Name ___________________________________ Date ____________________ Period ______
Speed and Velocity
Follow the path of the car shown below.
1. What is the difference between speed and velocity?
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2. What is acceleration?
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3. The car travels from B to C in 2.5 hours. What is the average velocity of the car during that
part of the trip? Show work.
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4. The entire trip took 6 hours. What is the average velocity for the trip? Show work.
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5. The car started from a standstill and reached a speed of 100 m/s during the first 20 seconds of
the trip. What is the average acceleration of the car over those 20 seconds? Show work.
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6. During the last 10 seconds of the trip, the car slows down from a speed of 150 m/s to a stop.
What is the deceleration of the car for those 10 seconds? Show work.
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Graphing speed
The table lists data about two airplanes at different speeds. Plot this data on the graph provided
(draw a smooth line through the points). Then answer the questions below the graph.
Time Distance Distance
(hr) Plane 1 Plane 2
(km)
(km)
1
150
200
2
300
400
3
450
600
4
600
800
5
750
1000
6
900
1200
7. This type of graph is called a
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8. Describe your graph as linear or nonlinear. What is the difference between each?
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9. The steepness of each line is called
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10. Which airplane was traveling faster? Explain how the lines on the graph tell you.
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11. Calculate the average speed in km/hr of each airplane over 6 hours from the last entries in
the data table. Use the formula speed = distance/time. Show work and circle your answer for
each.
Plane 1:
Plane 2:
Key:
1. Speed is simply the rate of motion (distance divided by time), whereas velocity is speed in a
given direction.
2. The rate at which velocity changes
3. 20 km/hr west
4. 15 km/hr northwest
5. 5 m/s/s
6. -15 m/s/s
7. distance vs. time graph/line graph
8. linear. Linear is a straight line. Non linear is not a straight line
9. the slope
10. Plane 2. It has a steeper slope
11. Plane 1: 150 km/hr; Plane 2: 200 km/hr