Kinematics: Velocity, Acceleration, Displacement, and Distance

Kinematics

Velocity And Acceleration

• Velocity: rate of change of an object's position with respect to time
  • Measured in meters per second (m/s)
  • Can be instantaneous (at a specific point in time) or average (over a period of time)
• Acceleration: rate of change of an object's velocity
  • Measured in meters per second squared (m/s²)
  • Can be positive (increasing velocity) or negative (decreasing velocity)

Displacement And Distance

• Displacement: shortest distance between an object's initial and final positions
  • Measured in meters (m)
  • Can be positive (forward direction) or negative (backward direction)
• Distance: total length of an object's path
  • Measured in meters (m)
  • Always positive

Motion Graphs

• Position-Time Graphs: plot of an object's position vs. time
  • Slope represents velocity
  • Curvature represents acceleration
• Velocity-Time Graphs: plot of an object's velocity vs. time
  • Slope represents acceleration
  • Area under the curve represents displacement
• Acceleration-Time Graphs: plot of an object's acceleration vs. time
  • Slope represents jerk (rate of change of acceleration)

Uniform And Non-uniform Motion

• Uniform Motion: motion with constant velocity
  • Position-time graph is a straight line
  • Velocity-time graph is a horizontal line
• Non-uniform Motion: motion with changing velocity
  • Position-time graph is a curve
  • Velocity-time graph is a curved or angled line

Kinematics

Velocity And Acceleration

• Velocity is the rate of change of an object's position with respect to time, measured in meters per second (m/s).
• There are two types of velocity: instantaneous (at a specific point in time) and average (over a period of time).
• Acceleration is the rate of change of an object's velocity, measured in meters per second squared (m/s²).
• Acceleration can be positive (increasing velocity) or negative (decreasing velocity).

Displacement And Distance

• Displacement is the shortest distance between an object's initial and final positions, measured in meters (m).
• Displacement can be positive (forward direction) or negative (backward direction).
• Distance is the total length of an object's path, measured in meters (m), and is always positive.

Motion Graphs

• Position-time graphs plot an object's position vs. time, with slope representing velocity and curvature representing acceleration.
• Velocity-time graphs plot an object's velocity vs. time, with slope representing acceleration and area under the curve representing displacement.
• Acceleration-time graphs plot an object's acceleration vs. time, with slope representing jerk (rate of change of acceleration).

Uniform And Non-uniform Motion

• Uniform motion occurs when an object moves with constant velocity, resulting in a straight line on a position-time graph and a horizontal line on a velocity-time graph.
• Non-uniform motion occurs when an object moves with changing velocity, resulting in a curved position-time graph and a curved or angled velocity-time graph.