Activity 4.

3 Motion in One Direction

Introduction
Motion is a change in position over time. We describe motion using terms such as
distance, displacement, speed and velocity. Kinematics is the science of describing the
motion of objects using words, diagrams, numbers, graphs, and equations.

In this activity you will interpret words and diagrams describing motion in order to
graphically model the motion using a motion graph. Inversely you will interpret a
graphical model of motion and describe the motion represented in words. You will also
represent the motion using numbers (and direction, when applicable) to indicate the
magnitude of distance, displacement, speed and velocity.

Equipment
• Engineering notebook
• Computer with spreadsheet software

Procedure
After school, a student jogged from school to the library. It took the student 35 minutes
to get to the library, where he spent 10 minutes browsing and checking out a book.
He then walked to the coffee shop, on the same street, in 15 minutes. He spent 40
minutes sitting at a table in the coffee cafe and reading the book before heading
home. He walked home in 25 minutes and remained there until the next morning.

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Introduction to Engineering Design Activity 4.5 Motion in One Direction – Page 1
 1. Use the distances shown in the diagram above to draw a motion graph of the
student along the street, in which he begins walking from school to the library at
t = 0 minutes. Show 2.5 hours of time after he left school. Be sure to include axis
labels, scales, and units.

CREATE A GRAPH IN YOUR ENGINEERING NOTEBOOK AND POST A PICTURE BELOW

Assume that a positive displacement is from school toward home.

1.

2. Using your motion graph, answer each of the following.

● What is the student’s displacement after 1.5 hours? Plot a point on
your graph to correspond to this position and label it “Point A”.Done on
graph

● What is the total distance the student had walked after an hour and a
half? Total distance traveled after 90 minutes is 3 miles.

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Introduction to Engineering Design Activity 4.5 Motion in One Direction – Page 2
● What was the student’s displacement at 1 hour and 50 minutes? Plot a
point on your graph to correspond to this position and label it “Point C”.
Done on graph

● What is the total distance the student had walked when he arrived
home?Total distance traveled is 3.8 miles.

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Introduction to Engineering Design Activity 4.5 Motion in One Direction – Page 3
 ● At what speed (in miles per hour) was the student walking 20 minutes
after he left school?The speed was 3.6 miles per hour

● If home is due South of school, what is the velocity of the student at

t = 50 minutes? Give the magnitude of velocity in miles per hour.1.8
miles per hour south

● What is the student’s speed at t = 1 hour?2.1 miles per hour

3. The following graph represents the vertical motion of a ball thrown straight up
into the air.

Using the motion graph, answer the following. Show your work or explain your
answer.

● What is the displacement of the ball at t = 4 seconds?40 feet up

● What is the total distance the ball has traveled at t = 3 seconds?100

feet up

● What is the average speed of the ball between t = 0 and t = 2

seconds?42.5 feet per scond

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Introduction to Engineering Design Activity 4.5 Motion in One Direction – Page 4
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Introduction to Engineering Design Activity 4.5 Motion in One Direction – Page 5
 ● What is the average velocity of the ball between t =3 and t = 4
seconds?40 feet per second feet down

● How long did it take before the ball returned to its original height?4.56
seconds

Conclusion Questions
2. Look at the motion graph that you created in item 1 to graphically represent the
displacement of a student with respect to time. This graph represents motion in
one direction along a straight line (the street). Why is the graph NOT a straight
line?It is a motion graph, it graphs displacemnt and time, with refrence to the
school/beggining, so if the person is going away from the school, the line goes up
with the time included, if the person goes toward the school the slope/line goes
down, the only time the line is straight is when there is no motion.

3. Look at the motion graph provided in item 3. This graph represents the
displacement of a ball thrown vertically up into the air. Create a sketch that
illustrates the actual path of the ball (as if captured with a long exposure
photograph so that the ball appears as a blurry line). Why does the motion graph
(displacement versus time) have a different shape than the path of the ball?With
the sketch it just looks like a long blurry line, it shows whats actually happening,
with no real record of distance in height and time, its just a long blurry line.

4. The motion graph represented in item number three is a parabola. We can

represent this function mathematically with the quadratic equation
d(t) = -16.1t2 + 75t
where d(t) represents the vertical displacement in feet and t represents time in
seconds.
Using the mathematical equation, predict the position of the ball when t = 2 seconds.
Show your work.

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Introduction to Engineering Design Activity 4.5 Motion in One Direction – Page 6
all you have to do is substitute 2 with t, so when you substitute it should show, -16.1
times 2^2 +75 times 2, then you simplify until you get your answer which is 85.6

Your prediction should match the motion graph. If not, double check your work.

Extra conclusion questions

1. What happens to the size and shape of a motion graph when you scale the
cam size (nominal diameter) larger? Smaller?the bigger the cam size, the
bigger the curve/edges to a motion graph.And the smaller, the smaller it is.
2. Review your team’s graph of the maximum follower displacement as a
function of nominal diameter. Describe the value and real-world meaning of
each of the following:
○ y-intercept-The starting value.
○ slope-speed from a graph
3. Create a motion graph of the top of the follower for a mechanism with a
2.5-inch nominal diameter and a 3-inch follower.

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Introduction to Engineering Design Activity 4.5 Motion in One Direction – Page 7