Speedvelocityacceleration PDF

Do Now
How would you describe how fast an

object is moving?
Speed, Velocity, and Acceleration
Goals:
• To investigate what is needed to describe
motion completely.
• To compare and contrast speed and

velocity.
• To learn about acceleration.

To describe motion accurately and completely, a frame of reference is needed.
An object is in motion if it changes
position relative to a reference point.
• Objects that we call stationary—such as a

tree, a sign, or a building—make good
reference points.
The passenger can use a tree as a reference point to decide if the

train is moving. A tree makes a good reference point because it is
stationary from the passenger’s point of view.
Describing Motion
Whether or not
an object is in
motion depends
on the reference
point you choose.
Distance
When an object moves, it goes from point
A to point B – that is the DISTANCE it
traveled. (SI unit is the meter)
B A
Displacement
Knowing how far something moves is not sufficient. You
must also know in what direction the object moved.
V
A quantity
that has
E
magnitude
and
C
direction T
is called
a… O
R
Speed
Calculating Speed: If you know the distance an
object travels in a certain amount of time, you
can calculate the speed of the object.
What is
instantaneous
speed?
Speed = Distance/time Average speed = Total distance/Total time

Velocity
Velocity is a description of an object’s
speed and direction. It is a vector.
As the sailboat’s direction

changes, its velocity also
changes, even if its speed stays
the same. If the sailboat slows
down at the same time that it
changes direction, how will its
velocity be changed?
Speed v. Velocity
1. How are speed and velocity similar?
They both measure how fast something is moving
2. How are speed and velocity different?

Velocity includes the direction of motion and
speed does not (the car is moving 5mph East)
7. Is velocity more like distance or

displacement? Why?
Displacement, because both are vectors which
include an amount and a direction.
Graphing Speed
D
I
S
Speed
T increasing
Object begins moving at
a different speed
A
N
Object is
C stopped
E
TIME
The steepness of a line on a graph is called
slope.
• The steeper the slope is, the greater the

speed.
• A constant slope represents motion at
constant speed.
Using the points shown, the rise is

400 meters and the run is 2 minutes.
To find the slope, you divide
400 meters by 2 minutes. The slope is
200 meters per minute.
Do Now:
Set up formula triangles to find

speed and velocity
Acceleration
Acceleration is the rate at which velocity
changes.
Acceleration can result from a change in

speed (increase or decrease), a change
in direction (back, forth, up, down left,
right), or changes in both. Like velocity,
acceleration is a vector.
• The pitcher throws. The ball speeds toward the
batter. Off the bat it goes. It’s going, going, gone! A
home run!
• Before landing, the ball went through several changes
in motion. It sped up in the pitcher’s hand, and lost
speed as it traveled toward the batter. The ball
stopped when it hit the bat, changed direction, sped
up again, and eventually slowed down. Most examples
of motion involve similar changes. In fact, rarely does
any object’s motion stay the same for very long.
Understanding Acceleration
1. As the ball falls from the girl’s hand, how does its
speed change?
2. What happens to the speed of
the ball as it rises from the ground
back to her hand?
3. At what point does the ball

have zero velocity?
4. How does the velocity

of the ball change when
it bounces on the floor?
You can feel acceleration!
If you’re moving at 500mph
east without turbulence,
there is no acceleration.
But if the plane hits an air pocket and drops 500 feet
in 2 seconds, there is a large change in acceleration and
you will feel that!
It does not matter whether you speed up or

slow down; it is still considered a change in
acceleration.
In science, acceleration refers to increasing speed,
decreasing speed, or changing direction.
• A car that begins to move from a stopped position or speeds
up to pass another car is accelerating.
• A car decelerates when it stops at a red light. A water skier

decelerates when the boat stops pulling.
Calculating Acceleration
Acceleration = Change in velocity
Total time
Change in velocity = final velocity-initial velocity

OR..
= final speed-initial speed
So…Acceleration = (Final speed – Initial speed)

Time
As a roller-coaster car starts down a slope, its
speed is 4 m/s. But 3 seconds later, at the
bottom, its speed is 22 m/s. What is its
average acceleration?
What information have you

been given?
Initial speed = 4 m/s
Final Speed = 22 m/s
Time = 3 s
What quantity are you trying to calculate?
The average acceleration of the roller-coaster car.
What formula contains the given quantities and the

unknown quantity?
Acceleration = (Final speed – Initial speed)/Time

Perform the calculation.
Acceleration = (22 m/s – 4 m/s)/3 s = 18 m/s/3 s

Acceleration = 6 m/s2
The roller-coaster car’s average acceleration is 6 m/s2.

Graphing acceleration
S
P
Object
E accele-
rates Object decelerates
E
D Object moves
at constant
speed
Time
The slanted, straight line on this speed-versus-time graph tells you that
the cyclist is accelerating at a constant rate. The slope of a speed-
versus-time graph tells you the object’s acceleration. Predicting How
would the slope of the graph change if the cyclist were accelerating at a
greater rate? At a lesser rate?
Since the slope is increasing, you can conclude that the
speed is also increasing. You are accelerating.
Distance-Versus-
Time Graph The
curved line on this
distance-versus-time
graph tells you that
the cyclist is
accelerating.

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Do Now

How would you describe how fast an

• To compare and contrast speed and

• To learn about acceleration.

• Objects that we call stationary—such as a

The passenger can use a tree as a reference point to decide if the

Speed = Distance/time Average speed = Total distance/Total time

As the sailboat’s direction

2. How are speed and velocity different?

7. Is velocity more like distance or

• The steeper the slope is, the greater the

Using the points shown, the rise is

Set up formula triangles to find

Acceleration can result from a change in

3. At what point does the ball

4. How does the velocity

It does not matter whether you speed up or

• A car decelerates when it stops at a red light. A water skier

Change in velocity = final velocity-initial velocity

So…Acceleration = (Final speed – Initial speed)

What information have you

What formula contains the given quantities and the

Acceleration = (Final speed – Initial speed)/Time

Acceleration = (22 m/s – 4 m/s)/3 s = 18 m/s/3 s

The roller-coaster car’s average acceleration is 6 m/s2.

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