Chapter 2 : Describing motion
Objectives:
To understand the concept of speed and
calculate average speed.
To interpret distance against time
graphs.
To understand the concept of
acceleration.
To interpret speed against time graphs
and calculate the average acceleration.
Speed
Speed is the distance travelled by an
object per unit time.
Speed can be constant/uniform or it may
be varying.
Speed is scalar quantity. Hence it only
has a value and unitTotal
butDistance
no travelled
direction.
Average speed = Total time taken
Rearranging the above equation we get
the distance and time.
Units for measuring
speed
Quantity S.I unit Other units
Distance metre, m kilometre, km miles
Time second, s hour, h hour, h
Speed metres per kilometres per miles per hour,
second, m/s hour, kph mph
Difference between speed and
velocity
Speed is a scalar quantity. Velocity is a vector
It only has a magnitude quantity.
(size). It has both magnitude
Whenever we talk about (size) as well as direction.
speed, we are not Velocity can also be stated
concerned with the as an object’s speed in a
direction in which the particular direction.
object is moving. Whenever we talk about
By knowing speed we are velocity, we must state the
only concerned about how direction or else the
fast the object is moving. information is incomplete.
Example: velocity of
Example: speed of aircraft
is 200 m/s aircraft is 200 m/s due
north.
Important points
Speed of an object can never be negative.
Speed of an object is zero if the object is not
moving (at rest).
Average speed is the speed of the object
over its entire journey.
The actual speed of object at any instant of
time may vary or remain constant.
Speed at any given instant of time is called
instantaneous speed. (This is the speed
shown by the speedometers in vehicles)
Speed calculations
Example 1 : Following table shows information
about 3 cars travelling on a motorway.
a) Which car is moving fastest?
b) Which car is moving slowest?
Car Distance /km Time /minutes
A 80 50
B 72 50
C 85 50
Answer : a) Car C b) Car B
Reason : Within the same time, car C travelled the
furthest while car B travelled least distance.
Example 2: An interplanetary spacecraft is moving at
20000 m/s. How far will it travel in one day? (Give your
answer in km)
Answer:
Speed = 20000 m/s
Time = 1 day = 24 hour
Since speed is in m/s, we need to convert time into
seconds.
Thus, time = (24 × 60 × 60 ) second
Distance = Speed × time
= 20000 × (24 × 60 × 60 )
= 1728000000 m
= 1728000 km (1000 m = 1 km)
Example 3 : How long will it take for a coach travelling at 90 km/h to
travel 300 km along a highway?
Answer:
Speed = 90 km/h
Distance = 300 km
There is no need to convert unit in this case
as distance and speed both are in terms of
km.
Distance 300
Speed 90
Time = = = 3.3 hour
Distance – Time graph
A distance time graph shows the relationship
between the distance travelled by an object
and the time taken.
Time is plotted on X-axis and the
corresponding distance is plotted on Y-axis.
The gradient ( slope) of a distance time
graph represents the speed of the object.
The steeper the line, faster is the object.
If the graph is curved, then the speed must
be changing.
Interpretation of distance – time
graphs
Steady ( constant) speed is
represented by a straight line.
Faster steady speed
indicated by a steeper
straight line.
Zero speed ( stationary
object) is represented by a
straight line parallel to time
axis.
Graph curving upwards
indicates speed is increasing.
Graph curving downwards
indicates speed is
decreasing.
Example 1 –
Sketch a distance – time graph to show this :
“A car initially at rest for 1 second, then travelled along the road at a steady speed for next 3 seconds. It stopped
suddenly for 2 seconds. Then it continued its journey at a slower speed than before.”
Answer :
25
Distance (m) vs Time (s)
20
15
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
How to calculate gradient (speed)
from a distance – time graph?
Steps to calculate gradient:
Step 1: identify straight section of graph.
Step 2: Draw horizontal and vertical lines to
complete a right-angled triangle.
Step 3: Calculate length of the sides of the
triangle.
Step 4: Divide vertical height (distance) by the
horizontal width (time) to get the speed of
object in that section of graph.
In the graph shown we have;
Vertical height = 80 km
Horizontal width = 1.0 h
Gradient (speed) = 80/1.0 = 80 km/h
Example : Following table shows
information about train journey. Use data
in the table to plot distance against time
graph. Also find train’s average speed
between Beeston and Deeville.
Station Distance /km Time /minute
Ayton 0 0
Beeston 20 30
Seatown 28 45
Deeville 36 60
Eton 44 70
Answer :
Average speed between Beeston and
Deeville is given by calculating the gradient
Gradient = 36−20 = 16 = 0.53 km/min
between those two points.
60−30 30
Distance vs Time
50
45
40 44
35
36
30
25 28
20
20
15
10
5
0
Series1;
0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Acceleration
Acceleration is defined as the change in velocity per unit
time.
It is the rate at which the velocity is increasing or
decreasing.
When velocity decreases with time, we should the term
deceleration/retardation.
Acceleration is a vector quantity and hence has a
direction associated with it.
Let u= initial velocity……(at t=0)
v−u
v= final velocity
t
t= time taken
Acceleration =
Units for measuring
acceleration
Quantity S.I unit Other units
Velocity m/s cm/s
Time s s
Acceleration m/s2 cm/s2
Velocity (speed)– time
graphs
Helps us to understand how fast/slow the
velocity of an object changes with time.
Gradient of velocity – time graph
represents the acceleration of the object.
Distance travelled by an object in a
particular time interval is given by
calculating the area under velocity-time
graph.
Interpretation of velocity-time
graph
A straight line going
diagonally upwards
represents
steady(constant)
acceleration.
A straight line going
diagonally downwards
shows deceleration. This is
because velocity is
decreasing with time.
Steeper the line greater is
the acceleration.
A straight line parallel to
time axis represents zero
acceleration (constant
velocity).
To find distance from a speed-
time graph
A car travels at a constant
speed of 10 m/s for a
duration of 20 s. Plot a
speed-time graph and
calculate the distance
travelled.
Answer:
Distance travelled in 20 s =
Area under graph
Area of rectangle = 10 × 20
= 200 m
Example 1: The diagram shows a speed-time
graph of a cycle moving with a constant speed.
What is the distance travelled by the cycle in
first 3 seconds?
a. 6.0 m
b. 6.6 m
c. 3.0 m
d. 2.0 m
Answer : 6.0 m
Example 2: The speed-time graph shows
the motion of a train. Which row best
describes the motion of the train?
Between P and Between Q and
Q R
A Accelerating Moving at a
constant speed
B Moving at Accelerating
√ constant speed
C Moving at Decelerating
constant speed
D Accelerating Decelerating
Example 3: The following graph
represents motion of a cyclist. What is
the distance covered during its entire
journey?
a. 150 m
b. 200 m
c. 500 m
d. 600 m
Answer : 600 m
Example 4: An object moves at a constant
speed for some time and then begins to
accelerate. Which of the following distance time
graph shows his motion?
√
Example 5: A car travels along the route
PQRST in 15 minutes. What is the
average speed of the car?
a. 88 km/h
b. 120 km/h
c. 60 km/h
d. 30 km/h
Answer : 120 km/h
Example 6: A bike is moving with a
speed of 10 m/s. The biker increases the
speed up to 19 m/s in 6 seconds. What
will be its acceleration?
Answer:
Initial speed, u = 10 m/s
Final speed, v = 19 m/s
Time, t = 6 seconds
v−u 19−10
t 6
Acceleration = = = 1.5 m/s2
Summary
a. Speed is defined as the distance covered per unit time.
b. Speed is commonly measured in m/s, cm/s, kph, mph
c. Gradient (slope) of distance-time graph gives speed of
object.
d. Acceleration is defined as change in velocity per unit
time.
e. Acceleration is commonly measured in 2 2
f. Gradient (slope) of speed-time graph givesm/s , cm/s
acceleration of object.
g. Area under the speed-time graph gives the distance
covered by the object.
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