Speed

Front

Motion Noun

---

[moh-shun]

Back

Motion

---

The phenomenon in which an object changes its position over time relative to a fixed reference point.

---

Example: This diagram shows the motion of a kicked soccer ball, illustrating its path (trajectory) on a graph, which represents a change in position.

Front

Reference Point Noun

---

[ref-er-uhns point]

Back

Reference Point

---

A fixed location or object used to determine the position or describe the motion of another object.

---

Example: This diagram shows a tree as a fixed reference point. The dog's motion is measured by its change in distance and direction away from this point.

Front

Distance Noun

---

[dis-tuhns]

Back

Distance

---

A scalar quantity representing the total length of the path an object has traveled from its starting point.

---

Example: This diagram shows a car moving along a path, visually defining the length of that path as the 'Distance' traveled.

Front

Displacement Noun

---

[dis-pleys-muhnt]

Back

Displacement

---

A vector quantity representing the straight-line distance and direction of an object's change in position from its start.

---

Example: This diagram shows a round trip from home to school and back. Although the distance traveled is 10 km, the displacement is zero because the start and end points are the same.

Front

Speed Noun

---

[speed]

Back

Speed

---

A scalar quantity that is the ratio of the distance an object moves to the amount of time it moves.

---

Example: A speedometer measures instantaneous speed, showing how fast an object is moving at a specific moment. The units, like kilometers per hour (km/h), represent distance over time.

Front

Average Speed Noun

---

[av-er-ij speed]

Back

Average Speed

---

The total distance traveled by an object divided by the total time it takes to travel that specific distance.

---

Example: This image shows that average speed is calculated by dividing the total distance an object travels by the total time it takes.

Front

Instantaneous Speed Noun

---

[in-stuhn-tey-nee-uhs speed]

Back

Instantaneous Speed

---

The rate at which an object is moving at a specific moment in time, as shown on a speedometer.

---

Example: A car's speedometer shows the instantaneous speed, which is the speed at a specific moment, indicated by where the needle is pointing.

Front

Velocity Noun

---

[vuh-los-i-tee]

Back

Velocity

---

A vector quantity that describes both the speed of an object and its specific direction of motion.

---

Example: This diagram shows the formula triangle for velocity (v), which is calculated by dividing displacement (d) by time (t).

Front

Position Noun

---

[puh-zish-uhn]

Back

Position

---

The specific location of an object, which is always described in relation to a given reference point or origin.

---

Example: A compass shows direction (North, South, East, West), which helps describe an object's specific position or location relative to another point.

Front

Displacement-Time Graph Noun

---

[dis-pleys-muhnt tahym graf]

Back

Displacement-Time Graph

---

A visual representation of motion that plots an object's displacement on the y-axis and the elapsed time on the x-axis.

---

Example: This graph shows an object's change in position (displacement) over time. The slope of the line indicates speed: a steep slope means fast speed, a flat line means the object is stopped.