Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Graph
Return to
Table of
https://njctl.org/video/?v=9cCWPteMMPA Contents
VelocityTime Graph
A 2300 kg car travels in a straight line on a horizontal road. The
relationship between the car’s velocity and the time are given by
the graph.
a. What is the car's acceleration during the first 20 s?
b. What is the net force applied by the engine during the first 20 s?
c. What is the car's acceleration from 20 s to 40 s?
d. What is the net force applied by the engine from 20 s to 40 s?
e. What is the car's acceleration from 40 s to 50 s?
f. What is the net force applied by the engine from 40 s to 50 s?
VelocityTime Graph
mcar = 2300 kg
a. What is the car's acceleration during the first 20 s?
Draw a vertical line at
t = 20 s and record the
velocity.
The velocity is 20 m/s. The
velocity at 0 s is 0 m/s.
Calculate the acceleration:
VelocityTime Graph
mcar = 2300 kg
a. What is the car's acceleration during the first 20 s (cont.)?
• The slope, m, of a line on
a velocitytime graph is
also equal to the
(20, 20) acceleration of the object
(in this case, a car).
• Use the two labeled points
to find the slope.
(0, 0)
• Acceleration equals slope:
VelocityTime Graph
mcar = 2300 kg
b. What is the net force applied by the engine during the first 20 s?
Calculate the force:
VelocityTime Graph
mcar = 2300 kg
c. What is the car's acceleration from 20 s to 40 s?
Draw a vertical line at
t = 20 s and t = 40 s,
finding that the velocity is a
constant 20 m/s.
The acceleration is zero.
Calculate the acceleration
for illustration:
VelocityTime Graph
mcar = 2300 kg
d. What is the net force applied by the engine from 20 s to 40 s?
There is no acceleration,
so there is no force.
Calculate the force for
illustration:
VelocityTime Graph
mcar = 2300 kg
e. What is the car's acceleration from 40 s to 50 s?
Draw a vertical line at
t = 40 s and record the
velocity. The velocity
decreases from 20 m/s to
0 m/s at t = 50 s.
Calculate the acceleration:
VelocityTime Graph
mcar = 2300 kg
e. What is the net force applied by the engine from 40 s to 50 s?
Calculate the force:
VelocityTime Graph Discussion
When the slope of a line on a velocitytime graph is positive, the
acceleration is positive.
When the slope of the line is negative, the acceleration is negative.
When the slope of the line is zero, the acceleration is zero.
Horizontal lines represent constant velocity and zero acceleration.