Describing and Measuring Motion

How do you recognize motion?

An object is in
motion when its
distance from
another object is
changing
Movement depends
on your point of view

What is a reference point?

A place or object used for

comparison to determine if
something is in motion

An object is in motion if it
changes position relative to a
reference point

Determining When an
Object is in Motion
Whether or not an object is in motion depends on the reference point
you choose & if the distance between the object and the reference
point is changing.

SWBAT: Investigate, measure and describe what happens to the

motion, speed ,velocity and acceleration of moving objects

Negative Distance &

Football

Question: Can a distance be negative in

relationship to a reference point?

Football Example: Reference point in football

(below), positive play (right), negative playsacked for a loss (bottom right)

Which of the following is true if you are riding your bike

past the middle school?
A. You are moving relative to the bike, but not the school.
B. You are not moving relative to the school or the bike.
C. You are moving relative to the school, but not relative to the
bike.

D. You are moving relative to the bike and the school.

What is the basic unit of length?

The meter a
little longer
than a yard

What do scientists use to measure the

length of an object smaller than a yard?

A centimeter one
hundredth of a
meter, so there are
100 centimeters in a
meter
A millimeter There
are 1,000
millimeters in a
meter

How do scientists measure long

distances?
The kilometer
There are
1,000 meters
in a kilometer
1mile= 1.6km

How do scientists calculate speed?

Speed the distance the object
travels in one unit of time
Rate tells you the amount of
something that occurs or changes in
one unit of time
Speed = distance
time

What is constant speed?

If the speed of
an object does
not change, the
object is
traveling at a
constant speed

What is average speed?

Most objects do
not move at
constant speeds
for very long

To find average
speed divide the
total distance by
the total time
Car trip

Calculating Speed

What is an example of a speed that a fast car can go?

So, how can you calculate speed? If you travel 45 km in 3 hours,

what is your average speed?

Speed = change in distance/change in time

Instant speed is your speed at a certain time.

Average speed is your averaged speed for the ENTIRE trial, event, or
race.

Avg. speed = change in distance/change in time

What is Velocity?

Speed in a given direction

When you know the speed

and direction of an
objects motion, you
know the velocity of the
object
Example 15 km/hour
westward

 Do Now: What is the speed average speed of a car

that traveled 75km/h in 5 hours

SWBAT: Investigate, measure and describe what

happens to the motion, speed ,velocity and
acceleration of moving objects

How do you graph motion?

You can show the
motion of an object on
a line graph in which
you plot distance
against time
Time is along the xaxis and distance on
the y-axis

How do you interpret motion

graphs?
A straight line indicates
a constant speed
The steepness depends
on how quickly or slowly
the object is moving
The faster the motion
the steeper the slope

Distance Determination (from a Speed-Time

Graph)

SPEED
(m/s)

5 m/s
1s

2s
Time (s)

How far will the object have gone in 2 seconds?

10 meters (5 m/s x 2 s)
Or
Determine the area under the line: Create a rectangle and determine
its area (l x w = 2 s x 5 m/s = 10 m)
SWBAT: Investigate, measure and describe what happens to the
motion, speed ,velocity and acceleration of moving objects

Graphing Motion (Calculating speed)

You can show the motion of an object on a line graph in
which you plot distance versus time. Remember: Velocity is
the change in distance in a certain direction during a
certain length of time. So, velocity or speed = rise/run

Speed vs. Velocity

Do Now: Mark is jogging at 6.0 mph, while Sue is also jogging at 6.0 mph.
However, Marks velocity is -6.0 mph while Sues is 6.0 mph. Why are their
speeds the same, but their velocities are different?
SWBAT: Investigate, measure and describe what happens to the motion, speed
,velocity and acceleration of moving objects
Goal: Determine the difference between SPEED and VELOCITY.

Hypothesis: What do you think is the difference between speed and velocity?

Speed vs. Velocity Experiment

Were there any negative velocities? Why is this the case? Is velocity
just speed? If not, what else is factored in to velocity? Hint- Think about
when your velocity was negative relative to the motion sensor, and
keep in mind that speed is NEVER negative.

Scenario: Mark is jogging at a speed of 6.0 mph, while Sue is also

jogging at a speed of 6.0 mph. However, Marks velocity is -6.0 mph
while Sues is 6.0 mph. Why are their speeds the same, but their
velocities are different?

Velocity = speed + direction relative to a reference point

So, Mark was going just as fast as Sue, but in the opposite direction.

Peregrine Falcons can dive at

speeds up to 242 mph.

What is Acceleration?

The rate at which

velocity changes

In science,
acceleration refers
to:
increasing speed
decreasing speed
changing direction

How do you calculate acceleration?

To determine the acceleration rate of
an object, you must calculate the
change in velocity during each unit of
time
Acceleration =

Final velocity Starting velocity

Time

Calculating Acceleration
What does it mean if a car accelerates? Have you ever heard of a car that can go
0 to 60 mph in about 6 seconds? (Just like mine). What about when a car
decelerates?

To determine the acceleration of an object moving in a straight line, you must

calculate the change in velocity per unit of time
Average Acceleration = (final velocity starting velocity)/time
Acceleration- The rate at which velocity changes

Graphing
You can Acceleration
use both a speed-versus-time

graph and a distance-versus-time graph

to analyze the motion of an accelerating
object.

Calculating Acceleration
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?

Read and Understand

What information have you been given?

Initial speed = 4 m/s

Final Speed = 22 m/s

Time = 3 s

Calculating Acceleration
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?
Plan and Solve

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 cars average acceleration is 6 m/s2.

This is a positive acceleration (speeding up).

Calculating Acceleration
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?
Look Back and Check

Does your answer make sense?

The answer is reasonable. If the cars speed increases by
6 m/s each second, its speed will be 10 m/s after 1 second,
16 m/s after 2 seconds, and 22 m/s after 3 seconds.

Calculating Acceleration
Practice Problem

A certain car brakes from 27 m/s to rest in 9

seconds. Find the cars average acceleration.
(0 m/s 27 m/s ) 9 s = -27 m/s 9 s = -3 m/s2

This is a negative acceleration, which is also

called a deceleration (slowing down)