Motion, Distance, Displacement,

Speed, Velocity and Acceleration

What is Motion?
An object is in motion if it changes
position relative to a reference point.
 Objectsthat we call stationary/at rest—
such as a tree, a sign, or a building—make
good reference points.

The passenger can use a tree as a reference point to decide if

the train is moving. A tree makes a good reference point
because it is stationary from the passenger’s point of view.
Describing Motion
Whether or not
an object is in
motion
depends on the
reference
point you
choose.
Reference Point Explained!
Reference Point Explained!
Describing Motion…

• Position (location of an object)

• Direction
• Time
• Speed (the time rate distance or
object movement
• Velocity (the direction of the speed),
• Acceleration(rate of velocity change)
Describing Motion…

• Motion descriptors are always

expressed in a definite magnitude of a
quantity (units).
Describing Motion…
Sign Conventions
 Positive sign  Negative sign
 Travel East, to the  Travel West, to the
right or travel left or travel South,
North, upwards downwards
Scalars and Vectors
Simple numbers:
Number + direction
Distance d
Speed v
Displacement d
Temperature T
Velocity v
relative positions r
Library Force F
Acceleration a

nt us
Ce mp
er
Ca
Distance vs. Displacement
Who’s telling the truth?

Jeffrey, my
distance
was 176
meters!
BE N

But Billy,
G

your
I

displacemen
t was 1
meter!

D
EN
Distance
 Distance (d) – how far an object travels.
 Does not depend on direction.
 Imagine an ant crawling along a ruler.
A B

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

 What distance did the ant travel?

d = 3 cm
Distance
 Distance (d) – how far an object travels.
 Does not depend on direction.
 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 (d) – difference between an object’s
final position and its starting position.
 Does depend on direction.
 Displacement = final position – initial position
 d = dfinal – dinitial
 Inorder to define displacement, we need directions.
 Examples of directions:
+ and –
 N, S, E, W
 Angles
Displacement vs. Distance
 Example of distance:
 The ant walked 3 cm.
 Example of displacement:
 The ant walked 3 cm EAST.
 Anobject’s distance traveled and its
displacement aren’t always the same!
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
 Anathlete 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?
Displacement
Knowing how far something moves is not sufficient.
You must also know in what direction the object
moved.
Displacement is
how
far our of place
the
object is; it is the
object’s overall
change in
position.
Displacement
Knowing how far something moves is not sufficient.
You must also know in what direction the object
moved.
Displacement is
how
far our of place
the
object is; it is the
object’s
Distance: overall
7 units
change in
Displacement: 5 units
position.
Speed

Speed is the distance an object travels

in a specific amount of
time.
To calculate speed:

Speed = Distance ÷
Time
Distance is in meters (m)
Time is in seconds (s)
Speed is in meters per second
Speed
 A car drives 100 meters in 5 seconds.
1s
2
3
4
5
100 m

 What is the car’s average speed?

s = d/t
 s = (100 m) / (5 s) = 20 m/s
Use the Formula Triangle!

d
s t
To calculate To calculate To calculate
speed: time: distance:

s=d/ t=d/ d=s x

Speed
 A rocket is traveling at 10 m/s. How long does it
take the rocket to travel 30 m?
Speed
 A racecaris traveling at 85.0 m/s. How far
does the car travel in 30.0 s?
Velocity
Sometimes, knowing the speed isn’t enough.

Velocity is a description of both speed

and direction.

Velocity is an example
of a vector, a
quantity that has
both magnitude and
direction.
Velocity  speed with direction

displacement
Velocity = time
d
v= t
Velocity  speed with direction
Speed vs. Velocity Compared
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

 Distancetraveled:
 Displacement:
 Average speed: (7 cm) / (5 s) =
 Average velocity: (+3 cm) / (5 s) =
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

 Distancetraveled: 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
Acceleration ( changes in v)

Acceleration measures how much an

object’s speed changes over a
certain time.
Acceleration
Formula for acceleration:

acceleration = change in velocity

time

a = Vfinal - Vinitial
t

Velocity: meters per seconds (m/s)

Time: seconds (s)
Acceleration: meters per second squared (m/s2)
Different ways to change V
v v

Car speeds up a

v v

scree
ch
Car slows up !
a
Acceleration ( changes in v)

change in velocity
acceleration =
elapsed time

a= v final – v initial

time
Different ways to change V
v v

Car speeds up a

v v

scree
ch
Car slows up !
a
There is change in SPEED
Accelerations (continued)
v

v
Car turn
s
a
Accelerations (continued)
v

v
Car turn
s
a

There is change in
Accelerations (continued)
v

v
Car turn
s
a
There is change in SPEED
a
and DIRECTION

v
In all three cases, v changes.
Therefore these are all examples of accelerations
Acceleration
Acceleration is the rate at which
velocity changes.

Acceleration can result from a change

in speed (increase or decrease), a
change in direction (back, forth,
up, down left, right), or changes in
both.
Acceleration
Acceleration can be positive, negative or zero.

Positive Acceleration Object speeds up

Negative Acceleration Object slows down

Zero Acceleration Constant or no

speed
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?

What information have you

been given?
Initial speed = 4 m/s
Final Speed = 22 m/s
Time = 3 s
Calculating Acceleration
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/s/s

The roller-coaster car’s average acceleration is 6 m/s/s.

Calculating Acceleration
A roller coaster is moving at 25 m/s at the bottom of a hill.
Three seconds later it reaches the top of the hill moving at
10 m/s. What was the acceleration of the coaster?

Initial Speed = 25 m/s

Final Speed = 10 m/s
Time = 3 seconds
Questions?