previous cases.

Importance of Forensic Science in Law

The word “forensic” has its roots in the latin word “forensis” which means a forum. Back in early Rome, a
forum referred to a public place where judicial proceedings and debates were held. Thus, the origin and the very definition of
‘forensic science’ points to its close association with the legal system. Forensic Science involves the collection, preservation,
and analysis of evidence suitable for prosecuting an offender in the court of law. The application of forensic science in the
criminal justice system is, therefore, an apparent picture.

The legal system widely recognizes the role of forensic evidence in the trial of criminal offenders. This is
because when scientific techniques and methods are used, there is not much scope for bias or injustice. That is why DNA
profiling and a host of other forensic evidence are widely accepted in courts across the world. Interestingly, the first forensic
technique ever used involving finger and palm print identification dates back to the Chinese (650 A.D.).

Forensic evidence is extensively used worldwide to both convict and exonerate defendants. Thus, forensic
science laboratories have mushroomed up all over the globe in the past couple of decades. In fact, special acts have been
enacted in the US, Canada, and Australia to improve the rendering of forensic services. This would ensure that crimes are
detected with greater certainty and consequently conviction rates can increase. Such acts place a great emphasis on time-
efficient and quality management of crime scene.

The Scope of Forensic Science:

The following are the scopes of Forensic science:

Forensic Biology/ DNA:

Apart from fingerprint analysis, DNA profiling is the other commonly used forensic technique in criminal
investigations. DNA being as unique to an individual as fingerprints, help forensic professionals identify or confirm and
unidentified person, or to eliminate suspects from a list of accused. The biological evidence most commonly used for DNA
profiling include blood, saliva,semen, skin, urine,and hair. However, DNA fingerprints are usually never used as the single
piece of evidence in the court of law.

Forensic Odontology:

Forensic odontology helps in the identification of victims when the body is left in an unrecognizable state. This is
achieved through an examination of their teeth, the alignment, and overall structure of the mouth. Forensic dentists or
odontologists aid in the comparative identification of a person by examining the development and anatomy of the teeth
including any restorative dental corrections such as filling. It is often applied to criminal investigations for bite mark analysis.

Controlled Substances:

Chemicals that are legally recognized as having the potential for abuse are called controlled substances. This include “
street drugs” such as ecstasy or heroin and prescription drugs such as oxycodone. The ability to detect and identify such as
controlled substances plays a crucial role in aiding law enforcement agencies in their fight against drug abuse and drug-based
violence.

Forensic Toxicology:

Forensic Toxicology involves analysis of biological samples to check for the presence of toxins and drugs. This branch
of forensic science is of prime importance in road accidents, poisoning, sexual violence etc. The toxicology reports furnish
key information about the nature of substances present in an individual pertaining to an incidence. It also determines whether
the quantity of substances are normal as per a therapeutic dosage or exceed the permissible level. Since newer variants of
drugs are developed each day, this branch of forensic science is ever-evolving and demands up-to-date approach.

Forensic Anthropology:

This deals with examination of compromised human remains or skeletons to help determine the age,height,gender, and
ancestry. It also helps establish the time since death by identifying and examining injuries, if any. These analyses give
valuable leads to investigators on identifying victims, especially in cases where the bodies are beyond recognition.

Forensic Pathology and Medico-legal Death Investigation:

Forensic pathology is a branch of pathology that helps determine the cause of death by examining the cadaver.
Forensic medicine involves the collection and analysis of medical samples to deduce facts admissible in the court of law. For
instance, identification of wound patterns can help determine the weapon used to inflict the wound. Additionally, forensic
pathologists can examine exit and entry wounds in deaths pertaining to the use of firearms or other projectiles. A forensic
pathologist can, therefore, draw crucial inferences whether the death is natural, criminal or accidental.

Impression and Pattern Evidence:

Impression evidence is the evidence created when two objects come in contact with enough force to create an
“impression”. This could involve a two-dimensional impression such as a fingerprint or three-dimensional one such as the
marks on a bullet. Pattern evidence analysis involves identification and analysis of additional information within an
impression. Impression and pattern evidence when used in conjunction can help establish vital links between a suspect/ tool to
a crime scene.

Trace Evidence:

Evidence such as fibers, soil, hair, gunshot residue, wood, and pollen are some of the many examples of trace
evidence. It derives its name from its tendency to be easily transferrable between objects, people or the environment during a
crime. Trace evidence often plays a pivotal role in establishing a prime link between a suspect and the victim. For instance, a
soil sample obtained from the shoes of a victim can give a critical clues on the location of the crime and thus help in tracing
the perpetrator.

Cyber Forensics:

Cyber Forensics involves the analysis of evidence found in computers and digital storage media like pen drives, hard
disks etc. Its major objective is identifying, preserving, recovering, analyzing, and presenting facts and opinions about the
digital information. Although it is mostly used for the investigation of cyber crimes, it also widely used in civil proceedings.

Ballistics:

Ballistics is a specialized Forensic Science that deals with the motion, behavior, dynamics, angular movement and
effects of projectiles, such as bullets, rockets, missiles, bombs etc. The use of ballistics in forensics is mainly in criminal
investigations. For instance, the examination of the bullet found at a crime scene can reveal what type of gun was used to fire
it and whether it is associated with any other crime in the past. In fact, ballistic are documented in a large database that is
accessible by law enforcement agencies across the globe.

Criminal Investigation ,and Detection is both an art and a science, a collaboration of common sense, judgement,
intellect and experience.

Criminal Investigation is an art which deals with the identity and location of the offender and provides evidence of his
guilt in criminal proceedings. It is a systematic, methodological, and detailed inquiry and examination of all
components,circumstances, and relationships pertaining to an incident.

The objective of a Criminal Investigation is to establish the truth or falsity of a complaint,basing conclusions on facts
derived through a complete and impartial investigation. In every crime, the establishment of corpus delicti is essential in order
to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

Basic is the rule that in order to effectively conduct or perform criminal investigative functions, one must understand
the basic definition of investigation and investigate.

Investigation is an examination, a study, a survey and a research of facts and/or circumstances, situations, incidents
and scenarios either related or not, for the purpose of rendering a conclusion of proof. When one investigates, he/she makes a
systematic inquiry, closely analyzes ans inspect while dissecting and scrutinizing information.

Investigations of incidents which are violations of laws and/or ordinances that include; criminal acts (robbery, assaults,
larceny, burglary, murder, illegal weapons,etc and traffic accident investigations.
Personnel Investigations into the background, character and suitability of persons in an effort to determine their
eligibility for positions of public trust.
 Criminal Intelligence is information compiled, analyzed and/or disseminated in an effort to anticipate, prevent, or
monitor criminal activity.

The United States Army Military Police Corps defines Criminal Intelligence is information gathered or collated,
analyzed, recorded/reported and disseminated by law enforcement agencies concerning types of crime, identified criminals
and known or suspected criminal groups.

It is particularly useful when dealing with organized crime. It is developed by using surveillance, informants,
interrogation, and research, or maybe just picked up on the street by individual police officers.

Criminal Investigator is the person who is charged with the duty of carrying the objectives of investigation such as:

- To identify the criminal;

- To locate the offender; and
- To provide evidence for the offender’s guilt

Qualities of an effective investigator

- Perseverance with endurance

- Intelligence and wisdom of Solomon
- Honesty, integrity/incorruptible
- Understanding of the people and environment
- Keen power of observation and accurate description
- Knowledgeable about the laws on crimes,evidence,arrest, investigative concept/techniques, scientific aids,
laboratory services,and about the criminals and their modus operandi
- Mastery in the oral and written communications
- The power to read between the lines

Phases of Criminal Investigation

- Identification of the offender

- Tracing and locating the offender
- Gathering of evidence to prove the guilt of the accused
Basic Elements of Investigation process

A. Recognition- is the identification/recognition

B. Collection - is the act of gathering relevant information from possible sources aside from the crime scene
C. Preservation - is an act of ensuring the physical and legal integrity or the credibility of the information or pieces of
evidence gathered.
D. Evaluation - is the determination of the merit or the worth of the information or evidences to prosecute the suspect.

Three (3) tools of Investigation

1. Information
2. Interrogation or interview
3. Instrumentation

Information is the knowledge which the investigator gathered and acquired from other persons.

Classifications of Information

1. Information from regular sources such as records and files of the police, company records,civic spirited citizens and
2. Information from cultivated sources such as paid informants, bartenders, cab drivers.

-end-
 MODULE 1

Measurement
1-1 MEASURING THINGS, INCLUDING LENGTHS
Key Ideas
 Physics is based on measurement of physical quantities. These standards are used in all physical measurement,
Certain physical quantities have been chosen as base for both the base quantities and the quantities
quanti- ties (such as length, time, and mass); each has derived from them. Scientific notation and the prefixes
been defined in terms of a standard and given a unit of of Table 1-2 are used to simplify measurement
measure (such as meter, second, and kilogram). Other notation.
physical quantities are defined in terms of the base  Conversion of units may be performed by using chain-
quantities and their standards and units. link conversions in which the original data are multiplied
 The unit system emphasized in this book is the succes- sively by conversion factors written as unity and
International System of Units (SI). The three physical the units are manipulated like algebraic quantities until
quantities displayed in Table 1-1 are used in the early only the desired units remain.
chapters. Standards, which must be both accessible and  The meter is defined as the distance traveled by
invariable, have been estab- lished for these base light during a precisely specified time interval.
quantities by international agreement.

What Is Physics?
Science and engineering are based on measurements and comparisons. Thus,
we need rules about how things are measured and compared, and we need
experiments to establish the units for those measurements and comparisons.
One purpose of physics (and engineering) is to design and conduct those
experiments. For example, physicists strive to develop clocks of extreme
accuracy so that any time or time interval can be precisely determined and
compared. You may wonder whether such accuracy is actually needed or worth
the effort. Here is one example of the worth: Without clocks of extreme
accuracy, the Global Positioning System
(GPS) that is now vital to worldwide navigation would be useless.

Measuring Things
We discover physics by learning how to measure the quantities involved in
physics. Among these quantities are length, time, mass, temperature, pressure,
and electric current.
We measure each physical quantity in its own units, by comparison with a
standard. The unit is a unique name we assign to measures of that quantity—
for example, meter (m) for the quantity length. The standard corresponds to
exactly
1.0 unit of the quantity. As you will see, the standard for length, which corresponds
1
 to exactly 1.0 m, is the distance traveled by light in a vacuum during a certain
fraction of a second. We can define a unit and its standard in any way we care
to. However, the important thing is to do so in such a way that scientists
around the world will agree that our definitions are both sensible and practical.
Once we have set up a standard—say, for length—we must work out
proce- dures by which any length whatever, be it the radius of a hydrogen
atom, the wheelbase of a skateboard, or the distance to a star, can be expressed
in terms of the standard. Rulers, which approximate our length standard, give
us one such procedure for measuring length. However, many of our
comparisons must be indirect. You cannot use a ruler, for example, to measure
the radius of an atom or the distance to a star.
Base Quantities. There are so many physical quantities that it is a problem
to organize them. Fortunately, they are not all independent; for example, speed is
the ratio of a length to a time. Thus, what we do is pick out—by international
agree- ment—a small number of physical quantities, such as length and time, and
assign standards to them alone. We then define all other physical quantities in
terms of these base quantities and their standards (called base standards). Speed,
for example, is defined in terms of the base quantities length and time and their
base standards.
Base standards must be both accessible and invariable. If we define the
length standard as the distance between one’s nose and the index finger on an
outstretched arm, we certainly have an accessible standard—but it will, of
course, vary from person to person. The demand for precision in science and
Table 1-1 Units for Three engineering pushes us to aim first for invariability. We then exert great effort
SI Base Quantities
to make dupli- cates of the base standards that are accessible to those who
Quantity Unit Name Unit need them.
Symbol

The International System of Units

Length meter m
Time second s In 1971, the 14th General Conference on Weights and Measures picked seven
Mass kilogram kg quantities as base quantities, thereby forming the basis of the International
System of Units, abbreviated SI from its French name and popularly known as
the metric system. Table 1-1 shows the units for the three base quantities—
length, mass, and time—that we use in the early chapters of this book. These
units were
Table 1-2 Prefixes for SI Units defined to be on a “human scale.”
Factor Prefixa Symbol Many SI derived units are defined in terms of these base units. For example,
the SI unit for power, called the watt (W), is defined in terms of the base units
for mass, 10
length,
24 and time.yotta-
Thus, as you willYsee in Chapter 7,
2 3
1 watt 1021 zetta- Z
exa- E = 1 W = 1 kg · m /s , (1-1)
10 18

1015 peta- P
tera- T
where the last collection of unit symbols is read as kilogram-meter squared per
1012 second cubed.
109 giga- G
106 mega- M To express the very large and very small quantities we often run into in
103 kilo- k physics, we use scientific notation, which employs powers of 10. In this
102 hecto- h notation,
101 deka- da
deci- d 3 560 000 000 m
10—1 = × 109 m (1-2)
10—2 centi- c
3.56
10—3 milli- m
10—6 micro- m a
The most frequently used prefixes are shown in bold type.
10—9 nano- n
10—12 pico- p
10—15 femto- f
10—18 atto- a
10—21 zepto- z
10—24 yocto- y
 2 CHAPTER 1 MEASU REMENT
and 0.000 000 492 s
= 4.92 × 10—7 s. (1-3)

Scientific notation on computers

sometimes takes on an even briefer look,
as in
3.56 E9 and 4.92 E–7, where E
stands for “exponent of ten.” It is
briefer still on some calculators,
where E is replaced with an empty
space.
As a further convenience
when dealing with very large or
very small mea- surements, we
use the prefixes listed in Table 1-
2. As you can see, each prefix
represents a certain power of 10,
to be used as a multiplication
factor. Attaching a prefix to an SI
unit has the effect of multiplying
by the associated factor. Thus, we
can express a particular electric
power as

1.27 × 109 watts = 1.27

gigawatts = 1.27 GW
(1-4)
 3

or a particular time interval as

2.35 × 10—9 s = 2.35 nanoseconds = 2.35 ns. (1-5)

Some prefixes, as used in milliliter, centimeter, kilogram, and megabyte, are

probably familiar to you.

Changing Units
We often need to change the units in which a physical quantity is expressed.
We do so by a method called chain-link conversion. In this method, we
multiply the original measurement by a conversion factor (a ratio of units that
is equal to unity). For example, because 1 min and 60 s are identical time
intervals, we have
1 min
60 s
= 1 and = 1.
60 s 1 min

Thus, the ratios (1 min)/(60 s) and (60 s)/(1 min) can be used as conversion
factors. This is not the same as writing 1 = 1 or 60 = 1; each number and its unit
must be treated together. 60
Because multiplying any quantity by unity leaves the quantity unchanged,
we can introduce conversion factors wherever we find them useful. In chain-
link conversion, we use the factors to cancel unwanted units. For example, to
convert 2 min to seconds, we have
60 s
2 min = (2 min)(1) = (2 min) = 120 s.
( 1 min (1-6)

)
If you introduce a conversion factor in such a way that unwanted units do not
cancel, invert the factor and try again. In conversions, the units obey the same
algebraic rules as variables and numbers.
Appendix D gives conversion factors between SI and other systems of
units, including non-SI units still used in the United States. However, the
conversion factors are written in the style of “1 min = 60 s” rather than as a
ratio. So, you need to decide on the numerator and denominator in any
needed ratio.

Length
In 1792, the newborn Republic of France established a new system of weights
and measures. Its cornerstone was the meter, defined to be one ten-millionth of
the distance from the north pole to the equator. Later, for practical reasons, this
Earth standard was abandoned and the meter came to be defined as the
distance between two fine lines engraved near the ends of a platinum–iridium
bar, the standard meter bar, which was kept at the International Bureau of
Weights and Measures near Paris. Accurate copies of the bar were sent to
standardizing labo- ratories throughout the world. These secondary standards
were used to produce other, still more accessible standards, so that ultimately
every measuring device derived its authority from the standard meter bar
through a complicated chain of comparisons.
Eventually, a standard more precise than the distance between two fine
scratches on a metal bar was required. In 1960, a new standard for the meter,
based on the wavelength of light, was adopted. Specifically, the standard for
the meter was redefined to be 1 650 763.73 wavelengths of a particular
orange-red light emitted by atoms of krypton-86 (a particular isotope, or type,
of krypton) in a gas discharge tube that can be set up anywhere in the world.
This awkward number of wavelengths was chosen so that the new standard
would be close to the old meter-bar standard.
4 CHAPTER 1 MEASU REMENT

By 1983, however, the demand for higher precision had reached such a point
the cross-sectional area of the string by assuming thethecross
that even krypton-86 standarddcould
2 not
L = 4R3 meet it, and in that year a bold step
,
was taken.
section is square, with an edge length d = 4 mm. Then, Thewith meter was redefined as the distance traveled by light in a
specified
L, thetime interval. 4R3 4(2 m)3
a cross-sectional area of d2 and a length string or In the
L = words of the 17th General Conference on Weights
occupies a total volume of and Measures: d 2 = (4 × 10—3 m)2
6
= 2 × 10 m = 10 6m = 10 3km.
V = (cross-sectional area)(length) This
= d2L.
time interval was chosen so that the speed of light c is exactly (Answer)
This is approximately equal to the volume of the ball, given (Note thatc you
= 299do 792
not need a calculator for such a simplified
458 m/s.
by
3
R , which is about 4R3 because p is about 3. Thus, we
4 3
calculation.) To the nearest order of magnitude, the ball
have the following Measurements of thecontains
speed ofabout 1000
light hadkm of string!
become extremely precise, so it made
sense to adopt the speed of light as a defined quantity and to use it to redefine
the meter.
Table 1-3 Some Approximate Lengths Table 1-3 shows a wide range of lengths, from that of the universe (top
Measurement Length in line) to those of some very small objects.
Meters

Distance to the first Significant Figures and Decimal Places

galaxies formed 2×
1026 Distance to the Suppose that you work out a problem in which each value consists of two digits.
Andromeda galaxy 2× Those digits are called significant figures and they set the number of digits that
1022 Distance to the nearby you can use in reporting your final answer. With data given in two significant
star Proxima Centauri 4 × 1016 figures, your final answer should have only two significant figures. However,
Distance to Pluto 6 × 1012 depending on the mode setting of your calculator, many more digits might be
Radius of Earth 6 × 106 displayed. Those extra digits are meaningless.
Height of Mt. Everest 9 × 103 In this book, final results of calculations are often rounded to match the least
Thickness of this page 1 × 10—4 number of significant figures in the given data. (However, sometimes an extra
Length of a typical virus 1 × 10—
significant figure is kept.) When the leftmost of the digits to be discarded is 5 or
8
Radius of a hydrogen atom 5 × 10—
more, the last remaining digit is rounded up; otherwise it is retained as is. For
11
Radius of a proton 1 × 10—
15 example, 11.3516 is rounded to three significant figures as 11.4 and 11.3279 is
rounded to three significant figures as 11.3. (The answers to sample problems in
this book are usually presented with the symbol = instead of = even if rounding
is involved.)
When a number such as 3.15 or 3.15 × 103 is provided in a problem, the
number of significant figures is apparent, but how about the number 3000? Is it
known to only one significant figure (3 × 103)? Or is it known to as many as
four significant figures (3.000 × 103)? In this book, we assume that all the zeros
in such given num- bers as 3000 are significant, but you had better not make that
assumption elsewhere. Don’t confuse significant figures with decimal places.
Consider the lengths
35.6 mm, 3.56 m, and 0.00356 m. They all have three significant figures but they
have one, two, and five decimal places, respectively.

Sample Problem 1.01 Estimating order of magnitude, ball of string

The world’s largest ball of string is about 2 m in radius.
ball’s builder most unhappy. Instead, because we want
To the nearest order of magnitude, what is the total length
only the nearest order of magnitude, we can estimate any
L of the string in the ball?
quanti- ties required in the calculation.

KEY IDEA
Calculations: Let us assume the ball is spherical with
radius R = 2 m. The string in the ball is not closely packed
We could, of course, take the ball apart and measure the
(there are uncountable gaps between adjacent sections of
to- tal length L, but that would take great effort and make
string). To allow for these gaps, let us somewhat
the
overestimate
1-2 TIME 5
1-2 TIME
Key Idea
 The second is defined in terms of the oscillations of signals are sent worldwide by radio signals keyed to atomic
light emitted by an atomic (cesium-133) source. clocks in standardizing laboratories.
Accurate time

Time
Time has two aspects. For civil and some scientific purposes, we want to know
the time of day so that we can order events in sequence. In much scientific
work, we want to know how long an event lasts. Thus, any time standard must
be able to answer two questions: “When did it happen?” and “What is its
duration?” Table 1-4 shows some time intervals.
Any phenomenon that repeats itself is a possible time standard. Earth’s
rotation, which determines the length of the day, has been used in this way for
centuries; Fig. 1-1 shows one novel example of a watch based on that rotation.
A quartz clock, in which a quartz ring is made to vibrate continuously, can be
calibrated against Earth’s rotation via astronomical observations and used to
measure time intervals in the laboratory. However, the calibration cannot be
carried out with the accuracy called for by modern scientific and engineering
technology.

Table 1-4 Some Approximate Time Intervals

Time Interval Time Interval
Measurement in Seconds Measurement in Seconds
Lifetime of the Time between human heartbeats 8 × 10—1 Steven Pitkin
proton (predicted) 3 × 1040 Lifetime of the muon
2 × 10—6 Figure 1-1 When the metric system was
Age of the universe 5 × 1017 Shortest lab light pulse
Lifetime of the most proposed in 1792, the hour was redefined
1 × 10—16
Age of the pyramid of 1 × 1011 to provide a 10-hour day. The idea did not
unstable particle
Cheops catch on. The maker of this 10-hour watch
The Planck timea
Human life expectancy 2 × 109 1 × 10—23 wisely provided a small dial that kept con-
Length of a day 9 × 104 ventional 12-hour time. Do the two dials
1 × 10—43 indicate the same time?
a
This is the earliest time after the big bang at which the laws of physics as we know them can be
applied.
 6 CHAPTER 1 MEASU REMENT

+4
To meet the need for a better time standard, atomic clocks have
been developed. An atomic clock at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado, is the stan-
Difference between length of

dard for Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) in the United States. Its
+3
day and exactly 24 hours

time signals are available by shortwave radio (stations WWV and

WWVH) and by telephone (303-499-7111). Time signals (and related
information) are also available from the United States Naval
Observatory at website http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/time.html. (To set
+2 a clock extremely accurately at your particular location, you would
have to account for the travel time required for these signals to reach
you.)
(ms)

Figure 1-2 shows variations in the length of one day on Earth

over a 4-year period, as determined by comparison with a cesium
+1
1980 1981 1982 1983 (atomic) clock. Because the variation displayed by Fig. 1-2 is sea-
sonal and repetitious, we suspect the rotating Earth when there is a
difference between Earth and atom as timekeepers. The variation is
Figure 1-2 Variations in the length of due to tidal effects caused by the Moon and to large-scale winds.
the day over a 4-year period. Note that The 13th General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1967 adopted
the entire vertical scale amounts to only a standard second based on the cesium clock:
3 ms (= 0.003 s).

Atomic clocks are so consistent that, in principle, two cesium clocks would have
to run for 6000 years before their readings would differ by more than 1 s. Even
such accuracy pales in comparison with that of clocks currently being developed;
their precision may be 1 part in 1018 — that is, 1 s in 1 × 1018 s (which is about
3 × 1010 y).

1-3 M

ASS
Key Ideas
 The kilogram is defined in terms of a platinum–  The density of a material is the mass per unit volume:
iridium standard mass kept near Paris. For p
m
measurements on an atomic scale, the atomic mass
p= .
unit, defined in terms of the atom carbon-12, is V
usually used.

Mass
Courtesy Bureau International des Poids et Me-

The Standard Kilogram

sures. Reproduced with permission of the

The SI standard of mass is a cylinder

of platinum and iridium (Fig. 1-3) that is
kept at the International Bureau of
Weights and Measures near Paris and
assigned, by
BIPM.

Figure 1-3 The international 1 kg standard

of mass, a platinum–iridium cylinder 3.9 cm
in
 1-3 MASS 7

international agreement, a mass of 1 kilogram. Accurate copies have been sent Table 1-5 Some Approximate Masses
to standardizing laboratories in other countries, and the masses of other bodies Mass in
can be determined by balancing them against a copy. Table 1-5 shows some Object Kilograms
masses expressed in kilograms, ranging over about 83 orders of magnitude.
The U.S. copy of the standard kilogram is housed in a vault at NIST. It is Known universe 1 × 1053
removed, no more than once a year, for the purpose of checking duplicate Our galaxy 2 × 1041
copies that are used elsewhere. Since 1889, it has been taken to France twice Sun 2 × 1030
for recomparison with the primary standard. Moon 7 × 1022
Asteroid Eros 5 × 1015
Small mountain 1 × 1012
Ocean liner 7 × 107
A Second Mass Standard Elephant 5 × 103
The masses of atoms can be compared with one another more precisely than Grape 3 × 10—3
they can be compared with the standard kilogram. For this reason, we have Speck of dust 7 × 10—10
a second mass standard. It is the carbon-12 atom, which, by international Penicillin molecule 5 × 10—17
agree- ment, has been assigned a mass of 12 atomic mass units (u). The Uranium atom 4 × 10—25
relation between the two units is Proton 2 × 10—27
Electron 9 × 10—31
1 u = 1.660 538 86 × 10—27 kg, (1-7)

with an uncertainty of ±10 in the last two decimal places. Scientists can, with
reasonable precision, experimentally determine the masses of other atoms rela-
tive to the mass of carbon-12. What we presently lack is a reliable means of
extending that precision to more common units of mass, such as a kilogram.

Density
As we shall discuss further in Chapter 14, density r (lowercase Greek letter
rho) is the mass per unit volume:
m
= .
p V (1-8)

Densities are typically listed in kilograms per cubic meter or grams per cubic
centimeter. The density of water (1.00 gram per cubic centimeter) is often
used as a comparison. Fresh snow has about 10% of that density; platinum has
a density that is about 21 times that of water.

Sample Problem 1.02 Density and liquefaction

A heavy object can sink into the ground during an KEY IDEA
earthquake if the shaking causes the ground to undergo
liquefaction, in which the soil grains experience little friction The density of the sand rsand in a sample is the mass per unit
as they slide over one another. The ground is then volume — that is, the ratio of the total mass msand of the
effectively quicksand. The possibility of liquefaction in sand grains to the total volume Vtotal of the sample:
sandy ground can be pre- dicted in terms of the void ratio e msand
for a sample of the ground: V sand = V
p . (1-10)
total
e = voids . (1-9)
Vgrains
Calculations: The total volume Vof
totala sample is
Here, Vgrains is the total volume of the sand grains in the sam-
=V
V totalgrainsvoids +V .
ple and Vvoids is the total volume between the grains (in the
voids). If e exceeds a critical value of 0.80, liquefaction can Substituting for Vvoids from Eq. 1-9 and solving for Vgrains
occur during an earthquake. What is the corresponding sand lead to
Vtotal
density rsand? Solid silicon dioxide (the primary component V grains =. (1-11)
of sand) has a density of SiO =
p 2.600 × 103 kg/m3.
2
1+e
6 CHAPTER 1 MEASU REMENT

Problems Solving:
1.The fourteen tallest peak in the world summit are over 8,000 meters above sea
level.What is the elevation in feet of an elevation of 8,000 meters.
2. Where the posted speed limit is 55 miles per hour.What is the speed, a)In meters per
second(m/s) b)In kilometers per hour(km/hr).
3. Estimate the total number of beats a typical human heart makes in a lifetime.
4. Estimate the height of the building by “triangulation” with the help of a bus stop pole with
a height of 3 meters and a friend with the height of 1.5 meters.Distance of the pole from the
building is 16 meters and a friend is 18 meters.
5. A heavy rainstorm dumps 1.0 centimeter of rain on a city 5 kilometers wide and 8
kilometers long in a 2 hours period.How many metric tons of water fell on the city.How
many gallons of water was this?(1 cm3 of water has a mass of 1 gram = m-3kg.)
PROBLEMS 23
 24 CHAPTER 1 MEASU REMENT

Motion Along a Straight Line

1.1 POSITION, DISPLACEMENT, AND AVERAGE VELOCITY
Key Ideas
 The position x of a particle on an x axis locates the  When a particle has moved from position x1 to position x2
particle with respect to the origin, or zero point, of during a time interval At = t2 — t1, its average velocity during
the axis.
 The position is either positive or negative, that interval
according to which side of the origin the particle is is Ax = x2 — .x1
vavg
on, or zero if the particle is at the origin. The At t— 2
t 1
=
positive direction on
 The algebraic sign of vavg indicates the direction of motion
an axis is the direction of increasing positive
(vavg is a vector quantity). Average velocity does not
numbers; the opposite direction is the negative
depend on the actual distance a particle moves, but instead
direction on
depends on its original and final positions.
the axis.
 On a graph of x versus t, the average velocity for a
 The displacement A x of a particle is the change
time in- terval At is the slope of the straight line
in its position:
connecting the points on the curve that represent the
Ax = x2 — x1.
two ends of the interval.
 Displacement is a vector quantity. It is positive if  The average speed savg of a particle during a time interval At
the particle has moved in the positive direction of depends on the total distance the particle moves in that time
the x axis
and negative if the particle has moved in the interval:
total distance
negative direction. savg = .
At

What Is Physics?
One purpose of physics is to study the motion of objects—how fast they move,
for example, and how far they move in a given amount of time. NASCAR
engineers are fanatical about this aspect of physics as they determine the
performance of their cars before and during a race. Geologists use this physics
to measure tectonic-plate motion as they attempt to predict earthquakes.
Medical researchers need this physics to map the blood flow through a patient
when diagnosing a partially closed artery, and motorists use it to determine
how they might slow sufficiently when their radar detector sounds a warning.
There are countless other examples. In this chapter, we study the basic physics
of motion where the object (race car, tectonic plate, blood cell, or any other
object) moves
14 CHAPTER 2 MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE

Motion
The world, and everything in it, moves. Even seemingly stationary things, such as
a roadway, move with Earth’s rotation, Earth’s orbit around the Sun, the Sun’s
orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy, and that galaxy’s migration
relative to other galaxies. The classification and comparison of motions (called
kinematics) is often challenging. What exactly do you measure, and how do you
compare?
Before we attempt an answer, we shall examine some general properties of
motion that is restricted in three ways.
1. The motion is along a straight line only. The line may be vertical,
horizontal, or slanted, but it must be straight.
2. Forces (pushes and pulls) cause motion but will not be discussed until
Chapter 5. In this chapter we discuss only the motion itself and changes in
the motion. Does the moving object speed up, slow down, stop, or reverse
direction? If the motion does change, how is time involved in the change?
3. The moving object is either a particle (by which we mean a point-like
object such as an electron) or an object that moves like a particle (such that
every portion moves in the same direction and at the same rate). A stiff pig
slipping down a straight playground slide might be considered to be moving
like a par- ticle; however, a tumbling tumbleweed would not.

Positive direction
Position and Displacement
To locate an object means to find its position relative to some reference point,
Negative direction of- ten the origin (or zero point) of an axis such as the x axis in Fig. 2-1. The
positive direction of the axis is in the direction of increasing numbers
(coordinates), which
–3 –2 –1 x (m) is to the right in Fig. 2-1. The opposite is the negative direction.
0 1 2 3
For example, a particle might be located at x = 5 m, which means it is 5 m in
Origin the positive direction from the origin. If it were at x = —5 m, it would be just as
Figure 2-1 Position is determined on an far from the origin but in the opposite direction. On the axis, a coordinate of
axis that is marked in units of length —5 m is less than a coordinate of —1 m, and both coordinates are less than a
(here meters) and that extends
coordinate of +5 m. A plus sign for a coordinate need not be shown, but a
indefinitely in opposite directions. The
axis name, here x, is always on the
minus sign must always be shown.
positive side of the origin. A change from position x1 to position x2 is called a displacement Ax, where

Ax = x2 — x1. (2-1)

(The symbol A, the Greek uppercase delta, represents a change in a quantity,

and it means the final value of that quantity minus the initial value.) When
numbers are inserted for the position values x1 and x2 in Eq. 2-1, a displacement in
the positive direction (to the right in Fig. 2-1) always comes out positive, and a
displacement in the opposite direction (left in the figure) always comes out
negative. For example, if the particle moves from x1 = 5 m to x2 = 12 m, then
the displacement is Ax = (12 m) — (5 m) = +7 m. The positive result indicates
that the motion is in the positive direction. If, instead, the particle moves from
x1 = 5 m to x2 = 1 m, then Ax = (1 m) — (5 m) = —4 m. The negative result in-
dicates that the motion is in the negative direction.
The actual number of meters covered for a trip is irrelevant; displacement
in- volves only the original and final positions. For example, if the particle
moves from x = 5 m out to x = 200 m and then back to x = 5 m, the
displacement from start to finish is Ax = (5 m) — (5 m) = 0.
Signs. A plus sign for a displacement need not be shown, but a minus sign
must always be shown. If we ignore the sign (and thus the direction) of a
displace- ment, we are left with the magnitude (or absolute value) of the
displacement. For example, a displacement of Ax = —4 m has a magnitude of
4 m.
 2-1 POSITION, DISP L ACE M E NT, AN D AVE RAG E VE LOCITY 15

This is a graph of position

x versus time t for a x (m)
stationary
object. +1
Figure 2-2 The graph of –1 01234 t (s)
x(t) for an armadillo that –1
is stationary at x = —2 m.
The value of x is —2m Same position for x(t)
for all times t. any time.

Displacement is an example of a vector quantity, which is a quantity that

has both a direction and a magnitude. We explore vectors more fully in
Chapter 3, but here all we need is the idea that displacement has two features:
(1) Its magnitude is the distance (such as the number of meters) between the
original and final po- sitions. (2) Its direction, from an original position to a
final position, can be repre- sented by a plus sign or a minus sign if the motion
is along a single axis.
Here is the first of many checkpoints where you can check your understanding
with a bit of reasoning. The answers are in the back of the book.

Average Velocity and Average Speed

A compact way to describe position is with a graph of position x plotted as
a func- tion of time t—a graph of x(t). (The notation x(t) represents a
function x of t, not the product x times t.) As a simple example, Fig. 2-2
shows the position function x(t) for a stationary armadillo (which we treat
as a particle) over a 7 s time inter- val. The animal’s position stays at x =
—2 m.
Figure 2-3 is more interesting, because it involves motion. The
armadillo is apparently first noticed at t = 0 when it is at the position x = —
5 m. It moves

This is a graph of position At x = 2 m when t = 4

4
x versus time t for a x (m)
3
s. Plotted here. A
moving
2 2 x (m)
object. x(t) –5 0
1 4s
t (s)
0 1 2 3 4
–1
–2
–3
It is at position x = –5 m –4
when time t = 0 s. –5 At x = 0 m when t = 3
Those data are plotted s. Plotted here.
here.
2 x (m) 2 x (m)
–5 0 –5 0
0s 3s

Figure 2-3 The graph of x(t) for a moving armadillo. The path associated with the graph is also shown, at
three times.
 16 CHAPTER 2 MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE

toward x = 0, passes through that point at t = 3 s, and then moves on to

increas- ingly larger positive values of x. Figure 2-3 also depicts the straight-
line motion of the armadillo (at three times) and is something like what you
would see. The graph in Fig. 2-3 is more abstract, but it reveals how fast
the armadillo moves.
Actually, several quantities are associated with the phrase “how fast.” One
of them is the average velocity vavg, which is the ratio of the displacement Ax
that occurs during a particular time interval At to that interval:
Axx2 — x1
v avg (2-2)
==. Att2 — t1
The notation means that the position is x1 at time t1 and then x2 at time t 2 .A
com- mon unit for vavg is the meter per second (m/s). You may see other units
in the problems, but they are always in the form of length/time.
Graphs. On a graph of x versus t, vavg is the slope of the straight line that
connects two particular points on the x(t) curve: one is the point that
corresponds to x2 and t2, and the other is the point that corresponds to x1 and t1.
Like displace- ment, vavg has both magnitude and direction (it is another vector
quantity). Its magnitude is the magnitude of the line’s slope. A positive vavg
(and slope) tells us that the line slants upward to the right; a negative vavg (and
slope) tells us that the line slants downward to the right. The average velocity
vavg always has the same sign as the displacement Ax because At in Eq. 2-2 is
always positive.
Figure 2-4 shows how to find vavg in Fig. 2-3 for the time interval t = 1 s
to t = 4 s. We draw the straight line that connects the point on the position
curve at the begin- ning of the interval and the point on the curve at the end
of the interval.Then we find the slope Ax/At of the straight line. For the given
time interval, the average velocity is
6m
vavg =
= 2 m/s.
3s
Average speed savg is a different way of describing “how fast” a particle
moves. Whereas the average velocity involves the particle’s displacement Ax,
the average speed involves the total distance covered (for example, the number
of meters moved), independent of direction; that is,

total distance
savg =. (2-3)
At
Because average speed does not include direction, it lacks any algebraic sign.
A Sometimes savg is the same (except for the absence of a sign) as vavg. However,
the two can be quite different.
This is a graph of x (m)
position x versus time t. 4
3 vavg = slope of this line
To find average velocity, = rise =
first draw a straight line, 2 xrun t End of interval
start to end, and then 1
Figure 2-4 Calculation of the find the slope of the t (s)
0 1 2 34
average velocity between t = 1s line. –1 This vertical distance is how far
and t = 4s as the slope of the line it moved, start to end:
–2
that connects the points on the x  2 m – (–4 m) = 6 m
x(t) curve representing those –3 x(t)
times. The swirling icon indicates –4 This horizontal distance is how long
that a figure is available in it took, start to end:
–5
WileyPLUS as an animation with Start of interval t  4 s – 1 s = 3 s
voiceover.
 2-1 POSITION, DISP L ACE M E NT, AN D AVE RAG E VE LOCITY 17

Sample Problem 1.01 Average velocity, beat-up pickup truck

You drive a beat-up pickup truck along a straight road for
8.4 km at 70 km/h, at which point the truck runs out of Calculation: Here we find
Ax
gaso- line and stops. Over the next 30 min, you walk v = = 10.4 km
another avg 0.62 h
2.0 km farther along the road to a gasoline station. At

(a) What is your overall displacement from the beginning = 16.8 km/h = 17 (Answer)
km/h.
of your drive to your arrival at the station? To find vavg graphically, first we graph the function x(t) as
shown in Fig. 2-5, where the beginning and arrival points
KEY IDEA on the graph are the origin and the point labeled as
“Station.”Your average velocity is the slope of the straight
Assume, for convenience, that you move in the positive line connecting those points; that is, vavg is the ratio of
di- rection of an x axis, from a first position of x1 = 0 to a the rise (Ax = 10.4 km) to the run (At = 0.62 h), which
second position of x2 at the station. That second position gives us vavg = 16.8 km/h.
must be at x2 = 8.4 km + 2.0 km = 10.4 km. Then your
displacement Ax along the x axis is the second position (b) Suppose that to pump the gasoline, pay for it, and
minus the first position. walk back to the truck takes you another 45 min. What is
your average speed from the beginning of your drive to
Calculation: From Eq. 2-1, we have your return to the truck with the gasoline?
Ax = x2 — x1 = 10.4 km — 0 = 10.4 km. (Answer)
KEY IDEA
Thus, your overall displacement is 10.4 km in the positive
direction of the x axis. Your average speed is the ratio of the total distance you
(b) What is the time interval At from the beginning of move to the total time interval you take to make that
your drive to your arrival at the station? move.
KEY IDEA Calculation: The total distance is 8.4 km + 2.0 km +
2.0 km = 12.4 km. The total time interval is 0.12 h +
0.50 h +
0.75 h = 1.37 h. Thus, Eq. 2-3 gives us
We already know the walking time interval Atwlk (= 0.50 12.4 km
h), but we lack the driving time interval Atdr. However, we savg = (Answer)
= 9.1 km/h.
know that for the drive the displacement Axdr is 8.4 km 1.37 h
and the average velocity vavg,dr is 70 km/h. Thus, this
average velocity is the ratio of the displacement for the Driving ends, walking
drive to the time interval for the drive. x starts.

Calculations: We first write 1

Axdr 2
1 Station Slope of this
vavg,dr = . Wal
line gives
0
Position (km)

Atdr king
average
Rearranging and substituting data then give us 8
velocity.
Axdr 8.4 km Dri
At = = = 0.12 h. 6 vin How far:
g
 x = 10.4 km
4
So, dr
vavg,dr 70 km/h 2
At = + 0 t
At At 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
dr wlk
Time (h)
= 0.12 h + 0.50 h = 0.62 h. (Answer) How long:
(c) What is your average velocity av from the beginning of t = 0.62 h
v g
your drive to your arrival at the station? Find it both numer- the time interval of 0.62 h for the entire trip.
ically and graphically.

KEY IDEA

From Eq. 2-2 we know that vavg for the entire trip is the
ratio of the displacement of 10.4 km for the entire trip to
 18 CHAPTER 2 MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE
(The plot for the walking stage assumes a constant rate of
walking.) The slope of the straight line joining the origin and the
point labeled “Station” is the average velocity for the trip, from
Figure 2-5 The lines marked “Driving” and “Walking” are the beginning to the station.
the position – time plots for the driving and walking stages.

1.2 INSTANTANEOUS VELOCITY AND SPEED

Key Ideas
 The instantaneous velocity (or simply velocity) v of a moving  The instantaneous velocity (at a particular time) may be
particle is dx found as the slope (at that particular time) of the graph of x
v = lim versus t.
Ax = ,
dt
At: 0
At
where Ax = x2 — x1 and At = t2  Speed is the magnitude of instantaneous velocity.
— t1.

Instantaneous Velocity and Speed

You have now seen two ways to describe how fast something moves: average
velocity and average speed, both of which are measured over a time interval
At. However, the phrase “how fast” more commonly refers to how fast a
particle is moving at a given instant—its instantaneous velocity (or simply
velocity) v.
The velocity at any instant is obtained from the average velocity by
shrinking the time interval At closer and closer to 0. As At dwindles, the
average velocity approaches a limiting value, which is the velocity at that
instant:

Axdx
v = lim =. (2-4)
At:0 Atdt

Note that v is the rate at which position x is changing with time at a given
instant; that is, v is the derivative of x with respect to t. Also note that v at any
instant is the slope of the position – time curve at the point representing that
instant. Velocity is another vector quantity and thus has an associated
direction.
Speed is the magnitude of velocity; that is, speed is velocity that has been
stripped of any indication of direction, either in words or via an algebraic sign.
(Caution: Speed and average speed can be quite different.) A velocity of +5
m/s and one of —5 m/s both have an associated speed of 5 m/s. The
speedometer in a car measures speed, not velocity (it cannot determine the
direction).

Sample Problem 2.02 Velocity and slope of x versus t, elevator cab

Figure 2-6a is an x(t) plot for an elevator cab that is

initially stationary, then moves upward (which we take to Calculations: The slope of x(t), and so also the velocity,
be the pos- itive direction of x), and then stops. Plot v(t). is zero in the intervals from 0 to 1 s and from 9 s on, so
then the cab is stationary. During the interval bc, the slope
KEY IDEA is con- stant and nonzero, so then the cab moves with
constant ve- locity. We calculate the slope of x(t) then as
We can find the velocity at any time from the slope of the Ax 24 m — 4.0 m
=v= (2-5)
x(t) curve at that time. At = +4.0 m/s.
8.0 s — 3.0 s
 2-2 INSTANTANEOUS VELOCITY AND SPEED 19

25 d
x = 24 m c
at t = 8.0
20

Position (m)
s

15 x
x(t)
1
0x = 4.0 m
5at t = 3.0 s
b 
a
00 t t
12345678 9
Time (s) Slopes on the x versus t graph
(a)
Slope are the values on the v versus t
of x(t) graph.
v

b v(t) c
4
Velocity (m/s)

1
a d
00 t
12345678 9
Time (s)
Slopes on the v versus t graph
(b)
are the values on the a versus t
a graph.
Acce ratio n
3
le
Acceleration (m/s2)

2
1
a b a(t) c dt
Figure 2-6 (a) The x(t) curve for an elevator cab 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
that moves upward along an x axis. (b) The v(t) 1
2
– curve for the cab. Note that it is the derivative3

– 4
of the x(t) curve (v = dx/dt). (c) The a(t) curve De celer tion
a
–
for the cab. It is the derivative of the v(t) curve
– What
you would
(a = dv/dt). The stick figures along the bottom (c)
suggest how a passenger’s body might feel dur-
ing the accelerations.

The plus sign indicates that the cab is moving in the terval, we must, in the language of calculus, calculate the
posi- tive x direction. These intervals (where v = 0 and area “under the curve” on the v(t) graph for that interval.
v = 4 m/s) are plotted in Fig. 2-6b. In addition, as the For example, during the interval 3 s to 8 s in which the
cab ini- tially begins to move and then later slows to a cab has a velocity of 4.0 m/s, the change in x is
stop, v varies as indicated in the intervals 1 s to 3 s
and 8 s to 9 s. Thus, Fig. 2-6b is the required plot. Ax = (4.0 m/s)(8.0 s — 3.0 s) = +20 m. (2-6)
(Figure 2-6c is consid- ered in Module 2-3.)
(This area is positive because the v(t) curve is above the
Given a v(t) graph such as Fig. 2-6b, we could “work
t axis.) Figure 2-6a shows that x does indeed increase by
backward” to produce the shape of the associated x(t)
20 m in that interval. However, Fig. 2-6b does not tell us
graph (Fig. 2-6a). However, we would not know the actual
the values of x at the beginning and end of the interval.
values for x at various times, because the v(t) graph
For that, we need additional information, such as the value
indicates only changes in x. To find such a change in x
of x at some instant.
during any in-
20 CHAPTER 2 MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE

1.3 ACCELERATION
Key Ideas
 Average acceleration is the ratio of a change in velocity  Instantaneous acceleration (or simply acceleration) a is the
Av first time derivative of velocity v(t) and the second time deriv-
to the time interval At in which the change occurs: ative of position x(t):
Av dv
aavg = . d2x
At a= = dt2 .
dt
The algebraic sign indicates the direction of  On a graph of v versus t, the acceleration a at any
aavg. time t is the slope of the curve at the point that
represents t.

Acceleration
When a particle’s velocity changes, the particle is said to undergo
acceleration (or to accelerate). For motion along an axis, the average
acceleration aavg over a time interval At is

v2 — v1 Av
aavg At , (2-7)
== t21— t

where the particle has velocity v1 at time t1 and then velocity v2 at time t2. The
instantaneous acceleration (or simply acceleration) is

a = dv . (2-8)
dt

In words, the acceleration of a particle at any instant is the rate at which its
velocity is changing at that instant. Graphically, the acceleration at any point is
the slope of the curve of v(t) at that point.We can combine Eq. 2-8 with Eq. 2-4
to write
dv d dx d 2x
a=
dt
= (dt dt) =
dt 2
. (2-9)

In words, the acceleration of a particle at any instant is the second derivative of

its position x(t) with respect to time.
A common unit of acceleration is the meter per second per second: m/(s ·
s) or m/s2. Other units are in the form of length/(time · time) or length/time2.
Acceleration has both magnitude and direction (it is yet another vector quan-
tity). Its algebraic sign represents its direction on an axis just as for
displacement and velocity; that is, acceleration with a positive value is in the
positive direction of an axis, and acceleration with a negative value is in the
negative direction.
Figure 2-6 gives plots of the position, velocity, and acceleration of an ele-
vator moving up a shaft. Compare the a(t) curve with the v(t) curve — each
point on the a(t) curve shows the derivative (slope) of the v(t) curve at the
corresponding time. When v is constant (at either 0 or 4 m/s), the derivative is
zero and so also is the acceleration. When the cab first begins to move, the v(t)
curve has a positive derivative (the slope is positive), which means that a(t) is
positive. When the cab slows to a stop, the derivative and slope of the v(t)
curve are negative; that is, a(t) is negative.
Next compare the slopes of the v(t) curve during the two acceleration peri-
ods. The slope associated with the cab’s slowing down (commonly called
“decel- eration”) is steeper because the cab stops in half the time it took to get
up to speed. The steeper slope means that the magnitude of the deceleration is
larger than that of the acceleration, as indicated in Fig. 2-6c.
Sensations. The sensations you would feel while riding in the cab of
Fig. 2-6 are indicated by the sketched figures at the bottom. When the cab first
accelerates, you feel as though you are pressed downward; when later the cab
is braked to a stop, you seem to be stretched upward. In between, you feel
nothing special. In other words, your body reacts to accelerations (it is an
accelerometer) but not to velocities (it is not a speedometer). When you are in
a car traveling at 90 km/h or an airplane traveling at 900 km/h, you have no
bodily awareness of the motion. However, if the car or plane quickly changes
velocity, you may be- come keenly aware of the change, perhaps even
frightened by it. Part of the thrill of an amusement park ride is due to the quick
changes of velocity that you un- dergo (you pay for the accelerations, not for
the speed). A more extreme example is shown in the photographs of Fig. 2-7,
which were taken while a rocket sled was rapidly accelerated along a track and
then rapidly braked to a stop.
g Units. Large accelerations are sometimes expressed in terms of g units, with

1g = 9.8 m/s2 (g unit). (2-10)

(As we shall discuss in Module 2-5, g is the magnitude of the acceleration of a

falling object near Earth’s surface.) On a roller coaster, you may experience
brief accelerations up to 3g, which is (3)(9.8 m/s2), or about 29 m/s2, more
than enough to justify the cost of the ride.
Signs. In common language, the sign of an acceleration has a nonscientific
meaning: positive acceleration means that the speed of an object is increasing,
and negative acceleration means that the speed is decreasing (the object is
decelerat- ing). In this book, however, the sign of an acceleration indicates a
direction, not

Figure 2-7
Colonel J. P. Stapp
in a rocket sled as it
is brought up to
high speed
(acceleration out of
the page) and then
very rapidly braked
(acceleration into
the page).

Courtesy U.S. Air Force

 22 CHAPTER 2 MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE

whether an object’s speed is increasing or decreasing. For example, if a car with

an initial velocity v = —25 m/s is braked to a stop in 5.0 s, then aavg = +5.0
m/s2. The acceleration is positive, but the car’s speed has decreased. The reason
is the differ- ence in signs: the direction of the acceleration is opposite that of
the velocity.
Here then is the proper way to interpret the signs:

Sample Problem 1.03 Acceleration and DV/dt

A particle’s position on the x axis of Fig. 2-1 is given by
x = 4 — 27t + t 3, Reasoning: We need to examine the expressions for x(t),
v(t), and a(t).
with x in meters and t in seconds. At t = 0, the particle is at x(0) = +4m and is moving
(a) Because position x depends on time t, the particle with a velocity of v(0) = —27 m/s — that is, in the
must be moving. Find the particle’s velocity function v(t) negative direction of the x axis. Its acceleration is a(0) =
and ac- celeration function a(t). 0 because just then the particle’s velocity is not changing
(Fig. 2-8a).
KEY IDEAS For 0 < t < 3 s, the particle still has a negative
velocity, so it continues to move in the negative
direction. However, its acceleration is no longer 0 but is
increasing and positive.
Because the signs of the velocity and the acceleration are
(1) To get the velocity function v(t), we differentiate the opposite, the particle must be slowing (Fig. 2-8b).
po- sition function x(t) with respect to time. (2) To get the Indeed, we already know that it stops momentarily
accel- eration function a(t), we differentiate the velocity at t = 3 s. Just then the particle is as far to the left of the
function v(t) with respect to time. origin in Fig. 2-1 as it will ever get. Substituting t = 3 s
into the expression for x(t), we find that the particle’s
Calculations: Differentiating the position function, we find
position just then is x = —50 m (Fig. 2-8c). Its
v = —27 + 3t 2, (Answer) acceleration is still positive. For t > 3 s, the particle
moves to the right on the axis.
with v in meters per second. Differentiating the velocity
Its acceleration remains positive and grows progressively
function then gives us
larger in magnitude. The velocity is now positive, and it too
a = +6t, (Answer) grows progressively larger in magnitude (Fig. 2-8d).
with a in meters per second squared.
t=3 t=4s
(b) Is there ever a time when v = 0? sv = v pos
0a a pos
Calculation: Setting v(t) = 0 yields pos speeding up
reversing (d )
0 = —27 + 3t 2, (c) x
which has the solution 04m
−50 m t=0
t = 1
t = ±3 s. (Answer) s v
v neg
a=0
neg a
Thus, the velocity is zero both 3 s before and 3 s after the pos
leftward
motion
clock reads 0. slowing (a)
(b)
(c) Describe the particle’s motion for t S 0. Figure 2-8 Four stages of the particle’s motion.
 2-4 CONSTANT ACCELERATION 23

1.4 CONSTANT ACCELERATION

Key Ideas
 The following five equations describe the motion of a particle with constant acceleration:
v= 1
v + at, x— =vt+ at2,
x
0 0 0
2 1
v2 = v2 + 2a(x — x
),
x—x =1 +
v)t,
x—
x
= vt — at2.
(v
0 0 0 0 0
2 2 Slopes of the position graph
These are not valid when the acceleration is not constant. are plotted on the velocity
graph.

Constant Acceleration: A Special Case

In many types of motion, the acceleration is either constant or approximately x
so. For example, you might accelerate a car at an approximately constant rate x(t)
when a traffic light turns from red to green. Then graphs of your position,

Position
velocity, and acceleration would resemble those in Fig. 2-9. (Note that a(t) in
Fig. 2-9c is constant, which requires that v(t) in Fig. 2-9b have a constant
slope.) Later when you brake the car to a stop, the acceleration (or deceleration Slope
x0 varies
in common language) might also be approximately constant. t
Such cases are so common that a special set of equations has been derived (a) 0
for dealing with them. One approach to the derivation of these equations is given
in this section. A second approach is given in the next section. Throughout both v
sections and later when you work on the homework problems, keep in mind that
these equations are valid only for constant acceleration (or situations in which
you can approximate the acceleration as being constant).
v(t)
First Basic Equation. When the acceleration is constant, the average
Velocity

accel- eration and instantaneous acceleration are equal and we can write Eq. 2-
7, with some changes in notation, as Slope =
a
a = aavg = v — v0 . v0 t
t—0 (b) 0

Here v0 is the velocity at time t = 0 and v is the velocity at any later time t. We can
recast this equation as Slope of the velocity graph is
plotted on the acceleration graph.
v = v0 + at. (2-11) a
Acceleration

a(t) Slope = 0

As a check, note that this equation reduces to v = v0 for t = 0, as it must. As

a fur- ther check, take the derivative of Eq. 2-11. Doing so yields dv/dt = a, t
which is the definition of a. Figure 2-9b shows a plot of Eq. 2-11, the v(t) (c) 0
function; the function is linear and thus the plot is a straight line. Figure 2-9 (a) The position x(t) of a
Second Basic Equation. In a similar manner, we can rewrite Eq. 2-2 (with a particle moving with constant acceleration.
few changes in notation) as (b) Its velocity v(t), given at each point by
the slope of the curve of x(t). (c) Its
(constant)
24 CHAPTER 2 MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE

and then as
x = x0 + vavgt, (2-12)

in which x0 is the position of the particle at t = 0 and vavg is the average

velocity between t = 0 and a later time t.
For the linear velocity function in Eq. 2-11, the average velocity over any
time interval (say, from t = 0 to a later time t) is the average of the velocity at
the be- ginning of the interval (= v0) and the velocity at the end of the interval
(= v). For the interval from t = 0 to the later time t then, the average velocity is

vavg = 1 (v0 + v).

2 (2-13)

Substituting the right side of Eq. 2-11 for v yields, after a little rearrangement,

vavg = v0 + 1 at.
2 (2-14)
Finally, substituting Eq. 2-14 into Eq. 2-12
yields

x — x0 = v0t + 1 2at 2. (2-15)

As a check, note that putting t = 0 yields x = x0, as it must. As a further

check, taking the derivative of Eq. 2-15 yields Eq. 2-11, again as it must.
Figure 2-9a shows a plot of Eq. 2-15; the function is quadratic and thus the
plot is curved.
Three Other Equations. Equations 2-11 and 2-15 are the basic equations
for constant acceleration; they can be used to solve any constant acceleration
prob- lem in this book. However, we can derive other equations that might
prove useful in certain specific situations. First, note that as many as five
quantities can possi- bly be involved in any problem about constant
acceleration — namely, x — x0, v, t, a, and v0. Usually, one of these quantities
is not involved in the problem, either as a given or as an unknown. We are
then presented with three of the remaining quantities and asked to find the
fourth.
Equations 2-11 and 2-15 each contain four of these quantities, but not the
same four. In Eq. 2-11, the “missing ingredient” is the displacement x — x0. In
Eq. 2-15, it is the velocity v. These two equations can also be combined in
three ways to yield three additional equations, each of which involves a
different “missing variable.” First, we can eliminate t to obtain
v 2 = v 2 + 2a(x — x ). (2-16)
0 0

This equation is useful if we do not know t and are not required to find it.
Second, we can eliminate the acceleration a between Eqs. 2-11 and 2-15 to
produce an equation in which a does not appear:

x — x0 = 1(v0 + (2-17)
Table 2-1 Equations for Motion
a
with Constant Acceleration v)t. 2

Finally, we can eliminate v0, obtaining

(2-18)
Equation Missing
x — x0 = vt — 12 at 2.
Number Equation Quantity

2-11 v = v0 + at x — x0 Note the subtle difference between this equation and Eq. 2-15. One involves
2-15 x — x0 = v0t + 1at2 v the initial velocity v0; the other involves the velocity v at time t.
2-16
2
v 2 = v 2 + 2a(x — x t Table 2-1 lists the basic constant acceleration equations (Eqs. 2-11 and 2-15) as
0
)2
0
well as the specialized equations that we have derived.To solve a simple constant ac-
2-18
2-17 xx— 1 2 celeration problem, you can usually use an equation from this list (if you have the
— xx00 =
1
= vt (v—
0 + at
2
v)t va0 list with you). Choose an equation for which the only unknown variable is the vari-
a
Make sure that the acceleration is indeed table.
constant before using the equations in this
 2-4 CONSTANT ACCELERATION 25
able requested in the problem. A
simpler plan is to remember only
Eqs. 2-11 and 2-15, and then solve
them as simultaneous equations
whenever needed.
26 CHAPTER 2 MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE

Sample Problem 1.04 Drag race of car and motorcycle

A popular web video shows a jet airplane, a car, and a
mo- torcycle racing from rest along a runway (Fig. 2-10). choose any initial numbers because we are looking for the
Initially the motorcycle takes the lead, but then the jet takes elapsed time, not a particular time in, say, the afternoon,
the lead, and finally the car blows past the motorcycle. Here but let’s stick with these easy numbers.) We want the car
let’s focus on the car and motorcycle and assign some to pass the motorcycle, but what does that mean
reasonable values to the motion. The motorcycle first takes mathematically?
the lead because its (constant) acceleration am = 8.40 m/s2 is It means that at some time t, the side-by-side vehicles
are at the same coordinate: xc for the car and the sum xm1 +
greater than the car’s (constant) acceleration ac = 5.60 m/s2,
xm2 for the motorcycle. We can write this statement mathe-
but it soon loses to the
matically as
car because it reaches its greatest speed vm = 58.8 m/s
before xc = + xm2. (2-19)
the car reaches its greatest speed vc = 106 m/s. How long xm1
does
the car take to reach the motorcycle? (Writing this first step is the hardest part of the problem.
That is true of most physics problems. How do you go
KEY IDEAS from the problem statement (in words) to a mathematical
expres- sion? One purpose of this book is for you to build
We can apply the equations of constant acceleration to up that ability of writing the first step — it takes lots of
both vehicles, but for the motorcycle we must consider practice just as in learning, say, tae-kwon-do.)
the mo- tion in two stages: (1) First it travels through
Now let’s fill out both sides of Eq. 2-19, left side first. To
distance xm1 with zero initial velocity and acceleration reach the passing point at x , the car accelerates from rest. From
am = 8.40 m/s2,
reaching speed vm = 58.8 m/s. (2) Then it travels Eq.
x 2-15 (x and
v 0, we have
through dis- xv t c at2), with
— 0 = 0 + 1
2 0 0 =
tance xm2 with constant velocity vm = 58.8 m/s and zero
ac- celeration (that, too, is a constant acceleration). xc = 12act2. (2-20)
(Note that we symbolized the distances even though we
do not know
their values. Symbolizing unknown quantities is often To write an expression for xm1 for the motorcycle, we
help- ful in solving physics problems, but introducing first find the time tm it takes to reach its maximum
such un- knowns sometimes takes physics courage.) speed vm, using Eq. 2-11 (v = v0 + at). Substituting v0 =
0, v = vm =
Calculations: So that we can draw figures and do calcula-
58.8 m/s, and a = am = 8.40 m/s2, that time is
tions, let’s assume that the vehicles race along the positive vm
tm = (2-21)
di- rection of an x axis, starting from x = 0 at time t = 0. am
(We can 58.8 m/s
= = 7.00 s.
8.40 m/s2
To get the distance xm1 traveled by the motorcycle during
the first stage, we again use Eq. 2-15 with x0 = 0 and v0 =
0, but we also substitute from Eq. 2-21 for the time. We
find
1 v2
2mm vm 2
xm1 = 1a t2 = 1a2 m
( a ) =.
m 2 am
m
(2-22)

For the remaining time of t — tm, the motorcycle

travels at its maximum speed with zero acceleration. To
get the distance, we use Eq. 2-15 for this second stage of
the motion, but now the initial velocity is v0 = vm (the
speed at the end of the first stage) and the acceleration is
a = 0. So, the dis- tance traveled during the second stage
Figure 2-10 A jet airplane, a car, and a motorcycle just after is
 2-4 CONSTANT ACCELERATION 27

To finish the calculation, we substitute Eqs. 2-20, 2-22, and

that at t = 7.00 s the plot for the motorcycle switches
2-23 into Eq. 2-19, obtaining
from being curved (because the speed had been
1 v2
increasing) to be- ing straight (because the speed is
thereafter constant).
1
a ct2 = m
+ vm(t — 7.00 s). (2-24)
2
2 am
This is a quadratic equation. Substituting in the given 1000
data, we solve the equation (by using the usual
quadratic-equa- tion formula or a polynomial solver on a
800
calculator), finding t = 4.44 s and t = 16.6 s.
But what do we do with two answers? Does the car Car passes
motorcycle
pass the motorcycle twice? No, of course not, as we can 600
see in the video. So, one of the answers is

x (m)
mathematically correct but not physically meaningful. Motorcycle
400
Because we know that the car passes the motorcycle Car
after the motorcycle reaches its maxi- mum speed at t = Acceleration
ends
7.00 s, we discard the solution with t < 200
7.00 s as being the unphysical answer and conclude that the
passing occurs at
t = 16.6 s. 0
(Answer) 0 5 10 15 20
t (s)
Figure 2-11 is a graph of the position versus time for
the two vehicles, with the passing point marked. Notice Figure 2-11 Graph of position versus time for car and motorcyc
28 CHAPTER 2 MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE

Another Look at Constant Acceleration*

The first two equations in Table 2-1 are the basic equations from which the
others are derived. Those two can be obtained by integration of the
acceleration with the condition that a is constant. To find Eq. 2-11, we rewrite
the definition of ac- celeration (Eq. 2-8) as
dv = a dt.
We next write the indefinite integral (or antiderivative) of both sides:

∫ ∫
dv = a dt.

Since acceleration a is a constant, it can be taken outside the integration. We obtain

∫ dv = a ∫ dt

or v = at + C. (2-25)
To evaluate the constant of integration C, we let t = 0, at which time v = v0.
Substituting these values into Eq. 2-25 (which must hold for all values of t,
including t = 0) yields
v0 = (a)(0) + C = C.
Substituting this into Eq. 2-25 gives us Eq. 2-11.
To derive Eq. 2-15, we rewrite the definition of velocity (Eq. 2-4) as
dx = v dt
and then take the indefinite integral of both sides to obtain

∫ ∫
dx = v dt.

* FREE-FALL ACCELERATION 27

Next, we substitute for v with Eq. 2-11:

∫ ∫dx = (v0 + at) dt.

Since v0 is a constant, as is the acceleration a, this can be rewritten as

∫ ∫ ∫
dx = v0 dt + a t dt.
Integration now
yields
x = v0t + 12 at 2 + (2-26)
C',

where C' is another constant of integration. At time t = 0, we have x =

x0. Substituting these values in Eq. 2-26 yields x0 = C'. Replacing C' with
x0 in Eq. 2-26 gives us Eq. 2-15.
1.5 FREE-FALL ACCELERATION
Key Ideas
 An important example of straight-line motion with (1) we refer the motion to the vertical y axis with +y
constant acceleration is that of an object rising or vertically up; (2) we replace a with —g, where g is the
falling freely near Earth’s surface. The constant magnitude of the free-fall acceleration. Near Earth’s
acceleration equations de- scribe this motion, but we surface,
make two changes in notation:
g = 9.8 m/s2 = 32 ft/s2.

Free-Fall Acceleration
If you tossed an object either up or down and could somehow eliminate the
effects of air on its flight, you would find that the object accelerates downward
at a certain constant rate. That rate is called the free-fall acceleration, and its
magni- tude is represented by g. The acceleration is independent of the
object’s charac- teristics, such as mass, density, or shape; it is the same for all
objects.
Two examples of free-fall acceleration are shown in Fig. 2-12, which is a
series of stroboscopic photos of a feather and an apple. As these objects fall,
they accelerate downward — both at the same rate g. Thus, their speeds
increase at the same rate, and they fall together.
The value of g varies slightly with latitude and with elevation. At sea level
in Earth’s midlatitudes the value is 9.8 m/s 2 (or 32 ft/s2), which is what you
should use as an exact number for the problems in this book unless otherwise
noted.
The equations of motion in Table 2-1 for constant acceleration also apply © Jim Sugar/CORBIS
to free fall near Earth’s surface; that is, they apply to an object in vertical
flight, either up or down, when the effects of the air can be neglected. Figure 2-12 A feather and an apple free
However, note that for free fall: (1) The directions of motion are now along a fall in vacuum at the same magnitude of
acceleration g. The acceleration increases
vertical y axis instead of the x axis, with the positive direction of y upward.
the distance between successive images. In
(This is important for later chapters when combined horizontal and vertical
the absence of air, the feather and apple
motions are examined.) fall together.
(2) The free-fall acceleration is negative — that is, downward on the y axis,
toward Earth’s center — and so it has the value —g in the equations.
28 CHAPTER 2 MOTION ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE

Suppose you toss a tomato directly upward with an initial (positive) velocity
v0 and then catch it when it returns to the release level. During its free-fall flight
(from just after its release to just before it is caught), the equations of Table 2-1
apply to its motion. The acceleration is always a = —g = —9.8 m/s2, negative
and thus down- ward. The velocity, however, changes, as indicated by Eqs. 2-11
and 2-16: during the ascent, the magnitude of the positive velocity decreases,
until it momentarily be- comes zero. Because the tomato has then stopped, it is at
its maximum height. During the descent, the magnitude of the (now negative)
velocity increases.

Sample Problem 1.05 Time for full up-down flight, baseball toss
Ball y
In Fig. 2-13, a pitcher tosses a baseball up along a y axis,
with an initial speed of 12 m/s. v = 0 at
highest point
(a) How long does the ball take to reach its maximum height?

KEY IDEAS
During
(1) Once the ball leaves the pitcher and before it returns descent,
to his hand, its acceleration is the free-fall acceleration a = During ascent, a = –g,
a = –g, speed
—g. Because this is constant, Table 2-1 applies to the increases,
speed decreases,
motion. and velocity and velocity
(2) The velocity v at the maximum height must be 0. becomes less becomes
positive more
Calculation: Knowing v, a, and the initial velocity negative
Figure 2-13 A pitcher tosses
v0 = 12 m/s, and seeking t, we solve Eq. 2-11, which a
contains
those four variables. This yields y=0
baseball straight up into the air.
v — v0 0 — 12 m/s (Answer) The equations of free fall apply
t= = = 1.2 s.
a —9.8 m/s2 for rising as well as for falling
objects, provided any effects
(b) What is the ball’s maximum height above its release point? from the air can be neglected.
Calculation: We can take the ball’s release point to be y0
= 0.
We can then write Eq. 2-16 in y notation, set y — y0 = y and v = or 5.0 m = (12 m/s)t
2
— (1)(9.8 m/s2)t2.
0 (at the maximum height), and solve for y.We
If we temporarily omit the units (having noted that they are
get
v —v0
2 2 2
consistent), we can rewrite this as
y= = 0 — (12 m/s) = 7.3 (Answer)
m.
2a 2(—9.8 m/s2)
4.9t 2 — 12t 5.0 = 0.
+
(c) How long does the ball take to reach a point 5.0 m
above its release point? Solving this quadratic equation for t yields
Calculations: We know v0, a = —g, and displacement y — t = 0.53 s and t = 1.9 s. (Answer)
y0 = 5.0 m, and we want t, so we choose Eq. 2-15. Rewriting
it for y and setting y0 = 0 give us There are two such times! This is not really surprising
y = v t — 1 gt2, because the ball passes twice through y = 5.0 m, once on the
PROBLEM SOLVING :
1. How far can a cyclist travel in 2.5 hours along a straight road if her average velocity is 18 km/hr?
2. An automobile is moving to the right along a straight highway. Then the driver puts on the
brakes. If the initial velocity(when the driver hits the brake)is v2 = 15.0 m/s and it takes 5.0
seconds to slow down to v2 = 5.0 m/s. What was the car average acceleration.
3. Runway Design. You are designing an airport for small plane. One kind of airplane that might
use this airfield must reach a speed before take off at least 27.8 m/s and can accelerate at
2.0 m/s, if a)the runway is 150 meters long, can the airplane reach the required speed for
take off? b) if not, what minimum length must the runway have?
4. Suppose that a ball is dropped from the tower at 70.0 meters high. How far will the ball have
fallen after time t1 = 1.0 seconds t2 = 2.0 seconds and t3 = 3.0 seconds?
5. A person throws a ball upward into the air with the initial velocity of 15 m/s. Calculate a)
How high it goes and b) How long the ball is in the air before it comes back to his hand.