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Velocity and Acceleration

The document explains the concepts of distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration, highlighting their definitions and differences. It distinguishes between scalar and vector quantities, providing examples of uniform and non-uniform acceleration. Additionally, it includes formulas for calculating speed, velocity, and acceleration, along with their respective units of measurement.

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13 views

Velocity and Acceleration

The document explains the concepts of distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration, highlighting their definitions and differences. It distinguishes between scalar and vector quantities, providing examples of uniform and non-uniform acceleration. Additionally, it includes formulas for calculating speed, velocity, and acceleration, along with their respective units of measurement.

Uploaded by

fasilatwumi08
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Velocity and Acceleration

To be able to calculate distance and displacement and explain what they are
To be able to calculate speed and velocity and explain what they are
To be able to calculate acceleration and explain uniform and non-uniform cases

Distance Displacement
Distance is a scalar quantity. It is a measure of Displacement is a vector quantity. It is a measure
the total length you have moved. of how far you are from the starting position.

If you complete a lap of an athletics track: distance travelled = 400m


displacement = 0
Distance and Displacement are measured in metres, m

Speed Velocity
Speed is a measure of how the distance changes Velocity is measure of how the displacement
with time. Since it is dependent on speed it too is changes with time. Since it depends on
a scalar. displacement it is a vector too.
d s
speed  v
t t
Speed and Velocity are is measured in metres per second, m/s
Time is measured in seconds, s
Acceleration
Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity changes. Since velocity is a vector quantity, so is acceleration.
With all vectors, the direction is important. In questions we decide which direction is positive (e.g.  +ve)
If a moving object has a positive velocity: * a positive acceleration means an increase in the velocity
* a negative acceleration means a decrease in the velocity
(it begins the ‘speed up’ in the other direction)
If a moving object has a negative velocity: * a positive acceleration means an increase in the velocity
(it begins the ‘speed up’ in the other direction)
* a negative acceleration means a increase in the velocity
If an object accelerates from a velocity of u to a velocity of v, and it takes t seconds to do it then we can write
(v  u ) v
the equations as a  it may also look like this a  where Δ means the ‘change in’
t t

Acceleration is measured in metres per second squared, m/s2


Uniform Acceleration
In this situation the acceleration is constant – the velocity changes by the same amount each unit of time.
For example: If acceleration is 2m/s2, this means the velocity increases by 2m/s every second.
Time (s) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Velocity (m/s) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Acceleration (m/s2) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Non-Uniform Acceleration
In this situation the acceleration is changing – the velocity changes by a different amount each unit of time.
For example:
Time (s) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Velocity (m/s) 0 2 6 10 18 28 30 44
www.physicstutoronline.co.uk/
Acceleration (m/s2) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

www.physicstutoronline.co.uk/

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