Sections
Section Summary
Section Summary
- A description of motion depends on the reference frame from which it is described.
- The distance an object moves is the length of the path along which it moves.
- Displacement is the difference in the initial and final positions of an object.
- Average speed is a scalar quantity that describes distance traveled divided by the time during which the motion occurs.
- Velocity is a vector quantity that describes the speed and direction of an object.
- Average velocity is displacement over the time period during which the displacement occurs. If the velocity is constant, then average velocity and instantaneous velocity are the same.
- Graphs can be used to analyze motion.
- The slope of a position vs. time graph is the velocity.
- For a straight line graph of position, the slope is the average velocity.
- To obtain the instantaneous velocity at a given moment for a curved graph, find the tangent line at that point and take its slope.
- The slope of a velocity vs. time graph is the acceleration.
- The area under a velocity vs. time curve is the displacement.
- Average velocity can be found in a velocity vs. time graph by taking the weighted average of all the velocities.