Chapter 1: Motion
I. Reference Point Starting point used to describe the position of an object (sometimes called the origin)
II. Speed Speed is a change in position in a given period of time. Speed = Distance / Time Distance = Speed x Time Time = Distance / Speed
III. Average speed When the speed of a moving object is not always constant. Average speed = total distance/total time
IV. Velocity Speed in a given direction. Velocity is a vector because it has both size and direction
C. The size of the vector shows the speed (faster is larger) and the directions are east, west, north or south.
D. The difference between velocity and speed is that speed has no direction, although often the two are used interchangeably.
The rate at which velocity changes with time. Speeding up. V. Acceleration The rate at which velocity changes with time. Speeding up. Slowing down. Changing direction.