Speed Flashcards
What is the difference between a distance and a displacement?
Distance is a scalar quantity and only has a magnitude (size)
Displacement is a vector quantity and has both magnitude and direction
What is the difference between speed and velocity?
Speed is a scalar quantity and only has a magnitude (size), velocity is a vector quantity and has both magnitude and direction
What factors can affect the speed at which someone walks, runs or cycles?
Age, fitness, terrain and distance travelled
What are typical speeds for a person walking, running and cycling?
Walking - 1.5 m/s
Running - 3.0 m/s
Cycling - 6.0 m/s
What are typical speeds of a car and a train?
Car - 13-30 m/s
Train - 50 m/s
What is the typical speed for sound travelling in air?
330 m/s
What is acceleration?
Change in velocity of an object per second
What is the unit of acceleration?
m/s^2
How can an object be accelerating even if it is travelling at a steady speed?
If it is changing direction
What is happening to an object if it has a negative acceleration?
It is slowing down
What information does the gradient of the line in a distance-time graph provide?
Speed
What information does the gradient of the line in a velocity-time graph provide?
Acceleration
How can the distance travelled by an object be found from its velocity-time graph?
Calculate the area under the graph
What is the acceleration of a free-falling object due to gravity?
~9.8 m/s^2
What is the name for the steady speed a falling object reaches when the resistive force is equal to its weight?
Terminal velocity
