Kinematics Flashcards
Motion in 1D and 2D.
Resultant Vector?
The single vector which has the same effect as the original vectors acting together.
Position?
Where an object is found, describing the location relative to a reference point in a frame.
Distance?
The total length of the path travelled.
Displacement?
The change in position. Considered as the shortest distance between the starting point and the end point in a specific direction.
Speed?
The rate of change of distance.
Velocity?
The rate of change of displacement.
Constant Speed?
Speed that doesn’t change over time.
Average Speed?
The total distance travelled divided by the total time.
Average Velocity?
The total displacement divided by the total time taken.
Instantaneous speed/velocity?
The speed/velocity at a specific point in time.
Acceleration?
The rate of change of velocity per unit time.
Constant Acceleration?
The velocity changes by a constant amount in each time interval.
Free Fall?
Motion (up or down) in the Earth’s gravitational field in which only the force of gravity acts on the object. Negligible air friction.
Terminal Velocity?
The maximum velocity reached by an object that is not in free fall. As in, air friction prevents anymore upwards motion.
Principle of Time Symmetry?
Objects take the same amount of time to reach their greatest height from the point of upwards launch as they take to fall back to the point of launch.
