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Speed
Chapter 1.2
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Introduction
An objects position is measured
from a reference point
To describe the position of an
object, you can use distance and
direction
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To calculate speed, you need to
know both distance and time
Objects that travel at different
speeds move different distances in
the same amount of time
Speed can be calculated by
dividing the distance an object
travels by the time it takes to cover
the distance
The formula for finding speed is
Speed = distance/time S=d/t
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Standard Units
The standard units for speed in
meters per second or kilometers
per hour
In the English system speed is
measured usually as miles per
hour
One mile per hour equals .45
meters per second (m/s)
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Average Speed
Your instantaneous speed ,
difficult to measure, is your
moment-to-moment speed
Your average speed is the
calculated measure of your speed
over a distance.

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Developing Graphing Skills
Speed is measured by the
steepness, or, slope, of a line.
Slope is defined as the change in
y-values divided by the change in
x-values
A rising line, or positive slope,
indicates that the distance an
object travels from its starting point
is increasing with time.
A horizontal line, or 0 slope,
indicates that the speed is zero
meters per second
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Velocity
Velocity is a speed in a specific
direction
Velocity is an example of a vector
A vector is a quantity that has both
size and direction
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What This Means
If you want to understand how an
object (like a car, ball, person, or
rocket) moves, you have to understand
three things about what it means "to be
moving." These three things "stick" to
any object that moves, and are numbers
that scientifically describe just how an
object's motion is working. These three
things are:
1. Position. This is precisely where an
object is located.
2. Speed. Precisely how fast an object is
moving. and..(the most difficult for
most people)...
3. Acceleration. Precisely how fast an
object's speed is changing.
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Consider the motion of a Hot Wheels
car down an incline, across a level
and straight section of track, around a
180-degree curve, and finally along a
final straight section of track. The car
gains speed while moving down the
incline - that is, it accelerates. Along
the straight sections of track, the car
slows down slightly (due to air
resistance forces). Again the car could
be described as having an
acceleration. Finally, along the 180-
degree curve, the car is changing its
direction; once more the car is said to
have an acceleration due to the
change in the direction. Accelerating
objects have a changing velocity -
either due to a speed change
(speeding up or slowing down) or a
direction change.