Kinematic Equations for Linear Motion
(For constant acceleration ONLY)
** To select the appropriate equation to solve a particular problem:
1) List what quantities are given - (will be 3)
2) List what is being asked for - (will be 1).
3) Find the equation in the table that contains all 4 involved quantities.
Involved
Quantities
Unneeded
Quantity
vi , v f , a, t
∆x
2) v f = vi + 2a∆x
∆x, v f , vi , a
t
1
3) ∆x = vi t + at 2
2
∆x, vi , a, t
vf
1
4) ∆x = (v f + vi )t
2
∆x, v f , vi , t
a
1
5) ∆x = v f t − at 2
2
∆x, v f , a, t
vi
Equation
1) v f = vi + at
2
2
** ∆x = ( x f − xi )
** These equations work for motion in ANY one direction
** If ∆x also represents the total distance in only 1 direction, you can
replace ∆x with d (for distance) and then think of vf and vi in
terms of speed rather than velocity