1. Calculating Speed
Success Criteria
Your learning has been successful if you can do the following:
Name the metric units and symbols for distance and time.
Define speed and its units.
Calculate average speed from distance and time measurements.
Vocabulary
Learn these so you can communicate this concept well.
Motion: When an object moves from one place to another.
Stationary: When an object is not moving at all, it stays in one place.
Speed: How fast an object is moving.
Velocity: Similar to speed, but also tells us the direction in which an object is moving. It includes both speed and direction of motion.
Distance: How far an object has travelled from one point to another.
Time: How long it takes an object to move from one point to another.
Do Now on page 7 of your PESS1.2 SciPAD:
Introduction to Motion
Units of Motion - Time, Distance
Find some space on page 7 of your PESS1.2 SciPAD,
and answer the following questions:
1. How many metres are there in 1 kilometre?
2. How many seconds are there in 1 minute?
3. How many centimetres are there in 1 metre?
4. How many minutes are there in 1 hour?
5. How many millimetres are there in 1 metre?
6. How many seconds are there in 1 hour?
Converting Units
Calculating Speed
When an object is moving, we say it is in MOTION. When an object is not moving, we say it is STATIONARY or AT REST.
Speed is the measure of how fast an object is travelling. All moving objects have speed. Speed can be calculated by using the formula below. The symbol for speed is 'v', which stands for VELOCITY, the speed in a particular direction.
For rearranging this formula, there are two methods you could use:
Velocity is a vector quantity, meaning it has two aspects - it has a size and a direction. Speed is a scalar quantity, meaning it has a size, but no direction.
The Triangle Method
The Cancelling Method
