Velocity and

PRE-IB

Acceleration
Chiara Tesařová

Constant Velocity
All objects in motion have a position, velocity, and an
acceleration. The velocity describes the physical quantity telling
us the speed and the direction of an object in motion. It could
also be described as an arrow with a magnitude is based on the
rate of displacement over time, and the direction based on its
change in position.

Formula for velocity:

v in the formula stands for
the velocity,
Δx stands for the change in
position – the distance
traveled by the object
Δt stands for the change in
time between the initial and
final position.

The velocity of an object is constant if both the magnitude and the

direction stay constant when the object changes its position.
Basically, the object cannot change direction or speed over time. If an
object does not have a constant velocity, then it’s accelerating.

→ →
Both the velocity v and the position x are vectors. Vectors are
quantities that need both magnitude and direction.

There are multiple ways we can change constant velocity. One of

them is checking the rate of change in velocity with respect to time.
For a constant velocity the result must be zero.

Changing velocity
The velocity of an objects changes when it either changes its
speed or changes direction.

Change in velocity formula:

Δv stands for the change in
velocity
U is the initial velocity
V is final velocity

Acceleration
Acceleration is a process where a velocity of an object changes. You
can accelerate both by a change of speed or change of direction.
Acceleration is then defined by the rate of change of the velocity.

Formula for acceleration:

The a stands for acceleration, Δv is the change in velocity (initial an

final) and Δt is the time it tok for the velocity to change.
 Example
A man walks 7km east in 2 hours, then he
walks 2.5 km west in 1 hour.
a) What is his average speed for the
whole journey?
b) What is his average velocity for the
whole journey?

Results
The mans average speed is approximately 3.2 km/h and
his average velocity is 1.5 km/h.