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Date:
Science 10 Unit 8 Activity Velocity and Acceleration

In this activity you will interpret a position- time and velocity- time graph.
Part 1: Interpreting a Position-Time Graph
All question for Part 1 are based on this graph:

Motion of Three Vehicles

35
30
25
20
Position m [N]

Car A

15

Car B
Car C

10
5
0
-5

10

20

30

40

50

60

-10
Time (s)

1) Recall that distance is the length of the path the object took.
Displacement only looks at where the object started and where it ended
up; the path does not matter.
Keeping this in mind, compare the distance and displacement of the 3
cars from 0 s to 60 s.
Car A
Car B
Car C
Distance (m)
30 m
35 m
25 m
Displacement (m)
30 m N
-5 m S
25 m N
2) Describe the motion of Car A, B and C in words.
Different from one another.

3) Recall that the slope of a Position-Time graph is the velocity. Fill in the
chart below using +, -, or 0 for velocity
Time Interval
0-10 s
20-30 s
50-60 s

Car A Velocity
5m/10s
5m/10s
5m/10s

Car B Velocity
5m/10s
0m/10s
5m/10s

Car C Velocity
5m/10s
5m/10s
-5m/10s

Part 2: Interpreting A Velocity Time Graph

All questions for Part 2 area based on this graph:

Velocities of Three Cars

0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Velocity (m/s)

-0.2 0

10

20

30

-0.4

40

50

60

Car A
Car B
Car C

-0.6
-0.8
-1
-1.2
Time (s)

***note these are the same 3 cars from Part 1***

1) What is the slope of the lines on this velocity time graph equivalent to?
Acceleration
2) Car A only has a slope when it goes from rest to 0.5 m/s. It then shows
zero slope. What type of motion is this from 0-5s?
Uniform motion
3) What does zero slope mean on a POSITION-time graph (Part 1)? What
does zero slope mean on a VELOCITY-time graph?
P-T Graph: does not move
V-T Graph: constant velocity

4) Describe the motion of Car C from 40 to 50 s?

-1m/s
5) What is Car Cs acceleration (look at the slope) from 40 to 50 s (positive,
negative or zero)?
Negative.
6) Describe the motion of Car C from 50 to 60 s?
0.5m/10s
7) What is Car Cs acceleration (look at the slope) from 50 to 60 s (positive,
negative or zero)?
Positive
8) Fill in the chart below with the correct sign of the acceleration in each
situation (+. or 0)
Direction
Forward (+)
Forward (+)
Backwards (-)
Backwards (-)

Velocity
Speeding up
Slowing down
Speeding up
Slowing down

Acceleration
P
N
P
N

9) In general, what can be said about the signs of the acceleration and
velocity if:
a. The object is speeding up ? Positive
b. The object is slowing down? Negative
Part 3: Falling Objects
1) A ball is thrown in the air. The position of the ball is shown in the data below.
Graph a POSITION TIME graph for the ball.
Time (s)
0
1
2
3
4

Position (m)
0
14.7
19.6
14.7
0

Make a best fit line graph. Best fit means you draw a smooth line that goes
through most of the points, not a connect the dots line. Scan your graph and
upload with this assignment

Tips for good graphing:

- use a ruler for straight lines,
- make sure to label all axis including units,
- make sure all intervals (the squares or tic marks on a graph) are worth an
EQUAL AMOUNT...for example go up by twos, fives etc.
- the graph should be large enough to be interpreted visually....at least 1/2 a page
is a good rule of thumb

1) What is causing this ball to slow down?

gravity
2) What is the balls velocity and acceleration at 2 s? Explain how you know.
Zero, as this is the highest point in the balls travels. Before this point it is
traveling upwards and after in begins to fall downwards.