FOUNDATION COURSE- INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS

UNIT- IV

MOTION

Motion is the change of position of an object with respect to time. To study

the motion of the object, one has to study the change in position (x,y,z coordinates)
of the object with respect to the surroundings. It may be noted that the position of
the object changes even due to the change in one, two or all the three coordinates
of the position of the objects with respect to time. Thus motion can be classified
into three types :

TYPES OF MOTION

(i) Motion in one dimension

Motion of an object is said to be one dimensional, if only one of the three

coordinates specifying the position of the object changes with respect to time.
Example : An ant moving in a straight line, running athlete, etc.

(ii) Motion in two dimensions

In this type, the motion is represented by any two of the three coordinates.
Example : a body moving in a plane.

(iii) Motion in three dimensions

Motion of a body is said to be three dimensional, if all the three coordinates

of the position of the body change with respect to time. Examples : motion of a
flying bird, motion of a kite in the sky, motion of a molecule, etc.

MOTION IN ONE DIMENSION (RECTILINEAR MOTION)

The motion along a straight line is known as rectilinear motion. The

important parameters required to study the motion along a straight line are
position, displacement, velocity, and acceleration.
PROJECTILE MOTION

A body thrown with some initial velocity and then allowed to move under
the action of gravity alone, is known as a projectile.

If we observe the path of the projectile, we find that the projectile moves in a
path, which can be considered as a part of parabola. Such a motion is known as
projectile motion.

A few examples of projectiles are (i) a bomb thrown from an aeroplane (ii) a
javelin or a shot-put thrown by an athlete (iii) motion of a ball hit by a cricket bat
etc.

The different types of projectiles are shown in Fig. A body can be projected
in two ways:

(i) It can be projected horizontally from a certain height.

(ii) It can be thrown from the ground in a direction inclined to it.

The projectiles undergo a vertical motion as well as horizontal motion. The

two components of the projectile motion are (i) vertical component and (ii)
horizontal component. These two perpendicular components of motion are
independent of each other.

A body projected with an initial velocity making an angle with the

horizontal direction possess uniform horizontal velocity and variable vertical
velocity, due to force of gravity. The object therefore has horizontal and vertical
motions simultaneously. The resultant motion would be the vector sum of these
two motions and the path following would be curvilinear.

In the study of projectile motion, it is assumed that the air resistance is

negligible and the acceleration due to gravity remains constant.

Two independent motions of a projectile

UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION

The revolution of the Earth around the Sun, rotating fly wheel, electrons
revolving around the nucleus, spinning top, the motion of a fan blade, revolution of
the moon around the Earth etc. are some examples of circular motion. In all the
above cases, the bodies or particles travel in a circular path. So, it is necessary to
understand the motion of such bodies.

When a particle moves on a circular path with a constant speed, then its
motion is known as uniform circular motion in a plane. The magnitude of velocity
in circular motion remains constant but the direction changes continuously.
ANGULAR DISPLACEMENT

The angle swept by the radius vector at a given time is called the angular
displacement of the particle.

ANGULAR VELOCITY

The rate of change of angular displacement is called the angular velocity of

the particle.

ANGULAR ACCELERATION

If the angular velocity of the body performing rotatory motion is non-

uniform, then the body is said to possess angular acceleration. The rate of change
of angular velocity is called angular acceleration. The angular acceleration is
measured in terms of rad s−2 and its dimensional formula is T−2.

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

A harmonic oscillation of constant amplitude and single frequency is called

simple harmonic motion (SHM).
THE MOTION OF SATELLITES AROUND EARTH

The satellites revolve around the earth, making a circular or elliptical path
called the orbit.

The satellite orbiting the earth has a velocity and acceleration component
similar to an object moving on a circular path. While revolving around the earth,
satellites make a circular path.
 The tangent to this circular path gives the direction of the satellite’s velocity,
whereas acceleration is towards the centre of the circle.

Various forces act between the Earth and the satellite, making them orbit on
a circular path. The net force that acts in the inward direction of the circle makes
the satellite accelerate around the Earth.

The gravitational force that acts between the Earth and the satellite and
centripetal force are two main forces causing the motion of satellites around Earth.

If there is no centripetal force, satellites will keep moving at the same speed
and direction. In such a case, the satellite will move on a straight path, and there
will be no circular motion.

However, some satellites move along an elliptical orbit. In that case, unlike
the circular motion, the central body is positioned at foci of the ellipse.

As a result, the velocity component of the satellite acts along the tangent of
the ellipse. At the same time, the acceleration acts towards the focus.

As per Newton’s Second Law of Motion, the direction of the net force will
be towards the focus.

This is because, along with centripetal force and gravitational force, there
acts a force component either in the same or opposite direction.

This component of force changes the speed of the satellite. Hence, satellites
with elliptical motion do not have a constant speed.

To conclude, the satellites revolve around the Earth either in a circular or

elliptical orbit. The velocity with which satellites orbit around the Earth is known
to be orbital velocity. The orbital velocity balances the inertia and gravitational
force, thus making the satellite curve around the Earth.

Its distance from the Earth influences the motion of a satellite around it. At a
high altitude, that is, with a greater distance, the satellite remains in the path for a
longer period.

BANKING OF CURVED ROADS AND TRACKS

 When a car goes round a level curve, the force of friction between the tyres
and the road provides the necessary centripetal force. If the frictional force, which
acts as centripetal force and keeps the body moving along the circular road is not
enough to provide the necessary centripetal force, the car will skid. In order to
avoid skidding, while going round a curved path the outer edge of the road is
raised above the level of the inner edge. This is known as banking of curved roads
or tracks.

Bending of a cyclist round a curve

A cyclist has to bend slightly towards the centre of the circular track in order
to take a safe turn without slipping.

Viscosity

Viscosity is the property of the fluid by virtue of which it opposes relative

motion between its different layers. Both liquids and gases exhibit viscosity but
liquids are much more viscous than gases.
Wave Motion
 Wave motion is a mode of transmission of energy through a medium in the
form of a disturbance. It is due to the repeated periodic motion of the particles of
the medium about an equilibrium position transferring the energy from one particle
to another.

The waves are of three types - mechanical, electromagnetic and matter

waves.

Characteristics of wave motion

(i) Wave motion is a form of disturbance travelling in the medium due to the
periodic motion of the particles about their mean position.

(ii) It is necessary that the medium should possess elasticity and inertia.

(iii) All the particles of the medium do not receive the disturbance at the same
instant (i.e) each particle begins to vibrate a little later than its predecessor.

(iv) The wave velocity is different from the particle velocity. The velocity of a
wave is constant for a given medium, whereas the velocity of the particles goes on
changing and it becomes maximum in their mean position and zero in their
extreme positions.

(v) During the propagation of wave motion, there is transfer of energy from one
particle to another without any actual transfer of the particles of the medium.

(vi) The waves undergo reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference.

Types of oscillations

There are three main types of oscillations

(i) Free oscillations

When a body vibrates with its own natural frequency, it is said to execute
free oscillations. The frequency of oscillations depends on the inertial factor and
spring factor, which is given by,
Examples

(i) Vibrations of tuning fork

(ii) Vibrations in a stretched string
(iii) Oscillations of simple pendulum
(iv) Air blown gently across the mouth of a bottle.

Examples :

(i) The oscillations of a pendulum

(ii) Electromagnetic damping in galvanometer (oscillations of a coil in
galvanometer)
(iii) Electromagnetic oscillations in tank circuit

(iii) Forced oscillations

When a vibrating body is maintained in the state of vibration by a periodic

force of frequency (n) other than its natural frequency of the body, the vibrations
are called forced vibrations. The external force is driver and body is driven. The
body is forced to vibrate with an external periodic force. The amplitude of forced
vibration is determined by the difference between the frequencies of the driver and
the driven. The larger the frequency difference, smaller will be the amplitude of the
forced oscillations.

Examples :

(i) Sound boards of stringed instruments execute forced vibration,

(ii) Press the stem of vibrating tuning fork, against tabla. The table suffers
forced vibration.

Comparison between light and sound waves: