Kinematics Flashcards
what is scalar?
a quantity that has magnitude/size only
what is vector?
a quantity that has both magnitude/size and direction
what are some common examples of scalars?
distance, speed, mass, energy and time
what are some common examples of vectors?
displacement, velocity, acceleration and force
what is speed?
speed is the distance travelled per unit time (scalar, m/s)
how do we calculate average speed?
total distance travelled/ total time taken
what is velocity?
the rate of change of displacement or change of displacement per unit time (vector, m/s)
what is uniform acceleration?
the acceleration remains constant
what is the calculation of uniform acceleration?
change in velocity/time taken
what is non-uniform acceleration?
acceleration is not constant
what is the area under the velocity-time graph representative of?
displacement of the object
how do we calculate displacement from the velocity-time graph?
area of trapezium (1/2 x sum of parallel sides x height)
how do we calculate acceleration from the velocity-time graph?
gradient of graph (v-u/t)
how do we find distance or displacement using velocity-time graph for uniform acceleration?
area under vt graph; 1/2 (u+v) t
how do we find average velocity or average speed using velocity-time graph for uniform acceleration?
1/2 (u+v)
