LESSON 7.

3
Motion Graphs
Main Idea:
The motion graphs of different types
of motion vary from one another.
Essential Question:
How different are my motion graphs
from the motion graphs of others?
Commonly used graphs in analyzing
motion:

1. Displacement-time graph
It allows the determination of average
velocity and instantaneous velocity.
Commonly used graphs in analyzing
motion:

2. Velocity-time graph
It helps in the analysis of acceleration
and displacement.
Uniform Motion
For uniform motions, acceleration is
zero and velocity is constant.

From the 1st kinematic equation of

motion, the displacement and time are
related by
d=vt
Uniform Motion

The previous equation has the same

form as that of the equation of a line,
y = mx + b, where m is the slope and b
is the y-intercept.
Uniform Motion

If displacement (d) is plotted against

time (t) as shows in figure 7-7(a), the
graph must be a straight line with a
slope equal to average velocity ( v )
and y-intercept equal to zero.
Uniform Motion

displacement

time
Uniform Motion
Since the velocity is constant, the average
velocity is also equal to the instantaneous
velocity.

The graph of velocity versus time must be a

horizontal line as shown if figure 7-7(b). The
displacement may be obtained by computing
the area bounded by the horizontal line and the
time axis.
Uniform Motion

velocity

area = displacement

time
Uniformly Accelerated Motion

The kinematic equation that relates

displacement with time.

d = v0t + 1 at2 (Eq. 4)

2
Uniformly Accelerated Motion

The form of this equation is similar to that of

the general equation of a parabola passing
through the origin.

Therefore, the graph of displacement-versus

time is a parabola from which instantaneous
velocities may be determined using the tangent
technique.
Uniformly Accelerated Motion

In figure 7-8, a line is drawn tangent to the

graph at a particular time.

A tangent line is a straight line that touches a

curve at a single point but does not cross the
curve at that point.
Uniform Motion

displacement

time
Uniformly Accelerated Motion

The slope of this tangent line is the slope of the

curve at that point and is equal to the
instantaneous velocity.

The average velocity is the slope of the straight

line joining the two points on the curve
corresponding to the start and the end of the
time interval under consideration.
Uniform Motion

velocity

v0

time
Uniformly Accelerated Motion
The relation between velocity and time is
v = v0 + at. This equation also has the same
form as that of a line.

Hence, the graph of velocity versus time is a

straight line with a slope equal to acceleration
and a y-intercept equal to v0. If v0 is zero, then
the line must pass through the origin.
Negative Slope

The are times that the slope (and therefore the

velocity) of a displacement-time graph, or of a
velocity-time graph (and therefore
acceleration), is negative. What does a
negative slope mean?
Negative Slope
Suppose a male student plans to stroll along a
straight road. He has two choices of direction
to move. Considering his starting position as
the origin, he can move either to the left or to
the right.

His movement to the left of the origin is

designated as the negative direction, and his
movement to the right as the positive direction.
Negative Slope
A positive slope representing either velocity or
acceleration means that the velocity or
acceleration is directed to the right of the
origin.

A negative slope means that the velocity or the

acceleration is directed to the left of the origin.
Negative Slope

Thus, negative acceleration means

acceleration in negative direction. Whenever
velocity and acceleration are oppositely
directed (and therefore have opposite signs),
the body is slowing down and is said to be
decelerating.
Self-check:

What is the difference between negative

acceleration and deceleration?