- Uniform Velocity - equal displacments in equal intervals of time.
- Only use this formula when velocities do not change.
- uniform velocity rarely occurs
- This equation can be used as average velocity.
- Straight lines on a position time graph indicate uniform velocity.
- Curved lines on a position time graph indicates accelerated motion
- If the curve is upwards, then acceleration is + or right or up.
- If the curve is downwards then acceleration is - or left or down.
- The slope of the position time graph is velocity.
- positive slope is motion right or up.
- negative slope is motion left or down.
- As previously stated:
- Average velocity = instantaneous velocity when motion is uniform. Otherwise, for non-uniform motion, average velocity is not necessarily equal to instantaneous velocity.
- e.g. A car travels 1.0 km at 50 km/h[E], and 1.0 km at 100 km/h[E]. What is the average velocity?
- The average velocity equals the slope of the line joining the initial position and final position on a position time graph.
- Instantaneous Velocity - The velocity at an instant in time.
- If the velocity is not constant, then the slope of the position time graph is not constant and therefore velocity changes.
- At different instances in time, Velocity will be different.
- To find the instantaneous velocity, we need to find the slope of the postition time graph at an instant in time.
- As we take the slope of lines A & B etc., they will have slopes that tend towards the slope of the line C, the tangent at time T. The slope of the tangent at time T measures the steepness of the curve at time T (The instantaneous velocity).
- Instantaneous velocity is therefore the slope of the tangent to the curve at the time of concern.
- Note how as we move from A to B etc., DT decreases, therefore: