forces and motion

• What does distance tell us about an object?

  How far an object moves
• What key characteristic does distance not involve?

  Direction
• What type of quantity is distance?

  Scalar
• If a car moved 500 meters, what information is missing?

  The direction the car moved in
• Why is distance a scalar quantity?

  It has magnitude but no direction
• What does displacement tell us about an object?

  The distance in a straight line from start to finish
• What must displacement include?

  The direction of the straight line
• What type of quantity is displacement?

  Vector
• Why is displacement a vector quantity?

  It includes both magnitude and direction
• What type of quantity is speed?

  Scalar
• What does the speed of an object tell us?

  The distance traveled in a given time
• Why is speed a scalar quantity?

  It does not involve direction
• What is one factor that normal human speeds can depend on?

  The age of the person
• What is one factor that normal human speeds can depend on?

  The fitness of the person
• What is one factor that normal human speeds can depend on?

  The distance traveled
• What is one factor that normal human speeds can depend on?

  The terrain
• What is the speed of a fast train in the UK?

  Around 50 meters per second
• What is the speed of a car on a main road?

  Around 13 meters per second
• What is the speed of a cruising airplane?

  Around 250 meters per second
• What is a typical value for the speed of sound in air?

  330 meters per second
• Does the speed of sound in air vary?

  Yes
• What weather condition makes sound travel faster?

  Warmer days
• Is the speed of a moving object usually constant?

  Rarely
• To make calculations easier, what speed do we tend to calculate?

  The average speed
• Why do people move more slowly uphill compared to flat ground?

  Increased gravitational force component resists motion
• Why do long distance runners tend to start faster?

  They are less tired at the beginning
• What does the speed of an object tell us?

  The distance traveled in a given time
• What does speed not give us any idea of?

  The direction of the journey
• What kind of quantity is speed?

  A scalar quantity
• What is the velocity of an object?

  Its speed in a given direction
• If an object travels at 20 meters per second south, what are we stating?

  Its velocity
• Because velocity includes both magnitude and direction, what type of quantity is it?

  A vector quantity
• How do we calculate velocity?

  The same way we calculate speed
• For objects moving in a circle, what happens to their direction even if their speed is constant?

  The direction is constantly changing
• If an object moves at a constant speed in a circle, what happens to its velocity?

  Its velocity is constantly changing
• Does the principle of changing velocity with constant speed in a circle apply to an object traveling around part of a circle?

  Yes
• What does the acceleration of an object tell us?

  Change in its velocity over time
• What do scientists call it when an object is slowing down?

  Deceleration
• What can we use to calculate the acceleration of an object?

  A velocity time graph
• What does the gradient of a velocity time graph tell us?

  The acceleration of the object