Graphing Motion
Graphing Motion
Parts of a
Graph
X-axis
Y-axis
All
d1-d0/t1-t0
d/t
Uniform Motion
Uniform
Notice that the ball covers an equal distance between flashes. Let's assume this
distance equals 20 cm and display the ball's behavior on a graph plotting its xposition versus time.
The slope of this line would equal 20 cm divided by 0.1 sec or 200 cm/sec. This
represents the ball's average velocity as it moves across the table. Since the
ball is moving in a positive direction its velocity is positive. That is, the ball's
velocity is a vector quantity possessing both magnitude (200 cm/sec) and
direction (positive).
is related to velocity
Steep slope = higher
velocity
Shallow slope = less
velocity
Accelerated
Motion
X
B
A
t
C
A Starts at home (origin) and goes forward
slowly
B Not moving (position remains constant as time
progresses)
C Turns around and goes in the other direction
quickly,
passing up home
Graphing w/
Acceleration
t
Tangent
Lines
VELOCITY
SLOPE
SPEED
Positive
Positive
Steep
Fast
Negative
Negative
Gentle
Slow
Zero
Zero
Flat
Zero
Increasing &
Decreasing
Increasing
Decreasing
Concavity
t
Steeper
second
Negative slope = deceleration
All 3 Graphs
t
v
t
a
t
Real life
Note how the v graph is pointy and the a graph skips. In real life,
the blue points would be smooth curves and the orange segments
would be connected. In our class, however, well only deal with
constant acceleration.
v
t
a
t
Constant Rightward
Acceleration
Graph Practice
Try making all three graphs for the following scenario:
1. Newberry starts out north of home. At time zero hes
driving a cement mixer south very fast at a constant speed.
2. He accidentally runs over an innocent moose crossing
the road, so he slows to a stop to check on the poor moose.
3. He pauses for a while until he determines the moose is
squashed flat and deader than a doornail.
4. Fleeing the scene of the crime, Newberry takes off again
in the same direction, speeding up quickly.
5. When his conscience gets the better of him, he slows,
turns around, and returns to the crash site.