Technical Physics 1

Motion
How far ?
* distance or displacement ?
*Distance - the length of the path traveled. It is not defined by the direction, it is
a scalar quantity.
*Displacement - the length and direction of a line from the starting point to the
ending point. It is a vector quantity and must include direction.
How fast ?
* speed or velocity
*speed - the distance per unit of time. It is a scalar quantity.
*average speed
*instantaneous speed
*Velocity - the displacement per unit of time. It is a vector and must include
direction.
*instantaneous velocity
*constant velocity
Changing motion
*Acceleration
*the rate of change in velocity. May be moving faster (+ acceleration), slower (-
acceleration “deceleration”) or just changing direction.
*Units include one unit for length and two units of time. ie. m/s/s (m/s2)
*constant acceleration - the change in velocity remains the same during each
successive time interval
Formulas
 Problem Solving
*What is being asked for ?
*What is given ?
*What facts(formula) relate what is asked with what is given ?
*Substitute
*Calculate
*CHECK THE ANSWER!!
*Does it answer the question?
*Does it make sense?
*Is there a need for rounding?
Unique situations
*Starting from rest (vo= 0)
*Stopping (vf= 0)
*Freely falling objects.
*Acceleration in the vertical direction due to gravity (a = g =9.8 m/s2 or 32 ft/s2)
*Horizontal velocity is constant
*Terminal velocity
Projectile Motion
*A projectile is an object which after receiving an initial velocity, is only
affected by the forces of gravity and air resistance. (We will ignore air
resistance in this course)
*Explore Science (www.explorescience.com/
Equations for Projectile Motion
*Horizontal

*Vertical
 Things to consider
*What direction is the initial velocity ?
*Is this positive or negative ?

*How does the direction of motion compare to the direction of

gravitational force ?
*Do the signs (+ or _ ) match ?
Constant velocity
Constant acceleration