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Kinematic Concepts - Detailed Help

Assignment KC5: Oil Drop Representations

Objectives:
  • The student should be able to analyze an oil drop representation (ticker tape) and classify a motion as a constant velocity motion, an accelerated motion and as slow or fast.
  • The student should be able to analyze an oil drop representation (ticker tape) and describe the direction of the velocity and acceleration vectors.

 

Reading:

The Physics Classroom, One-Dimensional Kinematics Unit, Lesson 2, Part b
An old car has a leaky engine and leaves the following oil drop trace on the street; the drops hit the street at regular time intervals. The oil drop pattern depicts ____.
Constant Velocity versus Accelerated Motion:

An object which moves with a constant velocity is moving with a constant speed in an unchanging direction. The distance traveled in each consecutive second is the same. An object which has an accelerated motion is changing its velocity. It could be speeding up, slowing down or changing direction. If the object is slowing down, then the amount of distance traveled in each second is decreasing. If the object is speeding up, it is covering a greater distance in each consecutive second.
The oil drop pattern uses dots to represent the location of the car after a certain interval of time - perhaps after every 1-second interval in time. An inspection of the location of each dot relative to the previous dots allows you to determine if the distance traveled in the most recent second is increasing, decreasing or staying the same. You can decide what type of motion is involved by observing how the distance traveled in each consecutive second is changing.
Based on the oil drop pattern for Car A and Car B, which of the following statements are true? List all that apply ... .
Constant Velocity versus Accelerated Motion:

An object which moves with a constant velocity is moving with a constant speed in an unchanging direction. The distance traveled in each consecutive second is the same. An object which has an accelerated motion is changing its velocity. It could be speeding up, slowing down or changing direction. If the object is slowing down, then the amount of distance traveled in each second is decreasing. If the object is speeding up, it is covering a greater distance in each consecutive second.
The oil drop pattern uses dots to represent the location of the car after a certain interval of time - perhaps after every 1-second interval in time. An inspection of the location of each dot relative to the previous dots allows you to determine if the distance traveled in the most recent second is increasing, decreasing or staying the same. You can decide what type of motion is involved by observing how the distance traveled in each consecutive second is changing.
Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity changes. If one car has a greater acceleration than another car, then it is changing its velocity at a greater rate. If the car is speeding up, than its speed value is increasing by a greater rate. If both cars start from rest, then the car with the greater acceleration will cover a greater distance in the same amount of time. If the answer to this question isn't immediately obvious, then you could simply count off four or five or six seconds for both cars to see which car moves the greatest distance in that amount of time.
Which one of the following verbal descriptions best describes the oil drop pattern shown below?
Constant Velocity versus Accelerated Motion:

An object which moves with a constant velocity is moving with a constant speed in an unchanging direction. The distance traveled in each consecutive second is the same. An object which has an accelerated motion is changing its velocity. It could be speeding up, slowing down or changing direction. If the object is slowing down, then the amount of distance traveled in each second is decreasing. If the object is speeding up, it is covering a greater distance in each consecutive second.
The oil drop pattern uses dots to represent the location of the car after a certain interval of time - perhaps after every 1-second interval in time. An inspection of the location of each dot relative to the previous dots allows you to determine if the distance traveled in the most recent second is increasing, decreasing or staying the same. You can decide what type of motion is involved by observing how the distance traveled in each consecutive second is changing.

Starting at the left side of the diagram, progress towards the right side and inspect the distance between each oil drop. Use this distance and the principle in the Physics Rules section above to determine if the object's motion is a constant speed or an accelerated motion. If necessary, use a measuring tool to decide. Continue to inspect dots as you progress towards the right and continuously monitor the changes in the object's speed (if any). The piling up of the oil drops on each other at the far right is an indication that the object has come to a resting position.
Which one of the following verbal descriptions best describes the oil drop pattern shown below?
Constant Velocity versus Accelerated Motion:

An object which moves with a constant velocity is moving with a constant speed in an unchanging direction. The distance traveled in each consecutive second is the same. An object which has an accelerated motion is changing its velocity. It could be speeding up, slowing down or changing direction. If the object is slowing down, then the amount of distance traveled in each second is decreasing. If the object is speeding up, it is covering a greater distance in each consecutive second.
The oil drop pattern uses dots to represent the location of the car after a certain interval of time - perhaps after every 1-second interval in time. An inspection of the location of each dot relative to the previous dots allows you to determine if the distance traveled in the most recent second is increasing, decreasing or staying the same. You can decide what type of motion is involved by observing how the distance traveled in each consecutive second is changing.

Starting at the left side of the diagram, progress towards the right side and inspect the distance between each oil drop. Use this distance and the principle in the Physics Rules section above to determine if the object's motion is a constant speed or an accelerated motion. If necessary, use a measuring tool to decide. Continue to inspect dots as you progress towards the right and continuously monitor the changes in the object's speed (if any). The piling up of the oil drops on each other at the far right is an indication that the object has come to a resting position.
An object is moving from left to right. It's motion is represented by the oil drop diagram below. This object has a _______ velocity and a _______ acceleration.

Direction of Acceleration:

Acceleration is a vector quantity and it has a direction. For an object moving in a straight line, the direction of the acceleration is dependent upon two factors:
  • the direction which the object moves, and
  • whether the object is speeding up or slowing down

If an object is speeding up, then the direction of the acceleration is in the same direction that the object is moving. If an object is slowing down, then the direction of its acceleration is in the opposite direction that the object is moving.

The direction of an object's velocity is always in the same direction which the object is moving. Whether or not there is an acceleration can be determined using the Physics Rules section below. If there is an acceleration, its direction must be decided upon. Use the principle in the Physics Rules section above to determine the direction of the acceleration(if there is one).
Constant Velocity versus Accelerated Motion:

An object which moves with a constant velocity is moving with a constant speed in an unchanging direction. The distance traveled in each consecutive second is the same. An object which has an accelerated motion is changing its velocity. It could be speeding up, slowing down or changing direction. If the object is slowing down, then the amount of distance traveled in each second is decreasing. If the object is speeding up, it is covering a greater distance in each consecutive second.
An object is moving from left to right. It's motion is represented by the oil drop diagram below. This object has a _______ velocity and a _______ acceleration.

Direction of Acceleration:

Acceleration is a vector quantity and it has a direction. For an object moving in a straight line, the direction of the acceleration is dependent upon two factors:
  • the direction which the object moves, and
  • whether the object is speeding up or slowing down

If an object is speeding up, then the direction of the acceleration is in the same direction that the object is moving. If an object is slowing down, then the direction of its acceleration is in the opposite direction that the object is moving.

The direction of an object's velocity is always in the same direction which the object is moving. Whether or not there is an acceleration can be determined using the Physics Rules section below. If there is an acceleration, its direction must be decided upon. Use the principle in the Physics Rules section above to determine the direction of the acceleration.
Constant Velocity versus Accelerated Motion:

An object which moves with a constant velocity is moving with a constant speed in an unchanging direction. The distance traveled in each consecutive second is the same. An object which has an accelerated motion is changing its velocity. It could be speeding up, slowing down or changing direction. If the object is slowing down, then the amount of distance traveled in each second is decreasing. If the object is speeding up, it is covering a greater distance in each consecutive second.
An object is moving from left to right. It's motion is represented by the oil drop diagram below. This object has a _______ velocity and a _______ acceleration.

Direction of Acceleration:

Acceleration is a vector quantity and it has a direction. For an object moving in a straight line, the direction of the acceleration is dependent upon two factors:
  • the direction which the object moves, and
  • whether the object is speeding up or slowing down

If an object is speeding up, then the direction of the acceleration is in the same direction that the object is moving. If an object is slowing down, then the direction of its acceleration is in the opposite direction that the object is moving.

The direction of an object's velocity is always in the same direction which the object is moving. Whether or not there is an acceleration can be determined using the Physics Rules section below. If there is an acceleration, its direction must be decided upon. Use the principle in the Physics Rules section above to determine the direction of the acceleration.
Constant Velocity versus Accelerated Motion:

An object which moves with a constant velocity is moving with a constant speed in an unchanging direction. The distance traveled in each consecutive second is the same. An object which has an accelerated motion is changing its velocity. It could be speeding up, slowing down or changing direction. If the object is slowing down, then the amount of distance traveled in each second is decreasing. If the object is speeding up, it is covering a greater distance in each consecutive second.
An object is moving from right to left. It's motion is represented by the oil drop diagram below. This object has a _______ velocity and a _______ acceleration.

Direction of Acceleration:

Acceleration is a vector quantity and it has a direction. For an object moving in a straight line, the direction of the acceleration is dependent upon two factors:
  • the direction which the object moves, and
  • whether the object is speeding up or slowing down

If an object is speeding up, then the direction of the acceleration is in the same direction that the object is moving. If an object is slowing down, then the direction of its acceleration is in the opposite direction that the object is moving.

The direction of an object's velocity is always in the same direction which the object is moving. Whether or not there is an acceleration can be determined using the Physics Rules section below. If there is an acceleration, its direction must be decided upon. Use the principle in the Physics Rules section above to determine the direction of the acceleration.
Constant Velocity versus Accelerated Motion:

An object which moves with a constant velocity is moving with a constant speed in an unchanging direction. The distance traveled in each consecutive second is the same. An object which has an accelerated motion is changing its velocity. It could be speeding up, slowing down or changing direction. If the object is slowing down, then the amount of distance traveled in each second is decreasing. If the object is speeding up, it is covering a greater distance in each consecutive second.
An object is moving from right to left. It's motion is represented by the oil drop diagram below. This object has a _______ velocity and a _______ acceleration.

Direction of Acceleration:

Acceleration is a vector quantity and it has a direction. For an object moving in a straight line, the direction of the acceleration is dependent upon two factors:
  • the direction which the object moves, and
  • whether the object is speeding up or slowing down

If an object is speeding up, then the direction of the acceleration is in the same direction that the object is moving. If an object is slowing down, then the direction of its acceleration is in the opposite direction that the object is moving.

The direction of an object's velocity is always in the same direction which the object is moving. Whether or not there is an acceleration can be determined using the Physics Rules section below. If there is an acceleration, its direction must be decided upon. Use the principle in the Physics Rules section above to determine the direction of the acceleration.
Constant Velocity versus Accelerated Motion:

An object which moves with a constant velocity is moving with a constant speed in an unchanging direction. The distance traveled in each consecutive second is the same. An object which has an accelerated motion is changing its velocity. It could be speeding up, slowing down or changing direction. If the object is slowing down, then the amount of distance traveled in each second is decreasing. If the object is speeding up, it is covering a greater distance in each consecutive second.