Physics Chapter 2

Notes
Speed, Velocity, and Acceleration
Displacement
• The distance in a straight line in a certain direction from the
starting point
• Eg Lily walked 1km to the North, then 2km to the East
followed by 1km to the south.
• a. what is her total walking distance?
• b. what is her final displacement?

• Answers:
• a. 1 + 2 + 1 = 4km
• b. 2m due east from starting point
Speed and Velocity
• Scalar: has only magnitude and no direction
• Speed is distance travelled by a body per unit time
• Vector: has both magnitude and direction
• Velocity is distance travelled per unit time in a stated direction
Dis tan ce
Speed =
Time
• Units: ms-1 or kmh-1
• Average speed is NOT the constant speed
total _ dis tan ce
Average _ speed =
total _ time
• Instantaneous speed: the speed at any instant
• Use speedometer to find instantaneous speed
• Can be found by finding the gradient of the tangent to the
displacement-time graph, at that point in time
Speed measurement using
ticker-tape timer
Acceleration
• Defined as the rate of change of velocity with time

final velocity - initial velocity

acceleration =
time taken for the change

• Units: ms-2 or kmh-2

• If velocity is constant, acceleration= 0
• If velocity decreasing  negative acceleration/deceleration
• The gradient of a velocity-time graph of a moving object gives
the acceleration of the object at a given time
Acceleration of bodies falling
near to earth
• An object falling near to Earth, where the air resistance is
negligible, has a velocity-time graph that is s straight line. It
falls with a constant acceleration
• The only force acting on the object experiencing free fall is the
force of gravity
• Acceleration = 10ms-2
Acceleration-time graphs

Decreasing acceleration Decreasing speed Constant speed

Velocity-time graphs

Constant speed Constant speed Zero acceleration

Increasing acceleration Constant acceleration

Distance-time graph
Area under velocity-time
graph
• Area under velocity-time
graph is the distance