Physics Tutorial 3.8 - Equations of Motion

Please provide a rating, it takes seconds and helps us to keep this resource free for all to use

★★★★★ [ 4 Votes ]

There are 4 lessons in this physics tutorial covering Equations of Motion. The tutorial starts with an introduction to Equations of Motion and is then followed with a list of the separate lessons, the tutorial is designed to be read in order but you can skip to a specific lesson or return to recover a specific physics lesson as required to build your physics knowledge of Equations of Motion. you can access all the lessons from this tutorial below.

In this Physics tutorial, you will learn:

Which equations are used in the uniform and non-uniformly accelerated (decelerated) motion?
How these equations transform when objects move vertically?
How does free fall differ from vertical motion?
How to apply the equations of motion in specific situations?

Introduction

In the last tutorial "The Meaning of Acceleration. Constant and non-Constant Acceleration", we discussed the concept of acceleration and also we obtained the equation of acceleration

Equation 1

a⃗ = ∆v⃗/∆t = v⃗ - v⃗₀/∆t

where v⃗ is the final velocity (the velocity at the end of motion), v⃗₀ the initial velocity and Δt the time interval during which the process occurs.

It is worth mentioning that the above formula is valid only for the uniformly accelerated (decelerated) motion, i.e. for the motion in which the acceleration (deceleration) is constant during the entire process.

Also, when dealing with the uniform motion ("Speed and Velocity in One Dimension"), we learned the (sole) equation of this kind of motion

Equation 2

a⃗ = ∆x⃗/∆t = x⃗ - x⃗₀/∆t

where x⃗ is the final position of the object and x⃗₀ its initial position (therefore, ∆x⃗ is the change in position or displacement).

The above equations deal only with vector quantities (displacement, velocity, acceleration). However, it is clear that the same equations can be used for the corresponding scalar quantities (distance and speed) as well. We will discuss all these physical quantities in the following of this tutorial.

Please select a specific "Equations of Motion" lesson from the table below, review the video tutorial, print the revision notes or use the practice question to improve your knowledge of this physics topic.

Kinematics Learning Material
Tutorial ID	Physics Tutorial Title	Revision Notes	Revision Questions
3.8	Equations of Motion
Lesson ID	Physics Lesson Title	Lesson	Video Lesson
3.8.1	Equations of the Uniform Motion
3.8.2	Equations of the Uniformly Accelerated (Decelerated) Motion
3.8.3	Vertical Motion. Free Fall as a Special Case of Vertical Motion
3.8.4	Free Fall as a Special Case of Vertical Motion

Whats next?

Enjoy the "Equations of Motion" physics tutorial? People who liked the "Equations of Motion" tutorial found the following resources useful:

Physics tutorial Feedback. Helps other - Leave a rating for this tutorial (see below)
Kinematics Revision Notes: Equations of Motion. Print the notes so you can revise the key points covered in the physics tutorial for Equations of Motion
Kinematics Practice Questions: Equations of Motion. Test and improve your knowledge of Equations of Motion with example questins and answers
Check your calculations for Kinematics questions with our excellent Kinematics calculators which contain full equations and calculations clearly displayed line by line. See the Kinematics Calculators by iCalculator™ below.
Continuing learning kinematics - read our next physics tutorial: Position v's Time and Distance v's Time Graph

Please provide a rating, it takes seconds and helps us to keep this resource free for all to use

★★★★★ [ 4 Votes ]

Kinematics Calculators

The following Physics Calculators are provided in support of the Kinematics tutorials.

Physics Calculators

You may also find the following Physics calculators useful.

Menu