1. Chapter 3: Accelerated Motion
Created by G. Frega

2. Changing motion
You can feel the difference between uniform and nonuniform motion
When motion changes, you feel a push or pull (a force).
Ex: a Marta train coming to a sudden stop
In uniform motion, your body becomes used to it.
Ex: sitting in a car on cruise control

3. Acceleration Acceleration: the rate at which velocity is changing
Whenever we change our state of motion, we are accelerating.
Speeding up
Slowing down (negative acceleration)
Changing direction

4. Check Your Understanding
If a dog chases its tail in a circle at the same speed the whole time, is it accelerating?
Yes! Even though its speed is staying constant, it is changing direction, and therefore changing its velocity. If the velocity changes, it is accelerating.

5. ** Δ means “change in”**
a = Δv / t
** Δ means “change in”**
Acceleration is how quickly we are changing our velocity
Ex: mph per second, k/m per second, m/s2
SI Unit for acceleration is m/s2
AKA meters per second per second

6. Check Your Understanding
Suppose a car moving in a straight line steadily increases its speed each second, first from 35 to 40 km/h, then from 40 to 45 km/h, then from 45 to 50 km/h. What is its acceleration?
We see that the speed increases by 5 km/h each second. The acceleration would be 5 km/h.s during each interval.

7. Check Your Understanding
In 5 seconds a car moving in a straight line increases its speed from 50 km/h to 65 km/h, while a truck goes from rest to 15 km/h in a straight line. What is the acceleration of each vehicle?
a = Δv / t
acar = ? atruck = ?
Δvcar=65–50=15 km/h Δvtruck=15-0=15 km/h
t = 5s t = 5s
acar = (15 km/h) / (5s) atruck = (15 km/h) / (5s)
acar = 3 km/h.s atruck = 3 km/h.s

8. Check Your Understanding
Which undergoes a greater acceleration?
Although the speeds are different, their rate of change of speed is the same…so both have the same acceleration.

9. Free Fall Free fall: when an object is only affected by gravity
Consider an apple falling from a tree. We know that it starts at rest and gains speed as it falls, or accelerates.
Gravity causes the apple to accelerate downward and is said to be in free fall.
Free fall: when an object is only affected by gravity
10 m/s2 is the acceleration due to gravity.
The letter g represents the acceleration due to gravity.
g = 10 m/s2

10. Now consider an object thrown straight up
Now consider an object thrown straight up. It will continue to move straight up, then it comes back down.
At the highest point, the object changes its direction and the objects instantaneous speed is 0 m/s.
Whether the object is moving up or down, the acceleration of the object is always 10 m/s2.

11. To find the instantaneous speed of an object falling from it’s rest position, multiply acceleration due to gravity by the elapsed time.
Elapsed time: the time that has passed since the beginning of the fall
v = gt

12. Check Your Understanding
What would the speedometer reading on a falling rock be 4.5 seconds after it drops from rest?
v = gt
v = ?
g = 10 m/s2
t = 4.5s
v = (10 m/s2) (4.5s)
v = 45 m/s

13. How about 8 seconds? v = gt v = 80 m/s How about 15 seconds?
g = 10 m/s2
t = 8s
v = (10 m/s2) (8s)
v = 80 m/s
How about 15 seconds?
t = 15s
v = (10 m/s2) (15s)
v = 150 m/s

14. Because an object in free fall increases the rate of distance covered every second, we cannot use v =d/t.
The formula for finding the distance an object falls is
d = ½ gt2

15. Check Your Understanding
What is the distance an object falls in one second?
d = ½ gt2
g = 10 m/s2
t = 1 s
d = ½ (10)(12)
d = 5 m

16. Air Resistance and Free Fall
All objects fall at 10 m/s2 on Earth
Regardless of weight or mass
Ex: In a vacuum, a feather and a bowling ball will hit the ground at the same time if dropped from the same hieght
A vacuum is anyway without any air (ex: outer space)
Air resistance causes objects such as a coin and a feather to accelerate differently.
However, air resistance less noticeably affects the motion of more massive objects like stones and baseballs.
With negligible air resistance, falling objects can be considered to be in free fall.

17. Velocity – Time Graphs
Velocity-Time graphs show the change of velocity over an elapsed time
AKA Speed-Time graphs
Remember that speed does NOT take into account direction
Time is always the independent variable
Velocity is always the dependent variable

18. The slope of a Velocity-Time graph is equal to acceleration
Slope = rise/run
Slope = change in velocity / time
a = Δv / t
The steeper the slope, the faster the acceleration
Remember acceleration can be speeding up, slowing down, or sharp turns
A positive slope is speeding up and moving forward
A negative slope is EITHER slowing down OR moving backwards
A zero slope means that the velocity is NOT changing, meaning that the object is moving at the same speed in the same direction

19. Check Your Understanding
Which person(s) could be slowing down?
Person C. They have a negative slope; they could be moving backwards too (there is not enough info on the graph to tell).

20. Check Your Understanding
Which person(s) are not accelerating?
A and E. Their have a constant velocity.
Which person(s) could be speeding up?
B and D. They are increasing velocity each second.