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Section summary

  • Time is measured in terms of change, and its SI unit is the second (s). Elapsed time for an event is
    Δ t = t f t 0 , size 12{Δt=t rSub { size 8{f} } - t rSub { size 8{0} } } {}
    where t f size 12{t rSub { size 8{f} } } {} is the final time and t 0 size 12{t rSub { size 8{0} } } {} is the initial time. The initial time is often taken to be zero, as if measured with a stopwatch; the elapsed time is then just t size 12{t} {} .
  • Average velocity v - size 12{ { bar {v}}} {} is defined as displacement divided by the travel time. In symbols, average velocity is
    v - = Δ x Δ t = x f x 0 t f t 0 . size 12{ { bar {v}}= { {Δx} over {Δt} } = { {x rSub { size 8{f} } - x rSub { size 8{0} } } over {t rSub { size 8{f} } - t rSub { size 8{0} } } } "." } {}
  • The SI unit for velocity is m/s.
  • Velocity is a vector and thus has a direction.
  • Instantaneous velocity v size 12{v} {} is the velocity at a specific instant or the average velocity for an infinitesimal interval.
  • Instantaneous speed is the magnitude of the instantaneous velocity.
  • Instantaneous speed is a scalar quantity, as it has no direction specified.
  • Average speed is the total distance traveled divided by the elapsed time. (Average speed is not the magnitude of the average velocity.) Speed is a scalar quantity; it has no direction associated with it.

Conceptual questions

Give an example (but not one from the text) of a device used to measure time and identify what change in that device indicates a change in time.

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There is a distinction between average speed and the magnitude of average velocity. Give an example that illustrates the difference between these two quantities.

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Does a car's odometer measure position or displacement? Does its speedometer measure speed or velocity?

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If you divide the total distance traveled on a car trip (as determined by the odometer) by the time for the trip, are you calculating the average speed or the magnitude of the average velocity? Under what circumstances are these two quantities the same?

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How are instantaneous velocity and instantaneous speed related to one another? How do they differ?

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Problems&Exercises

(a) Calculate Earth's average speed relative to the Sun. (b) What is its average velocity over a period of one year?

(a) 3 . 0 × 10 4 m/s size 12{3 "." "0 " times "10" rSup { size 8{4} } " m/s"} {}

(b) 0 m/s

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A helicopter blade spins at exactly 100 revolutions per minute. Its tip is 5.00 m from the center of rotation. (a) Calculate the average speed of the blade tip in the helicopter's frame of reference. (b) What is its average velocity over one revolution?

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The North American and European continents are moving apart at a rate of about 3 cm/y. At this rate how long will it take them to drift 500 km farther apart than they are at present?

2 × 10 7 years size 12{2 times "10" rSup { size 8{7} } " years"} {}

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Land west of the San Andreas fault in southern California is moving at an average velocity of about 6 cm/y northwest relative to land east of the fault. Los Angeles is west of the fault and may thus someday be at the same latitude as San Francisco, which is east of the fault. How far in the future will this occur if the displacement to be made is 590 km northwest, assuming the motion remains constant?

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On May 26, 1934, a streamlined, stainless steel diesel train called the Zephyr set the world's nonstop long-distance speed record for trains. Its run from Denver to Chicago took 13 hours, 4 minutes, 58 seconds, and was witnessed by more than a million people along the route. The total distance traveled was 1633.8 km. What was its average speed in km/h and m/s?

34 . 689 m/s = 124 . 88 km/h

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Questions & Answers

sound waves can be modeled as a change in pressure ,why is the change on in pressure used and not the actual pressure
Dotto Reply
what is the best
Kelly Reply
Water,air,fire
Maung
I am a university student of Myanmar.I am first year,first semester.I want to learn about physics.
Maung
two charges qA and qB are separated by a distance x. if we double the distance between the charges and triple the magnitude of the charge A, what happens to the magnitude of the force that charge A exerts on charge B. what happens to the magnitude of the force that charge B exerts on charge A
tanla Reply
how to get mcq and essay?
Owen Reply
what is force
Ibrahim Reply
force is a pull or push action on an object or a body.
joseph
what is a significant figure? and give example
Frederick
numerical chapter number 3
Sajid Reply
joined
Ibrahim
a reflected ray on a mirror makes an angle of 20degree with the incident ray when the mirror is rotated 15degree what angle will the incident ray now make with the reflected ray
Akinyemi Reply
what is simple harmonic motion
Solomon Reply
how vapour pressure of a liquid lost through convection
Yomzi Reply
Roofs are sometimes pushed off vertically during a tropical cyclone, and buildings sometimes explode outward when hit by a tornado. Use Bernoulli’s principle to explain these phenomena.
Aliraza Reply
Plz answer the question ☝️☝️
Aliraza
what's the basic si unit of acceleration
ELLOIN Reply
Explain why the change in velocity is different in the two frames, whereas the change in kinetic energy is the same in both.
Fabian Reply
Insulators (nonmetals) have a higher BE than metals, and it is more difficult for photons to eject electrons from insulators. Discuss how this relates to the free charges in metals that make them good conductors.
Muhammad Reply
Is the photoelectric effect a direct consequence of the wave character of EM radiation or of the particle character of EM radiation? Explain briefly.
Muhammad
Determine the total force and the absolute pressure on the bottom of a swimming pool 28.0m by 8.5m whose uniform depth is 1 .8m.
Henny Reply
how solve this problem?
Foday
P(pressure)=density ×depth×acceleration due to gravity Force =P×Area(28.0x8.5)
Fomukom
for the answer to complete, the units need specified why
muqaddas Reply
That's just how the AP grades. Otherwise, you could be talking about m/s when the answer requires m/s^2. They need to know what you are referring to.
Kyle
Practice Key Terms 7

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Source:  OpenStax, College physics for ap® courses. OpenStax CNX. Nov 04, 2016 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11844/1.14
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