Mission KG10 Common Misconceptions Concerning Motion Graphs
Hold down the T key for 3 seconds to activate the audio accessibility mode, at which point you can click the K key to pause and resume audio. Useful for the Check Your Understanding and See Answers.
As represented by this velocity-time graph, this object is ____.
Questions in this assignment pertain to both position-time and velocity-time graphs. When presented together, there is a strong probability that any confusion which a student has concerning the graphs will rise to the surface. As a first step in answering each question, make a mental note of which graph is being displayed. Then review the rules for that graph before looking for a reasonable answer. See Know the Law section.
This is a velocity-time graph. The line is located in the positive region of the graph at all times. This is representative of an object that is moving in the positive direction. At first the line is sloped in the negative direction and heading toward the v=0 m/s. This represents an object that is moving in the positive direction and slowing down. Then the line levels off and becomes horizontal. This represents an object moving at a constant speed.
Velocity versus time graphs represent changes that occur in an object's velocity with respect to time. The slope of the line is the acceleration (change in velocity divided by the change in time) of the object.
