Position, Velocity, and Acceleration
11th Grade · Science · 45 min
Lesson Preview
Learning Objective
I can relate position, velocity, and acceleration using graphs and equations.
- 1
Position describes an object's location in space relative to a reference point, while velocity is the rate of change of position over time, and acceleration is the rate of change of velocity over time.
- 2
Distance is a scalar quantity representing the total length of the path traveled by an object, whereas displacement is a vector quantity representing the shortest straight-line path between the object's initial and final positions, including direction.
- 3
Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to how fast an object is moving, while velocity is a vector quantity that describes both the speed and direction of an object's motion; similarly, acceleration is always a vector, indicating the rate of change of velocity and its direction.
