Unit 2
Motion in a line.
A cart on a straight track: position, velocity and acceleration, motion graphs, and the equations of motion.
Before this unit
- Measurement
- The linear function Mathematics
The unit, lesson by lesson
Lessons
4 lessons · 21 practice questions · about 2 hours
Position and velocity
Where the cart is, with a sign, and how its position graph tells you how fast and which way it is going. A constant velocity is a straight line, and the velocity is its slope.
Acceleration
When the fan pushes, the velocity changes by the same amount every second. What acceleration is, how to work out a velocity with it, and why a negative acceleration does not always mean slowing down.
Reading motion graphs
Three graphs of one trip. What the height says and what the slope says, how to read an acceleration off the velocity graph, and why the area under the velocity graph is the displacement.
The equations of constant acceleration
From the area under the velocity graph to three equations that solve any motion with constant acceleration: where the object is, when it stops, and why twice the speed means four times the braking distance.