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 starts out in the positive region of the velocity graph. This represents an object that is moving in the positive direction. The line is sloping downward toward the v=0 m/s level. This represents an object that is slowing down. The line then crosses the time axis and remains straight, diagonal and negatively sloped. Crossing the axis is significant in that it represents a change from a positive velocity to a negative velocity. The line remains in the negative region sloping away from the v=0 m/s mark. This represents an object which is speeding up.
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.
