Third Year Science

Motion
 In this Topic:

• Speed

• Acceleration
• Velocity

• Motion graphs
Who is faster: Usain Bolt or the
Cheetah?
• Usian Bolt ran 100m
in 9.58 seconds.
• What was his average
speed?
10.43 m/s
• Sarah the cheetah (Cincinnati Zoo) ran 100m
in 5.95 seconds.
• What was her average speed? 16.81 m/s
16.81 m/s

10.43 m/s
 Would you survive a safari?

Different animals run at different

Elephant: 11m/s
speeds

Can you beat them?

Zebra: 18m/s

Squirrel 5m/s Pig 4.5m/s Cheetah 31m/s Snail: 0.01 m/s

 Pairs of cameras spot your number
plate, start a timer, and then spot your
number plate again leaving a zone

800m

• A car takes 350 seconds to move between the

two cameras.
• Calculate the average speed of the car.
• Show your workings & give the unit.
2.28 m/s
 What is Speed?
Speed: a distance travelled
E
in one unit of
time

• D = Distance
• S = Speed
• T = Time
Dad’s
Silly
Triangle
 Increasing speed
speed = 0 m/s

speed = 5 m/s

speed = 7.5 m/s

• The runner’s speed is increasing.

• We say that he is accelerating.
Speeding up...

speed = 22 m/s speed = 28 m/s

• To overtake: car accelerates from 22 m/s to 28 m/s

• It takes 2 seconds to reach this higher speed.
• Acceleration =

change in speed = 6 m/s = 3 m/s2

time taken to change 2s
 Measuring 0 – 28 m/s in 5 seconds

acceleration

To measure an acceleration, we need two figures:

• a change in speed
• the time taken for this change to happen.

change in speed = 28 m/s = 5.6 m/s2

time taken to change 5s
 What is Acceleration?
E
time

Final speed – First speed

Acceleration
Time taken for speed change

Unit of acceleration:
• Metres per second per second
• m/s/s or m/s2 or ms-2
 What about slowing
down?

If something slows down, we also call this a negative

acceleration or DECELERATION
If a car slows from 9 m/s to 0 m/s (stopped) in 3 s.
Its deceleration is:
change in speed = -9 m/s = -3 m/s2
time taken to change 3s
 What is Deceleration?
Deceleration: loss E of speed per unit time

Acceleration
Final speed – First speed
& Time taken for speed change
Deceleration
Unit of acceleration:
• Metres per second per second
• m/s/s or m/s2 or ms-2
Experiment: Measuring Acceleration
1. ‘Timers’ every 10 m
2. Runner goes from starting point
3. ‘Timers’ start timing when the runner sets off
4. ‘Timers’ stop the clock when the runner
reaches them
5. Fill in the results table & calculate the
acceleration.
Distance Time (s) Difference in Speed Change in speed Acceleration =
(m) Time (time (m/s) (difference in change in speed
taken to speed) /time taken to
change) change
0-40m

0-30m

0-20m

0-10 m
Distance Time (s) Difference in Speed Change in speed Acceleration = change
(m) Time (time (m/s) (difference in in speed /time taken
taken to speed) to change
change)
0-40m

0-30m

0-20m

0-10 m
Distance Time (s) Difference in Speed Change in speed Acceleration = change
(m) Time (time (m/s) (difference in in speed /time taken
taken to speed) to change
change)
0-40m

0-30m

0-20m

0-10 m
 Velocity
Velocity: the speed E of an object and the
direction in which it is travelling
• Same units as speed, just with a direction
added to the end
• Example:
– A car was travelling at 22 m/s north
– I was running 5 m/s west
 Speed vs. Velocity
Speed is how fast you are travelling…
This car is travelling at a
speed of 20m/s

Velocity is “speed in a given direction”…

This car is travelling at a
velocity of 20m/s east
Using graphs
 Distance against time graphs
distance

time
 No movement?
distance

time
 No movement
distance

time
 Constant speed?
distance

time
 Constant speed
distance

time
 Constant speed
distance

The slope of this

graph gives the
speed

time
 Constant speed

How would the

graph look
distance

different for a
faster constant
speed?

time
 Constant speed fast
distance

time
 Constant speed fast

How would the

graph look
distance

different for a
slower constant
speed?

time
 Constant speed fast
distance

slow

time
 Getting faster? (accelerating)
distance

time
 Accelerating
distance

time
 Examples
distance

time
 A car accelerating from stop and then
hitting a wall
distance

time
 A car accelerating from stop and then
hitting a wall
distance

time
 Speed against time graphs
speed

time
 No movement?
speed

time
 No movement
speed

time
 Constant speed?
speed

time
 Constant speed
speed

time
 Constant speed

How would the

graph look
different for a
speed

faster constant
speed?

time
 Constant speed

fast
speed

time
 Constant speed

How would the

graph look
different for a
fast
speed

slower constant
speed?

time
 Constant speed

fast
speed

slow

time
 Getting faster? (accelerating)
speed

time
 Accelerating
speed

Constant acceleration

time
 Accelerating
speed

The area under the graph

gives the distance travelled

time
Example:
 A dog falling from a tall building
(no air resistance)
speed

time
 A dog falling from a tall building
(no air resistance)
speed

time
 A dog falling from a tall building
(no air resistance)
speed

Area = height of building

time
 Be careful!

speed
distance

time

time
 No movement

speed
distance

time

time
 Constant speed

speed
distance

time

Area = distance travelled

time
 Constant acceleration

speed
distance

time

Area = distance travelled

time