verage Velocity

The average velocity between two points in a given time interval can be obtained from a
displacement versus time graph by computing the slope of the straight line joining the
coordinates of the two points.

Instantaneous Velocity
The instantaneous velocity at time t is the slope of the tangent line drawn to the position-versustime graph at that time.

Average Acceleration

The average acceleration between two points in a time interval is equal to the slope of the chord
connecting the points on a velocity versus time graph.

Instantaneous Acceleration

The instantaneous acceleration at time t is the slope of the tangent drawn to the velocity versus
time graph.

Displacement from Velocity Time Graphs

Given a velocity versus time graph, the displacement during an interval between time ti and tf is
the area bounded by the velocity curve and the two vertical lines t = ti and t = tf, as shown in the
Fig.(7 a).

Velocity from Acceleration Graphs

Given an acceleration-versus-time graph, the change in velocity between t = ti and t = tf is the

area bounded by the acceleration curve and the vertical lines t = ti and t = tf.

Table
Variation of Displacement (x), velocity (v) and acceleration (a) with respect to
time for different types
of motion.

Example: 4
At t = 0 a particle is at rest at the origin. Its acceleration is 2 m/s2 for the first 2 second and -2
m/s2 for the next 2 s. Plot the

x versus t and v versus t graphs.SolutionIt is given that x = 0 and v = 0 at t = 0. The acceleration

versus time graph is plotted in Fig. (9 a). The velocity at t = 2 s is equal to the sum of velocity at
t = 0 and the area under the accelerationtime graph between
t = 0 and t = 2 s