Describing Motion

Distance, Displacement, Spee
d, and Velocity
 Physics Introduction
The motion of objects can be described by words. Even a person
without a background in physics has a collection of words that can
be used to describe moving objects. Words and phrases such as
going fast, stopped, slowing down, speeding up, and turning
provide a sufficient vocabulary for describing the motion of
objects. In physics, we use these words and many more. We will
be expanding upon this vocabulary list with words such as (but not
limited to) distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and
acceleration.
 Some Physics Quantities
Vector - quantity with both magnitude (size or numerical
value) and direction
Scalar - quantity with magnitude (size or numerical
value) only
Vectors: Scalars:
• Displacement • Distance
• Velocity • Speed
• Acceleration • Time

• Momentum • Mass
• Force • Energy
 Vectors

 Often represented by arrows.

 Length of the arrow represents the magnitude (how
far, how fast, how strong, etc. depending on the type
of vector)
Do you know the difference?
Quantity Category

5m Scalar
30 m/sec, East Vector
5 mi., North Vector
20 degrees Celsius Scalar
256 bytes Scalar
4000 Calories Scalar
Kinematics

The study of motion of an object without regard

to the causes of the motion.
 Reference Frame
 1 minute!!! Discuss with the person next to you: Is
the speed of the ball different relative to the pitcher,
the truck driver, and the jet pilot? Why or why not?
Chapter 1: Lesson 1
Reference Point and Position
 To locate an object we need a reference point
 Reference Point – the origin – the starting point
you choose to describe the position of an object.
 We also then need to consider where the
object is relative to the origin – the position of
the object.
 Position (x) – where you are located
 A complete description of position
includes:
•Distance
•Direction
•Reference Point
 Position

 The object’s position is

its location with respect
to a chosen reference
point.
 Consider the point to be
the origin of a coordinate
system.
 In the diagram, allow
the road sign to be the
reference point.
 Distance
 Distance (d) – how far an object travels.
 Does not depend on direction.
 Scalar or vector quantity? Scalar

 Imagine an ant crawling along a ruler.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
cm

 What distance did the ant travel?

d = 3 cm
 Distance
 Distance does not depend on direction.
 Here’s our intrepid ant explorer again.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
cm

 Now what distance did the ant travel?

 d = 3 cm
 Does his direction change the answer?
 Distance
 Distance does not depend on direction.
 Let’s follow the ant again.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
cm

 What distance did the ant walk this time?

 d = 7 cm
 Displacement
 Displacement (x) – where you are in relation to
where you started.
 Does depend on direction. Vector Quantity
 Displacement = final position – initial position
 Examples of directions:
 + and –
 N, S, E, W
 Angles
 Displacement
 Let’s revisit our ant, and this time we’ll find
his displacement.
- +

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
cm

 Distance: 3 cm
 Displacement: +3 cm
 The positive gives the ant a direction!
 Displacement
 Find the ant’s displacement again.
 Remember, displacement has direction!

- +

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
cm

 Distance: 3 cm
 Displacement: -3 cm
 Displacement
 Find the distance and displacement of the
ant.
- +

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
cm

 Distance: 7 cm
 Displacement: +3 cm
 Displacement vs. Distance
 Example of distance:
 The ant walked 3 cm.
 Example of displacement:
 The ant walked 3 cm EAST.
 An object’s distance traveled and its
displacement aren’t always the same!
 Distance vs. Displacement
 You drive the path, and your odometer goes up
by 8 miles (your distance).
 Your displacement is the shorter directed
distance from start to stop (green arrow).

start

stop
 Motion in Dimensions
 1 dimension  2 dimension
 Distance/length is  Distance/length is
measured in ONE measured in TWO
direction (left to right dimensions (north and
OR north to south) east OR south and
west)
 Practice Problem 1
 An athlete runs around a track that is 100 meters
long three times, then stops.
 What is the athlete’s distance and displacement?

 Distance = 300 m
 Displacement = 0 m
 Why?
 Practice Problem 2
 A whale swims due east (from 0km) a
distance of 5km, turns around and goes
due west for 2km and finally turns around
again and heads 4km due east.
 What is the total distance traveled?

 What is the displacement?

 Practice Problem 3

Motion Distance Displacement

Traveled X
An object moves from point 1 to point 4
then reverses and ends at point 2
An object moves from point 1 to point 5
then reverses to point 2
An object moves from point 1 to point 3
then reverses to 0
An object moves from point 3 to point 5
and then reverses to point 1
An object moves from point 2 to point 4
and reverses to point 2
 Practice Problem 4
 Janice drives her scooter 7 kilometres north.
She stops for lunch and then drives 5
kilometres east. What distance did she cover?
What was her displacement?
 Practice Problem 5
 David walks 3 km north, then turns and
walks 4 km east. Express your answer in
kilometers
Practice Problem 5
Answer Key
 Rates
 A rate measures how fast something
changes.
 In physics, a rate is almost always
calculated as a quantity divided by time.
 Speed, Velocity and Acceleration
 Speed
 Speed (s) – Rate at which an object
moves
 speed = distance / time
 s = d/t
 Units: m/s OR km/h
 Like distance, speed does not depend on
direction.
 Scalar or Vector? Scalar
 Types of Speed
 Constant speed - Speed that does not change (same
distance is travelled the same amount of time)

 Instantaneous speed – Speed at a given instant in time

(what the speedometer says)
When completing a formula you
MUST show all your work!
 Step 1 – write formula
 Step 2 – plug in the information you are
given
 Step 3 – solve
 Step 4 – add your units (and direction if
needed)
 Practice
 A car drives 100 meters in 5 seconds.
1s
2
3
4
5
100 m

What is the car’s speed?

s = d/t
 s = (100 m) / (5 s) = 20 m/s
 Practice
 A hydroplane boat, made speed records
by traveling 239 miles in 0.75 hours (45
minutes). What is it’s record breaking
speed?

d/t 239 miles/ 0.75 hr

 Average Speed
 Average speed - Total distance traveled
divided by total time traveled.
 Practice Problem: Average
Speed
 Melissa shot a model rocket 360 m into the air. It took
the rocket 4s to fly that far. What was the average
speed of the rocket?
 Practice Problem: Average
Speed
 If Jessica ran 5 meters the first second, eight meters the
next second, and 8 meters the third second to her
house. What was her average speed?
 Can I determine time given
distance and speed? How?
 A rocket is traveling at 10 km/s. How long does it
take the rocket to travel 30 km?
Can I determine distance given
time and speed? How?
 A racecar is traveling at 85.0 m/s. How far
does the car travel in 30.0 s?
Calculating Speed, Distance or
Time
 If you know any two of the variables, you
can calculate the missing variable.
Is their speed the same? Is their
velocity the same?
 Velocity
 Velocity (v) – measure of speed in a given
direction.
 velocity = x / time, w/ direction
 Scalar or Vector? Vector
 The velocity of an object can change if:

•It speeds up
•It slows down
•It changes direction
 Velocity Practice
 What is the velocity of a car that traveled a
total of 75 kilometers in 1.5 hours from
Florida to New Jersey?
 Speed Vs Velocity

An object is moving in a circle at a constant speed of 10 m s-1.

We say that it has a constant speed but its velocity is
changing. Why?

Direction of Motion

The direction of the object keeps changing.

 Average Velocity
 Displacement in a given amount of time.
 Average Velocity = total displacement
total time
 Average Velocity Practice
 A man walks 7km in 2 hours West and 2
km in 1 hour back toward the East.
 What is the man’s average velocity?

 What is the man’s average speed?

 Average Speed and Velocity
Practice
 A teacher walks back and forth in front of the room during a lesson. She
starts at one end of the desk and walks from the door to the windows, a
distance of 4.0m in 5 s. She then stops, turn around and walks 2.0 m back
toward the door in 3 s. She stops here for 10 s and then walks 3 meters
toward the door in 6 s.
 What is the average speed of the teacher?
 What was the average velocity of the teacher?
 Average Velocity Practice
 You drive your truck south for 5.2 miles in 10 minutes, at which point you run
out of fuel. You walk 1.2 miles further to the nearest gas station in 30
minutes. What is your average velocity?
 Pulling It All Together
 Back to our ant explorer!
1s
2
3
4
5 - +

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
cm

 Distance traveled: 7 cm
 Displacement: +3 cm
 Average speed: (7 cm) / (5 s) = 1.4 cm/s
 Average velocity: (+3 cm) / (5 s) = +0.6 cm/s
 Distance vs. Time Graph
Important Graphing Information
1. Draw your axes
2. Label your axes
3. Choose your intervals
4. Choose appropriate spacing
between intervals.
5. Plot your data
6. Draw a line best fit
7. Give your graph a title
 Graphs show relationships
 A good way to show a Distance
relationship between two
variables is to use a
graph.

Distance
 A graph makes it easy to
see if changes in one
variable cause changes
in the other variable (the
effect).
 The distance vs. time graph
Distance  To graph data, you
put time on the
horizontal (x) axis –
this is your
independent
Distance

variable.
 Distance goes on
the vertical (y) axis
– this is your
dependent variable.
 The distance vs. time graph
 Distance vs. time data Distance

tells you the runner’s

Distance
position at different
points in time.
 The runner is at 50
meters after 10 sec.,
100 meters after 20 sec.
and 150 meters at 30
sec.
A straight, diagonal line
indicates…
 Constant Speed
Why is the line in a constant
speed graph straight and
diagonal?

•Theobject is traveling the

same distance in the same
amount of time.
 An Object At Rest
 Object’s AT REST are not moving
 A horizontal line on a Distance vs. Time
graph has NO SLOPE = 0 speed
Distance-Time Graph

6
5
Distance (meters)

4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (seconds)
 object is not moving,

Distance-Time Graph

25

20

Distance (meters)
constant speed
15

10

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Time (seconds)

negative velocity (reversing or moving in

the opposite direction.)
A curved line indicates…
• Changing Speed
 Distance-Time Graph and Changing
Speed
What do the different lines indicate
when an object is changing speed?
Downward Curve Horizontal Line Upward Curve
 Slowing down • Stopping • Speeding Up
Comparing Slopes

Fast,
steady
speed Increase
speed

Constant
stationary
speed

Change
direction at a
constant rate
Terry, Jade and Jerome Raced. Plot their data on
a distance vs. time graph
 How to determine total average speed
by looking at a line graph
1. Find total distance (ending distance)
2. Divide by total time (ending time)

t
 Comparing speeds on a Distance –
Time Graph
1. Find the average
speed of each line.
2. Compare the steepness
of each line.

The steeper slope indicates:

Faster Speeds
 Distance vs. Time Graphs

 Which graph shows the faster moving object?

What does the slope tell you on
a distance vs. time graph?
 Rise = Distance (y axis)

 Run = Time (x axis)

 Rise/Run = Speed or velocity

 Graphing Speed
Distance vs. Time Graph
 Slope: Rise/Run (y2-y1) / (x2-x1)
 Graphing Speed
Distance vs. Time Graph
Slope
 Graphing Speed
Distance vs. Time Graph
Slope
Practicing with Slope
Practicing with Slope
 Practicing with Slope
 We can now quantify the results because
we have gridlines, numbers and aces.
 Calculate the slope from A to B
 Slope = rise/run
 Practicing with Slope
 Calculate slope from B to C
 Practicing with Slope
 Calculate slope from C to D

Practice problem is from

http://www.oswego.edu/~dristle/Motion_Graphs.pdf
Chapter 1: Lesson 3
 Acceleration
 Acceleration – the rate at which velocity
changes
 Can be an:
 Increasein speed
 Decrease in speed
 Change in direction
 Types of acceleration
 Increasing speed
 Example: Car speeds up at green light

 Decreasing speed screeeeech

 Example: Car slows down at stop light

 Changing Direction
 Example: Car takes turn (can be at constant
speed)
Calculating Acceleration

 Units of acceleration:
 m/s2
A bicyclist started from rest along a straight path.
After 5s, his speed was 8m/s. What was his
acceleration during the time?

Fv  Iv
a
t


 Can we find time?
 A car accelerates at a rate of 3.0 m/s2. If its original
speed is 8.0 m/s, how many seconds will it take the car
to reach a final speed of 25.0 m/s?

Fv  Iv
t
a
25.0m /s  8.0m /s
t
3.0m /s2
t  5.7s
 Can we find Final Velocity?
 A motorcycle traveling at 25m/s accelerates at a rate of
7.0m/s2 for 6.0 seconds What is the final speed of the
motorcycle?
Fv  Iv
a
t


 Graphing Acceleration
Speed – Time Graphs
 Shows how SPEED changes over
time
 X axis = TIME
 Y axis = SPEED
 Object at Rest

• The speed is zero and does

not change
•Horizontal line (like a
distance – time graph y =
0)
 Constant Speed

• The line will be HORIZONTAL

•The further the line is from the

X - AXIS the FASTER SPEED
It is moving.
 Speeding Up
he line on a speed – time graph is CLOSER
the x-axis in the BEGINNINGof the
me period when it has a LOWERspeed.
he line slants UPWARDtoward the
ght side of the graph as the
peed INCREASES .
 Slowing Down
When initially starting to slow down the
oint representing speed is FAR
om the x-axis.
As speed DECREASES the points
presenting speed get CLOSER
the x-axis.
The line on a speed-time graph slopes
DOWNWARD to the right.
•When the line
touches the x-axis,
the speed is ZERO
and the object
stopped.
Comparing Distance – Time and
Speed – Time Graphs
Objects at Rest
Comparing Distance – Time and
Speed – Time Graphs
Constant Speed
Comparing Distance – Time and
Speed – Time Graphs
Speeding Up
Comparing Distance – Time and
Speed – Time Graphs

Slowing Down