Equations of Motion

This lesson covers the SUVAT equations, applying them to problems, and free fall under gravity, as required by the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science specification (1SC0). These equations allow you to solve any problem involving uniform acceleration.

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The Two Key Equations

At GCSE Combined Science level, you need to use two main equations of motion (sometimes called the SUVAT equations):

Equation 1

$v = u + at$v=u+at

This relates final velocity to initial velocity, acceleration and time.

Equation 2

$v^2 = u^2 + 2as$v2=u2+2as

This relates final velocity to initial velocity, acceleration and distance — useful when time is not given.

Variables

Symbol	Meaning	SI Unit
s	displacement (distance)	m
u	initial velocity	m/s
v	final velocity	m/s
a	acceleration	m/s²
t	time	s