Physics Lesson 3.8.1 - Equations of the Uniform Motion

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Welcome to our Physics lesson on Equations of the Uniform Motion, this is the first lesson of our suite of physics lessons covering the topic of Equations of Motion, you can find links to the other lessons within this tutorial and access additional physics learning resources below this lesson.

Equations of the Uniform Motion

In the physics tutoral: "Speed and Velocity in One Dimension" we learned two equations in total. They are:

v⃗ = ∆x⃗/∆t = x⃗ - x⃗₀/∆t

for the vector quantities involved, and

v = s/t

for the corresponding scalar quantities. These are the only equations for the uniform motion (the motion with constant velocity or speed). These equations are very similar and when the object is moving linearly without turning back, numerically they both give the same result.

For example, if an object is moving due left at 6 m/s for 15 s, the magnitude of displacement and distance are both 90 m because both the velocity and speed are 6 m/s. Thus, giving that the time interval is 15 s, we have

v⃗ = ∆x⃗/∆t ⇒ ∆x⃗ = v⃗ × ∆t = 6 m/s × 15 s = 90 m

and

v = s/t ⇒ s = v × t = 6 m/s × 15 s = 90 m

Remark! The total time t and the time interval Δt in most cases represent the same thing because the initial time (t_i or t₀) usually is taken as zero. This means we start measuring the quantities involved in the process such as position, velocity or speed when we press the stopwatch. Therefore, we have

∆t = t_final - t_initial
= t - 0
= t

Thus, Δt and t henceforth will represent the total time of motion.

The following table summarizes all said above.

Equations for Vectors and Scalars
Type of quantities involved	Vector	Scalar
Equation	v⃗ = ∆x⃗/∆t	v = s/t

You have reach the end of Physics lesson 3.8.1 Equations of the Uniform Motion. There are 4 lessons in this physics tutorial covering Equations of Motion, you can access all the lessons from this tutorial below.

More Equations of Motion Lessons and Learning Resources

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 the Uniform Motion" physics lesson? People who liked the "Equations of Motion lesson found the following resources useful:

Uniform Feedback. Helps other - Leave a rating for this uniform (see below)
Kinematics Physics tutorial: Equations of Motion. Read the Equations of Motion physics tutorial and build your physics knowledge of Kinematics
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

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