Constant, Average and Instantaneous Velocity Physics 11
Constant Velocity If an object is traveling at a constant velocity, a position time graph will result in a straight line (constant function) This is referred to as uniform or non-accelerated motion
Average Velocity It is rare that an object will travel at the same velocity throughout its trip so it is often useful to consider the average velocity The average velocity is taken between two points and is determined as the slope of a line connecting those two points
Average Velocity Plot the following position time data for a car accelerating from rest to 90.km/h. Determine the average velocity for the following time intervals: 0s to 10s 0s to 3 s 3s to 6s 6s to 9s 4s to 5s Time (s)Position (m)
Instantaneous Velocity The instantaneous velocity is the velocity at one specific instant in time This is determined by drawing a tangent line to that point on the graph and determining the slope of the tangent line
Instantaneous Velocity Calculate the slope of the tangent line to find instantaneous velocity!
Practice Problems Page 42 #7, 8 Using Figure 2-26 on page 42, calculate the instantaneous velocity of the object at t = 30 s.