Key
Terms and Concepts for Motion
to accompany
chapter 11 in text Physical Science:Concepts in Action
return to class notes page
Terms:
- Acceleration
- Accelerometer
- Average Speed
- Constant Acceleration
- Constant Speed
- Displacement
- Distance
- Free Fall
- Inclined Plane
- Instantaneous Speed
- Motion
- Scalar
- Speed
- Time
- Vector
- Velocity
Concepts:
Describing
Motion
- To describe motion accurately and completely a frame of reference is needed
- distance is the length of path between two points
- Add displacements with vector addition.
Motion and Velocity
- Motion is defined as a change in position, so what is
speed? How fast that change takes place. Or, the time it takes
to change position. Without direction it is said to be
scalar.
- When speed has direction it then has velocity and is a
vector force.
- Most times when we speak of average speed or velocity rather
than instantaneous speed.
- to calculate speed we use the equation v=d / t.
Acceleration
- Any change in velocity is called acceleration, whether it be forwards or backwards,
or even sideways. To calculate acceleration we simply use the equation a= (vf
- vi) / t or change in velocity over time.