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1.3 & 1.4 Position-Time Graphs

This document provides information about position-time graphs in physics. It discusses: - The components of position-time graphs, with position along the x-axis and time along the y-axis. - How to determine an object's position, displacement, distance traveled, velocity, and speed from these graphs. - How straight lines on the graph indicate constant velocity while curves represent changing velocity. - Additional concepts like determining instantaneous velocity using tangent lines, and identifying whether an object is speeding up or slowing down based on the curvature of the graph. Worked examples are provided to demonstrate these concepts.

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Freddo Won
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174 views

1.3 & 1.4 Position-Time Graphs

This document provides information about position-time graphs in physics. It discusses: - The components of position-time graphs, with position along the x-axis and time along the y-axis. - How to determine an object's position, displacement, distance traveled, velocity, and speed from these graphs. - How straight lines on the graph indicate constant velocity while curves represent changing velocity. - Additional concepts like determining instantaneous velocity using tangent lines, and identifying whether an object is speeding up or slowing down based on the curvature of the graph. Worked examples are provided to demonstrate these concepts.

Uploaded by

Freddo Won
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SPH3U Grade 11 University Physics Unit 1: Kinematics

1.3 Position-Time 𝒅 ⃗ − 𝜟𝒕 Graphs


A position-time graph, 𝑑 ⃗ − Δ𝑡, indicates an object’s motion along a straight path.
__________________ is along the horizontal axis and _____________________ is along the vertical axis.

On a 𝑑 ⃗ − Δ𝑡, an object’s
• _______________________ at any time can be reading off values on the graph
• _______________________ can be calculated by subtracting the difference between the object’s
position at two different points at time i.e. Δ𝑑 ⃗ = 𝑑2⃗ − 𝑑1⃗
• ____________________ over time is calculated in 3 steps
a. Divide up the position-time graph into separate intervals every time the graph
switches direction e.g. it moves from moving up to down (or vice versa)
b. Subtract the difference between the starting and ending point of each interval.
Take only the positive value of the difference since distance can only be positive.
This gives the distance travelled over that interval
c. Sum up all the distances for each interval. This gives the total distance travelled.

Position-Time Graphs with Constant Velocity


Straight lines on a position-time graph indicate that the object is moving at constant
speed/velocity.
• In addition, the instantaneous and average velocity is the same
• A horizontal line is a special case where the object has a constant speed of 0 i.e. it is not
moving during an interval of time.

Direction of Movement and Position of Object


When the object is
• moving in the positive direction, the line has a _________________________ slope. The line/curve
is slanted ___________________________.
• moving in the negative direction, the line has a _________________________ slope. The line/curve
is slanted ___________________________.
• not moving (or at rest), the line is ______________________ and has a slope of
_________________________.
SPH3U Grade 11 University Physics Unit 1: Kinematics

Example. To the right is a


position-time graph of a cyclist’s 20
second journey.

a) What direction is designated


positive?
b) When is the cyclist heading
east? West? At rest?
c) What is the object’s total
displacement for its journey?
d) What is the total distance
that the object travelled?

Velocity on a Position-Time Graph


From a 𝑑 ⃗ − 𝛥𝑡 graph, we can also the object’s velocity and speed.
• If we are trying to determine the instantaneous velocity at some point along a straight-
line segment, we calculate the slope using any two points along the same line. The value
of slope corresponds to the instantaneous velocity
• The sign of the slope indicates direction of travel
• The magnitude of the slope corresponds to speed.

Steeper lines indicate greater ______________________. This is because the magnitude of the slope is
______________________ in steeper lines than in flatter lines.
SPH3U Grade 11 University Physics Unit 1: Kinematics

Example. Below is a position-time depicting the motion of an object.

a) How many times does the object changes speed? _____________________


b) What is the average velocity between?
i. 0 s and 4 s _____________________
ii. 5 s and 9 s _____________________
iii. 9 s and 16 s _____________________
iv. 2 s and 7 s _____________________
c) What is the object’s instantaneous velocity at
i. t= 2.0 s _____________________
ii. t=14.0 s _____________________
iii. t= 4.0 s _____________________

Example. On graphs A, B, and C the motion of two objects is plotted. Determine in each of
the graphs, which object has the
a) Greater velocity
b) Greater speed
SPH3U Grade 11 University Physics Unit 1: Kinematics

1.4 Curves on Position-Time Graphs

In real life,

• moving objects do not maintain the same speed


over an interval of time. For example, a school
bus does not drive at 60 km
h
during its whole trip.
• It has to accelerate from rest until it reaches a
speed of 60 km
h
• We can use slope to determine the speed of a
moving object on a 𝑑 ⃗ − Δ𝑡 graph, but at the
point where two lines connect, the
speed/velocity suddenly jumps from one value to another (that is impossible). The speed
of an object cannot jump from 2 m/s to 3 m/s without first bypassing the speed of 2.5
m/s

On a position-time graph can more realistically model a moving object with changing velocity
and speed by a curve.

The Average and Instantaneous Velocity on 𝒅 ⃗ − 𝚫𝒕 graph


On the 𝑑 ⃗ − Δ𝑡 graph, an object’s average velocity over an interval of time can be found by
calculating the slope between any two points on the curve with the formula:

Δ𝑑 ⃗ 𝑑𝑓⃗ − 𝑑𝑖⃗
𝑣⃗ = =
Δ𝑡 𝑡𝑓 − 𝑡𝑖

On a 𝑑 ⃗ − 𝛥𝑡, the instantaneous velocity can be determined by


finding the slope of the ________________________ line at a point in
time. A line is said to be tangent to a point on a curve if it
just “touches” and is “balances/parallel” to that curve at that
point. If you zoom the tangent line and curve look like they
overlap each other and are nearly indistinguishable.

Remark: Finding the average velocity involves using the


object’s position at two different moments in time whereas
the instantaneous velocity is found at a particular moment in time.
SPH3U Grade 11 University Physics Unit 1: Kinematics

Drawing the Tangent Line Graphically

1. Start with a ruler that is horizontal to the start of the position time graph
2. Move the ruler along the curve until you reach the point you are trying to find a line
tangent to
3. Pick two points on the tangent line, one to the left and the other to the right of the
point the line touches (ideally as far away as possible) and calculate the slope

Example. Find the


instantaneous velocity at
t = 10.0s

Speeding up or Slowing Down


On a 𝑑 ⃗ − 𝛥𝑡, the type of curvature of the graph indicates whether object is speeding up or
slowing down.
The object is speeding up if either

i. The tangent line is getting _______________________ as you slide left to right


ii. The curve is getting steeper

The object is slowing down if either

i. The tangent line is getting _______________________ as you slide left to right


ii. The curve is getting _____________________
SPH3U Grade 11 University Physics Unit 1: Kinematics

Example. For the following 4 graphs below, determine whether the object’s velocity AND
speed is increasing OR decreasing.

Point of Inflection
A point of inflection is a point on a curve that divides a curve into two sections. A part of the
tangent line/curve is ______________________ and ______________________ then or VICE VERA.
SPH3U Grade 11 University Physics Unit 1: Kinematics

Example. Answer the following questions below for the following position-time graph

a) During which time interval(s) was the object speeding?


b) During which time interval(s) was the object slowing down?
c) During which time interval(s) was the object at uniform velocity?
d) Describe the object’s journey indicating the direction of travel and any changes in its
speed.
e) What was the object’s instantaneous velocity at 4 s and 13 s

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