SVKM J.V.

PAREKH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Grade: VII Div: ____ Subject: PHYSICS Topic: Speed study material

Name of the Student: Roll No:

Physical Quantity- Anything that can be measured are called Physical quantity.
Eg.- Distance, Displacement,Speed,Time,Acceleration,Velocity,Temperature,Momentum etc.

Scalar and Vector quantities

Scalar Quantity

A scalar quantity is a quantity which has magnitude (size) but no specific direction. It is
completely described by a numerical value and an appropriate unit. Examples of scalar
quantities are mass (e.g. 500 kg), Time, Area, Volume and temperature (e.g. 100°C) etc.

Scalar quantities change when the magnitude (size) changes.

Vector Quantity

A vector quantity is a quantity which has both magnitude (size) and a specific direction. Force
is an example of a vector quantity because it is only completely defined by stating the size of
the force and the direction in which it acts.
Examples: Acceleration, Velocity, Momentum and Impulse

Vector quantities change when their:

 Magnitude (size) changes
 Direction changes
 Magnitude (size) and direction changes.

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 SCALAR QUANTITY VECTOR QUANTITY
magnitude (size) only magnitude (size) and a specific direction

Displacement
Distance
Displacement is the distance travelled in a
Distance is a measure of how far an object
particular direction from a specified point,
moves, e.g. 100 meters.
e.g. 100 meters south east.

Speed Velocity
Speed is a measure of how fast an object Velocity is the speed in a stated direction,
is moving, e.g. 100 km/h e.g. 100 km/h south east.

Weight
Mass
Weight is the force by which the earth
Mass is a measure of the amount of
attracts a body towards its centre, e.g.
matter in an object, e.g. 100 kg.
10,000 Newtons.

Acceleration
Acceleration is the rate of change of
velocity in a stated direction, e.g. 3 m/s 2 to
the left.

Energy Force
Energy is the ability to do work. This only Force is a push or a pull in a particular
requires a numerical value with its unit to direction, e.g. a frictional force of 10 N to
define it. For example, the electric kettle the right tells us it is in the opposite
transferred 2000 Joules of energy. direction to the motion of an object.

Momentum
Momentum is the product of mass and
velocity; and the direction of the
momentum is stated by the direction given
by the velocity.

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Distance and Displacement

Distance

Distance is a measure of how far an object moves. It is a scalar quantity and only requires the
magnitude (size) along with an appropriate unit to describe it.

If someone was asked how far their house was from school and they answered, “2” it would
not be a complete answer. The follow up question would be, “2 what?” If they then answer,
“2km” only then is a full description of the magnitude of the distance from their house to
school is given. Thus, distance is a scalar quantity meaning it can be fully described by the
magnitude and appropriate unit.

Displacement

Displacement is the distance travelled in a particular direction from a specified point. It

includes both the distance an object moves, measured in a straight line from the start point
to the finish point and the direction of that straight line. It is a vector quantity as it has both
magnitude (size) and direction.

Following on from the example given in the distance section, if the person was asked, “How
do you get from your house to school?” and they replied, “walk 2km” the answer would be
incomplete. The follow up question would be, “In which direction?” Only by answering with,
“Walk 2km due east” is a complete description given.

Example

Hannah leaves her house to go to the library. She walks 400m east along East Street and then
300m north along North Street to reach the library.

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Distance:
The distance is how far Hannah has moved (blue lines).
Distance = 400m + 300m = 700m

Displacement:
Displacement is the distance travelled in a particular direction from a specified point (red
line).
It can be measured using a ruler if the map is to scale.
displacement = 500m north east

Speed

Speed is defined as a measure of the distance an object travels in a given length of time.
The speed of an object can be determined from the equation below:

Speed = Distance travelled (meters)

Time taken (sec)

OR
v=d
t

Note: the symbol v can be used to denote speed or velocity, here it is used for speed.
Typically, the unit for speed is given as metres per second (m/s). However, other units such
as kilometres per hour for large distances and centimetres per second (cm/s) for small
distances can be used.

Rearranging the equation

The equation for speed can be rearranged to give two other useful equations:

Distance travelled = Speed x Time taken

And,

Time taken = Distance travelled

Speed
Using the equation in the distance travelled (d) = Speed (v) x Time taken (t), we can put it in
an equation triangle.

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Average Speed-

The equation for average speed is the same as that given for speed above:

Average speed = Total Distance travelled (meters)

Total Time taken (seconds)
Thus, if a car travels 100 meters in 5 seconds, its average speed can be calculated as:

Average speed = 100/5 = 20 meters per second

Velocity

Velocity is defined as a measure of the distance an object travels in a stated direction in a

given length of time.

Thus velocity is speed in a stated direction. Velocity is referred to as a vector quantity

because it possesses both size and direction, the size being speed.

Where speed only tells us how fast or slow an object is moving, it gives no reference of
direction, velocity is used as a more complete measure as it not only gives speed but also the
direction.

Two cars could be travelling with the same speed of 100 km/h on a motorway. However, by
stating one car is travelling 100 km/h north and the other 100 km/h south, do we realise they
are travelling in opposite directions, thus the velocity gives a better indication of the motion.

The velocity of an object can be determined from the equation below:

Velocity = Distance travelled in a given direction

(meters)
Time taken (seconds)

Velocity= Displacement (meters)

Time taken (seconds)

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 How speedometer works

Speedometer:

Fig. Speedometer

Speedometer used a flexible shaft, driven by one wheel. This shaft spins with a speed
proportional to the speed of the car. It drives a magnet which spins in a metallic cylinder.
The magnetism tries to move the cylinder with it, but the cylinder is held back by a spiral
spring. So, the faster the car runs, the faster the magnet spins and the bigger the magnetic
force applied to the cylinder turns the cylinder against the resistance of the spring. The
indicator of the speedometer is directly attached to the cylinder, sometimes you can see the
spring through the hole in the scale.

Modern electronic speedometers work with sensors, which count the revolution of the
wheels. One can see that very easily when you look at a bicycle computer. It has a sensor at
the fork, which is a magnetic switch. It switches on, as soon as a magnet comes near it. The
referring magnet is clipped onto the spokes.

Watch video on You tube on https://youtu.be/3_vfyt6-2Ic

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The speed trap gun or Radar gun-:

U.S. Army soldier uses a radar speed gun to catch speeding violators at Tallil Air Base, Iraq.

Working-peed guns use Doppler radar to perform speed measurements.

Radar speed guns, like other types of radar, consist of a radio transmitter and receiver. They
send out a radio signal in a narrow beam, then receive the same signal back after it bounces
off the target object. Due to a phenomenon called the Doppler effect, if the object is moving
toward or away from the gun, the frequency of the reflected radio waves when they come
back is different from the transmitted waves. When the object is approaching the radar, the
frequency of the return waves is higher than the transmitted waves; when the object is
moving away, the frequency is lower. From that difference, the radar speed gun can calculate
the speed of the object from which the waves have been bounced. This speed is given by the
following equation:

∆𝒇 𝒄
. =𝒗
𝒇 𝟐
where c is the speed of light, f is the emitted frequency of the radio waves and Δf is the
difference in frequency between the radio waves that are emitted and those received back
by the gun. This equation holds precisely only when object speeds are low compared to that
of light, but in everyday situations, this is the case and the velocity of an object is directly
proportional to this difference in frequency.

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 The Stop Watch-Equipment:

It reads up to 0.01 s

How to use: As the time event occurs, the stopwatch is started at the same time. At the end
of the event, the stopwatch is stopped and the end time is noted. The reading provides the
required time interval. Some precise stopwatches are connected electronically to the time
event and hence, more accurate.

Accuracy: ± 0.1 s. (Allowance made to human reaction time limits the accuracy of the
stopwatch to 0.1 – 0.4 s for laboratory experiments. Records that show up to 2 decimal
places are not appropriate.)

Light gate

An optical device used to measure time, speed and acceleration,

Operation

A light gate usually consists of an optical transmitter and receiver

mounted in a frame with a gap between the two. Essentially it is a
switch that reacts when something passes between the transmitter
and receiver, breaking the light beam.

The transmitter is usually a tiny infrared diode which emits an

invisible beam of light which is then detected by the receiver. When
used in conjunction with a datalogger they can measure the time a
moving object takes to pass between them, allowing speed to be determined.

If two sets of light gates are used, the acceleration of a moving object can be measured by
calculating the difference in time taken to move between the two sets.

If used with a datalogger it is important to make sure they are compatible. Usually the manual
that comes with the datalogger specifies the types of light gates that can be used with it. If in
doubt, post your question on our forum or ask your supplier.

Stand-alone units are available which essentially act as a switch. They often can be set to
'make' or 'break' the switch when the beam is broken. (open or close the switch) enabling
speed and acceleration to be manually calculated when a datalogger is not available.

Light gates are used because of their accuracy. They can be set to react very quickly when
the beam is broken which eliminates human reaction time errors .

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Distance time graph solved example:

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