What are the equations of linear motion?

Question

I'm a high schooler in a college Physics class for the summer. My teacher wants us to write a 1.5 page essay; half a page single-spaced has to be about equations of linear motion.

I don't exactly know what the "equations of linear motion" are. Can somebody explain to me please? And can anybody give me ideas on what to write about? Thanks. 5 for best answer.

Answer 1

Gawd - I remember writing them out 100 times each to remember them for my physics test. That was 2 decades ago! Let's see ...


You assume your particle is going to move in a straight line. In physics class we had a little metal track and an air glider slid along it bouyed up by air blown from tiny holes (to reduce friction)

s is position
u is initial velocity
v is terminal velocity
a is acceleration
t is time

s = ut + 1/2 a t^2
s = vt - 1/2 a t^2

...

ah - here they are. They are called "suvat" equations... after the famous physicist Suvat, of course (actually because of the s - u - v - a and t used)


see wikipedia again

Answer 2

s=ut+(1/2)*at
v^2=u^2+2as
s=((u+v)/2)*t
these are for constant acceleration