Addis Ababa Science and Technology University

College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Worksheet – II, Kinematics of Particles
1. A particle moves along a straight line such that its acceleration is a= (4t2-2) m/s2 where t is in
seconds, when t = 0, the particle is located 2m to the left of the origin, and when t = 2s, it is
20m to the left of the origin. Determine the position of the particle when t = 4s.

2. The position of a particle is given by s=2t3-40t2+200t-50, where s is in meters and t is in

seconds. Plot the position, velocity, and acceleration as functions of time for the first 12
seconds of motion. Determine the time at which the velocity is zero.
3. A freight train travels at v= 60(1-e-t) ft/s, where t is the elapsed time in seconds. Determine the
distance traveled in three seconds, and the acceleration at this time.

4. Car A starts from rest at t = 0 and travels along a straight road with a constant acceleration of
6 ft/s2 until it reaches a speed of 80 ft/s. Afterwards it maintains this speed. Also, when t =
0, car B located 6000 ft down the road is traveling towards A at a constant speed of 60 ft/s.
Determine the distance traveled by car A when they pass each other.

5. A particle travels in a straight line such for a short time 2s < t < 6 s its motion is described by
v= (4/a) ft/s, where a is in ft/s2. If v= 6 ft/s when t= 2 s, determine the particle’s acceleration
when t= 3 s.

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6. The position of a particle which moves along a straight line is defined by the relation, 𝐱 = 𝐭 𝟑 −
𝟔𝐭 𝟐 − 𝟏𝟓𝐭 + 𝟒𝟎 where x is expressed in feet and t in seconds. Determine
(a) The time at which the velocity will be zero,
(b) The position and distance traveled by the particle at that time
(c) The distance traveled by the particle from t = 4s to t = 6s.
7. A particle moving along the positive x-direction with an initial velocity of 12m/s is subjected to
a retarding force that gives it a negative acceleration which varies linearly with time for the first
4 seconds as shown. For the next 5 seconds the force is constant and the acceleration remains
constant. Plot the v-t graph during the 9 seconds and specify its value at t=4s. Also find the
distance s traveled by the particle from its position at t=0 to the point where it reverses its
direction.

8. The v-s graph describing the motion of a motorcycle is shown in figure below. Construct the a-
s graph of the motion and determine the time needed for the motorcycle to reach the position
s=400ft.

9. The particle travels along a straight track such that its position is described by the s-t graph.
Construct the v-t graph for the same time interval.
10. The dragster starts from rest and has an acceleration described by the graph. Construct the v-
t graph for the time interval 0 ≤ 𝑡 ≤ 𝑡 ′ ,where 𝑡 ′ is the time for the car to come to rest

11. A motorcycle starts from rest at s=0 and travels along a straight road with the speed shown by
the v-t graph. Determine the motorcycle’s acceleration and position when t=8s and t=12s.

12. The cart impacts the safety barrier with speed Vo=3.25m/s and is brought to a stop by the nest
of nonlinear springs which provide a deceleration a=-k1x-k2x3, where x is the amount of spring
deflection from the undeformed position and k1 and k2 are positive constants. If the maximum
spring deflection is 475mm and the velocity at half-maximum deflection is 2.85m/s, determine
the values and corresponding units for constants k1 and k2

13. The particle P moves along the curved slot, a portion of which is shown. Its distance in meters
measured along the slot is given by 𝒔 = 𝟐𝒕𝟐 + 𝟓𝒕 − 𝟏 , where t is in seconds. The particle is at
A, when t = 3.00s and at B when t = 3.5s. Determine

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 A. The magnitude of the average acceleration of P between A and B
B. Express the average acceleration of P between A and B in vector form
C. The angle between vector velocity at point A and average acceleration of P between A
and B.

14. A motorcyclist starting from rest travels along a straight road and for 10 s has acceleration
as shown. Draw the v-t graph that describes the motion and find the distance traveled in 10s.

15. For a certain interval of motion, the pin A is forced to move in the fixed parabolic slot by the
horizontal slotted arm which is elevated in the y-direction at the constant rate 0f 30mm/s. all
measurements are in mm and seconds. Calculate the velocity v and acceleration a of pin A
when x=60mm
16. The particle P starts from rest at point A at time t=0 and changes its speed thereafter at a
constant rate of 2g as it follows the horizontal path shown. Determine the magnitude and
direction of its total acceleration
a) Just before it passes point B.
b) Just after it passes point B, and
c) As it passes point c.
State your directions relative to the x-axis shown (CCW Positive)

17. Determine the minimum initial velocity v0 and the Corresponding angle Ѳ at which the ball must be
kicked in order for it to just crossover the 3-m high fence

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18. When a train is traveling along a straight track at 2m/s, it begins to accelerate at a= (50v-3)
m/s2, where v is in m/s. Determine its velocity v and position 4s after the acceleration.
19. A golf ball is driven from a point A with a speed of 40 m/s at an angle of elevation of 30°. On its
downward flight, the ball hits an advertising hoarding at a height 15.1 m above the level of A, as
shown in the diagram below. Find
A. The time taken by the ball to reach its greatest height above A,
B. The time taken by the ball to travel from A to B,
C. The speed with which the ball hits the hoarding.

20. A stone is thrown from a point A with speed 30 m/s at an angle of 15° below the horizontal. The
point A is 14m above horizontal ground. The stone strikes the ground at the point B, as shown
in the figure below. Find: The time the stone takes to travel from A to B, and the distance AB.
21. A ball in struck by a racket at a point A which is 2 m above horizontal ground. Immediately after
being struck, the ball has velocity (5i +8j) m/s, where i and j are unit vectors horizontally
and vertically respectively. After being struck, the ball travels freely under gravity until it strikes
the ground at the point B, as shown in the diagram below. Find
A .The greatest height above the ground reached by the ball,
B. The speed of the ball as it reaches B,
C. The angle the velocity of the ball makes with the ground as the ball reaches B.

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22. If the car decelerates uniformly along the curved road from 25 m/s at A to 15 m/s at C,
determine the acceleration of the car at B the distance from A to B 250m and B to C is 50m.

23. The car is traveling at a speed of 30 m/s. The driver applies the brakes at A and thereby reduces
the speed at the rate of at = (-0.125t ) m/s2 , where t is in seconds. Determine the acceleration
of the car just before it reaches point C on the circular curve. It takes 15 s for the carto travel from
A to C.

24. At the instant shown, cars A and B travel at speeds of 70 mi/h and 50 mi/h, respectively.
If B is decreasing its speed at 1400mi/h while A is increasing its speed at 800 mi/h, determine
the acceleration of B with respect to A. Car B moves along a curve having a radius of curvature
of 0.7 mi.
25. Car A negotiates a curve of 60-m radius at a constant speed of 50 km/h. when A passes
the position shown, car B is 30 m from the intersection and is accelerating south toward the
intersection at the rate of 1.5 m/s2. Determine the acceleration which A appears to have when
observed by an occupant of B at this instant.

26. Car A is traveling at the constant speed of 60 km/h as it rounds the circular curve of 300-m
radius and at the instant represented is at the position θ = 450. Car B is traveling at the constant
speed of 80 km/h and passes the center of the circle at this same instant. Car A is located with
respect to car B by polar coordinates r and θ with the pole moving with B. for this instant
determine VA/B and the values of r and θ as measured by an observer in car B.

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27. Pin P at the end of the telescoping rod in Fig. (a) Slides along the fixed parabolic path y2 =
40x, where x and y are measured in millimeters. The y coordinate of P varies with time t
(measured in seconds) according to 𝒚 = 𝟒𝒕𝟐+6t mm. When y = 30 mm, compute (1) the
velocity vector of P; and (2) the acceleration vector of P.

28. At the bottom of a loop in the vertical (r- θ) plane at an altitude of 100m, the airplane P has a
horizontal velocity of 600km/h and no horizontal acceleration. The radius of curvature of the
loop is 1200m. For the radar tracking at O, determine the recorded values of r and Ѳ for this
instant.

29. The boats A and B travel with constant speeds of VA =15 m/s and VB = 10 m/s when they leave
the pier at o at the same time. Determine the distance between them when t = 4 s.
30. The water sprinkler is rotating with an angular speed θ̇ = 114.6 deg/sec and an angular
acceleration θ̈ = 172 deg⁄sec 2 . If the nozzle lies in the vertical plane and water is flowing
through it at a constant rate of 3 m/s, determine the magnitude of the velocity and acceleration
of water particle as it exits the open end , r =20cm.

31. If motors at A and B draw in their attached cables with an acceleration of a = (0.2t) m/s2 where
t is in seconds, determine the speed of the block when it reaches a height of h = 4 m, starting
from rest at h = 0 . Also, how much time does it take to reach this height?

32. Determine the speed of car A if point P on the cable has a speed of 4 m/s when the motor M
winds the cable in.

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