Physics POGIL: Speed and Velocity Speed and velocity often mean the same thing in everyday language

they tell us how fast an object moves. However, in physics they have precise definitions. In this POGIL we will familiarize ourselves with the definitions of speed and velocity and learn how to calculate them. These quantities will enable us to partly answer the question How do things move? Together with your group, carefully read the information given in each section and answer the questions that follow. Examples of Speed and Velocity The following descriptions of motion give the speed of an object. A person walks at a rate of 1.5 m/s (equal to 3.35 mi/h or 5.4 km/h) A cheetah can run at speeds of 70 mi/h (equal to 112.7 km/h or 31.3 m/s) Some high-speed trains have attained speeds of 300 km/h (83.3 m/s or 186.4 mi/h)

The following descriptions of motion give the velocity of an object.

A person walks at a rate of 1.5 m/s in the direction of north A cheetah runs at a speed of 70 mi/h to the south A train travels to the southwest at 300 km/h

1. Compare and contrast speed and velocity. How are they the same? How are they different?

2. For each of the following descriptions of motion, state whether the description is that of a speed, a velocity,
or neither. a) a truck cruises along a highway at 100 km/h b) a truck cruises along a highway at 100 km/h east c) a car slows down 100 m from a deer to avoid hitting it

d) the space shuttle launches upward at rates of over 125 m/s 3. The following chart shows several descriptions of motion. For each one, indicate whether the object has a
speed that is constant or changing. Then indicate whether the object has a velocity that is constant or changing. Description of Motion A sprinter runs a race on a straight track starting from rest and reaches a top speed of 10 m/s A race car travels along a straight section of a race track at a constant 90 m/s A cyclist travels around a curve at a constant 13 m/s Is the speed constant or changing? Is the velocity constant or changing?

Physics Instantaneous Speed and Average Speed The instantaneous speed of an object is how fast it is traveling at one instant in time. Each of the speeds listed in questions 2 and 3 above are examples of instantaneous speed. The average speed of an object is the average of all instantaneous speeds during some time interval. It is fairly easy to calculate. Suppose a track star runs the 100 meter dash in a time of 15 seconds. To calculate the average speed, we do the following:

average speed =

distance 100 m = = 6.67 m/s time 15 s

This means that, on average, the person traveled a distance of 6.67 m during each second of the dash. They may not have run exactly this distance during every second of the dash; remember that it is an average. As a second example, suppose that it takes a horse 2 minutes to run 1.25 miles in a horse race. The average speed of the horse during the race would be:

average speed =

distance 1.25 mi = = 0.625 mi/min time 2 min

This means that, on average, the horse traveled a distance of 0.625 mi during each minute of the race. Once again, this does not mean that the horse traveled at 0.625 mi/min during the whole race. At some times it may have been slower, at other times it may have been faster, but the average of all the instantaneous speeds is 0.625 mi/min. 4. Calculate the average speed of the object in each of the following cases. a) A 70 km trip to South Bend by car takes 1.2 h b) The current world record for the 1600 m run is 223 s

c) A Boeing 737, during take-off, travels around 1200 m in 35 s

d) A 15 mi bicycle ride from Plymouth to Culver takes approximately 1.5 hours 5. Suppose your average speed of walking is 3 mi/h. a) Does this mean that your speed during a walk around the block is a constant 3 mi/h? Why or why not?

b) How far would you be able to walk in: i) one hour? ii) two hours?

Physics iii) ten hours? iv) one day? c) How long would it take you to walk: i) 1 mi? ii) 3 mi? iii) 15 mi? iv) 25 mi?

6. Just as there is instantaneous speed and average speed, there is also instantaneous velocity and average
velocity. What do you suppose the definitions of these two quantities are?

Problem Solving 7. The graph below shows the position vs. time graph for someone walking along a sidewalk. Answer the questions that follow based on this graph.
25 20

) m ( n o i t i s o p

15 10 5 0 0 2 4

time (s)

10

12

a) What distance does the person travel from: i) 0 to 6 s? ii) 6 to 8 s? iii) 8 to 12 s? iv) 0 to 12 s?

Physics b) In what overall direction does the person travel (positive, negative, or neither) from: i) 0 to 6 s? ii) 6 to 8 s? iii) 8 to 12 s? iv) 0 to 12 s? c) What is the persons average speed from: i) 0 to 6 s? ii) 6 to 8 s? iii) 8 to 12 s? iv) 0 to 12 s? d) Is this persons velocity constant from: i) 0 to 6 s? ii) 6 to 8 s? iii) 8 to 12 s? iv) 0 to 12 s?

8. A train travels at an average speed of 88 km/h from South Bend, IN to Chicago, IL in 75 minutes. The train
must continue from Chicago to Milwaukee, WI, a distance of another 150 km. In what time must it travel from Chicago to Milwaukee in order to have an average speed of 100 km/h for the entire trip?