Name: Stephanie Tang Date: April 30, 2017

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:

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 40 72.5
Displacement (m) 30 25 -5

2) Describe the motion of Car A, B and C in words.

Car A is going at a constant velocity. Car B starts at a slope of 0.5. It then stops
between 20s<t<30s. Car B then continues at the slope it started with for the
 remainder of the time. Car C moves forwards at a slope of 0.5 for 30 seconds.
Then from 30s<t<40s it stops moving. Car C then travels backwards for 10
seconds at a slope of -3/2, then at a slope of -0.5 for the last 10 seconds.

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 Car A Velocity Car B Velocity Car C Velocity

0-10 s + + +
20-30 s + 0 +
50-60 s + + -

Part 2: Interpreting A Velocity Time Graph

All questions for Part 2 area based on this graph:

***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?
It is equivalent to displacement over time on the motion graph.

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?
This type of motion has a positive slope. Thus, Car A is moving forwards.
3) What does zero slope mean on a POSITION-time graph (Part 1)? What does
zero slope mean on a VELOCITY-time graph?
 On the graph from part 1, a zero slope means that the vehicle was not moving. On a
velocity time graph, when the slope is zero, the vehicle is traveling at a constant
acceleration.

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

Car C is slowing down during 40 to 50 s.

5) What is Car Cs acceleration (look at the slope) from 40 to 50 s (positive,

negative or zero)?
The acceleration during this time is negative.

6) Describe the motion of Car C from 50 to 60 s?

Car C is beginning to accelerate.

7) What is Car Cs acceleration (look at the slope) from 50 to 60 s (positive,

negative or zero)?
Car C's acceleration is positive during 50 to 60s.

8) Fill in the chart below with the correct sign of the acceleration in each situation (+.
or 0)

Direction Velocity Acceleration

Forward (+) Speeding up +
Forward (+) Slowing down -
Backwards (-) Speeding up +
Backwards (-) Slowing down -

9) In general, what can be said about the signs of the acceleration and velocity if:

a. The object is speeding up then the acceleration is positive.

b. The object is slowing down then the acceleration is 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) Position (m)

0 0
1 14.7
2 19.6
3 14.7
4 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 is causing the ball to slow down.

2) What is the balls velocity and acceleration at 2 s? Explain how you know.
The velocity at 2s is 9.8 m/s and the acceleration is 4.9 m/s^2. I know this
because velocity is displacement over time and acceleration is velocity over time.

3) On separate piece of paper, answer the following questions. SHOW ALL YOUR
WORKthis means the formula, math and answer with units. Scan your work
and upload with this assignment
a. Find displacement of the ball from 0 to 4 seconds.
b. Find the average velocity of the ball from 0 to 2 seconds.
c. Find the acceleration from 0 to 2 seconds.

How would you know if you answer for 3c makes sense? The acceleration is due
to gravity and should be

Reminder: upload your word document, graph and calculations for this
assignment.