Physics Unit 1: Kinematics
Scaler: Quantities with ONLY magnitude (an amount).
Eg: Distance, speed, time, mass, weight
Vector: Quantities with magnitude AND direction.
Eg: Position, displacement, velocity, acceleration, force
Speed: The rate at which distance changes (Not considering direction= Scaler).
Velocity: The rate at which displacement changes (Considering direction= Vector).
Distance: The total path travelled by an object.
Displacement: The difference in position between initial and final position, plus the direction.
● If changes in direction occurred, distance will always be greater than displacement
Uniform Motion:
● No acceleration (a= 0)
● Speed and direction are constant
Position-Time Graph:
● Slope = Speed
● Straight Line= Uniform Motion (No acceleration)
● Changes in slope indicate changes in direction
Velocity-Time Graph:
● Slope= Acceleration
● Area= Displacement
Velocity and Acceleration:
● Same Signs = Same Direction = Speeding Up
● Opposite Signs = Opposite Directions = Slowing Down
Instantaneous Speed:
● Found using tangent (line that makes contact at a single point along a line, does not
intersect)
Acceleration: The rate at which velocity changes over time (vector)
Resultant Vector: The vector given after adding vectors
Component Vector: A vector along the direction of a coordinate axis
Formulas for Non-Uniform Motion:
Scaler: Quantities with ONLY magnitude (an amount).
Eg: Distance, speed, time, mass, weight
Vector: Quantities with magnitude AND direction.
Eg: Position, displacement, velocity, acceleration, force
Speed: The rate at which distance changes (Not considering direction= Scaler).
Velocity: The rate at which displacement changes (Considering direction= Vector).
Distance: The total path travelled by an object.
Displacement: The difference in position between initial and final position, plus the direction.
● If changes in direction occurred, distance will always be greater than displacement
Uniform Motion:
● No acceleration (a= 0)
● Speed and direction are constant
Position-Time Graph:
● Slope = Speed
● Straight Line= Uniform Motion (No acceleration)
● Changes in slope indicate changes in direction
Velocity-Time Graph:
● Slope= Acceleration
● Area= Displacement
Velocity and Acceleration:
● Same Signs = Same Direction = Speeding Up
● Opposite Signs = Opposite Directions = Slowing Down
Instantaneous Speed:
● Found using tangent (line that makes contact at a single point along a line, does not
intersect)
Acceleration: The rate at which velocity changes over time (vector)
Resultant Vector: The vector given after adding vectors
Component Vector: A vector along the direction of a coordinate axis
Formulas for Non-Uniform Motion:
