Speed, Velocity,

and Acceleration
Physics Notes
GCE Study buddy

Displacement
The distance in a straight line in a certain direction from
the starting point
Eg Lily walked 1km to the North, then 2km to the East
followed by 1km to the south.
a. what is her total walking distance?
b. what is her final displacement?
Answers:
a. 1 + 2 + 1 = 4km
b. 2m due east from starting point

Speed and Velocity

Scalar: has only magnitude and no direction
Speed is distance travelled by a body per unit time
Vector: has both magnitude and direction
Velocity is distance travelled per unit time in a stated
direction
Velocity = Distance/time
Units: ms-1 or kmh-1
Average speed is NOT the constant speed
average speed = total distance/total time
Instantaneous speed: the speed at any instant
Use speedometer to find instantaneous speed
Can be found by finding the gradient of the tangent to the
displacement-time graph, at that point in time

Speed measurement using

ticker-tape timer

Acceleration
Defined as the rate of change of velocity with time
Acceleration = (final v - initial v)/time
Units: ms-2 or kmh-2
If velocity is constant, acceleration= 0
If velocity decreasing --> negative acceleration/deceleration
The gradient of a velocity-time graph of a moving object gives
the acceleration of the object at a given time

Acceleration of bodies
falling
near
to
earth
An object falling near to Earth, where the air resistance is
negligible, has a velocity-time graph that is s straight line.
It falls with a constant acceleration
The only force acting on the object experiencing free fall
is the force of gravity
Acceleration = 10ms-2

Acceleration-time graphs

Decreasing
acceleration

Decreasing
speed

Constant
speed

Velocity-time graphs

Constant
speed

Increasing
acceleration

Constant
speed

Constant
acceleration

Zero speed

Zero
acceleration

Distance-time graph

Area under velocity-time

graph
Area under velocitytime graph is the
distance

Question Time!
Velocity m/s
6.0

Time s
0.0

5.0

The figure shows the variation of speed v with time t at the

beginning of a bicycle ride.
a. Describe the variation of the acceleration of the bicycle with time
b. Use the graph to determine
i. the speed at t = 5.00s
ii. the acceleration at t = 5.00s
iii. the approximate distance travelled in the first 5.00s

Answers
a. The acceleration has an initial positive value which
decreases until it reaches 0m/s^2
bi. 6.0m/s
bii. 0m/s^2
biii. distance = area under graph
= 0.5 x (5.0+2.5) x 6.0
= 22.5m

Question Time
Students investigating motion down an inclined plane
measure the speed of a steel ball at one second intervals
after the ball starts to roll down from rest down one such
plane
time in s

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

speed in 0.00
m/s

0.60

1.20

1.80

a. calculate the average acceleration over the first 3.00s

b. calculate the average speed over the first 3.00s
c. what was the distance travelled by the ball in the first
3.00s?
d. how do the numbers in the table show that the
acceleration was constant?

Answers
a. 0.60m/s^2
b. average speed = 0.5 x (u + v)
= 0.5 x (0.00 + 1.80)
= 0.90m/s
c. distance = average speed x time
= 0.90 x 3
= 2.7m
d. The speed increases by a constant value of 0.60m/s
every second, hence the acceleration can be seen to be
constant