Physics (Motion)

 Motion occurs when an object

changes its position
 Reference points allow us to
determine whether an object has
moved
 Ex. Mailbox (the Mailman has moved,
but the mailbox remains still).
 Relative motion ~ you are moving
relative to things around you
 Ex. We are moving relative to the
planets of our solar system
 Distance – describes how far an
object has moved.
 Measured in meters (m)
 Displacement is both the distance
and direction that has changed from
a starting point.
 Ex. (See figure 2 on pg. 39)
 What’s the difference
between Distance and
Displacement?
 Distance is the total amount of
meters an object has traveled
 Displacement is both the distance
and direction moved.
 To find speed, you must measure two
quantities:
 Distance traveled
 Time it takes to travel that distance
 Speed is measured in meters/second (m/s)
 Instantaneous Speed
 ex. Car moves at 96 m/s
 Instantaneous speed means the
speed being traveled at that moment
 Average Speed is calculated as
distance over time

 Speed = distance
time
 Ex. If you travel 100 miles in 2 hours,
your average speed would be 50
mph
 Velocity describes both speed and
direction of motion.
 Velocity measures DISPLACEMENT
 Average velocity is displacement
divided by total time
 Velocity (v) = displacement (d)
time (t)
 Direction can be both positive and
negative.
 Ex. Traveling 6.9 m North in 3 seconds,
then 2.8 m South in 4 seconds
 Answer: 2.3 m/s North and .7 m/s South

 How are velocity and speed

different?
  velocity has direction, speed
does not!