Cambridge O Level Additional Mathematics · Syllabus 4037 · Calculus
Rectilinear Motion
What is Rectilinear Motion?
Motion of a particle along a straight line, described by three signed quantities that are linked by calculus. Displacement is the particle's position relative to a fixed origin, velocity is the rate of change of displacement with respect to time, and acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with respect to time and therefore the second derivative of displacement. Reversing the chain, velocity is the integral of acceleration and displacement is the integral of velocity, with each constant of integration determined by an initial condition. Distance travelled and speed are the unsigned counterparts of displacement and velocity, and they differ from them whenever the particle changes direction.
This definition is part of the Calculus chapter in Cambridge O Level Additional Mathematics.