Question: What is a frame of reference? How is it used to measure motion?

Answer: To describe motion accurately and completely, a frame of reference is necessary.

Question: How are distance and displacement similar and different?

Answer: Distance is the length of the path between two points. Displacement is the direction from the starting point and the length of a straight line from the starting point to the ending point.

Question: How are displacements combined?

Answer: Add displacements using vector addition.

Question: What does velocity describe?

Answer: Velocity is a description of both speed and direction of motion. Velocity is a vector.

Question: What shows the speed on a distance-time graph?

Answer: The slope of a line on a distance-time graph is speed.

Question: What is the difference between average speed and instantaneous speed?

Answer: Average speed is computed for the entire duration of a trip, and instantaneous speed is measured at a particular instant.

Question: How can two or more velocities be combined?

Answer: Two or more velocities add by vector addition.

Question: Describe three types of changes in velocity.

Answer: Acceleration can be described as changes in speed, changes in direction, or changes in both. Acceleration is a vector.

Question: What is the equation for acceleration?

Answer: You calculate acceleration for straight-line motion by dividing the change in velocity by the total time.

Question: What shows acceleration on a speed-time graph?

Answer: The slope of a speed-time graph is acceleration.