Module 1 Lesson 5

Module 1—Motion

Lesson 5—Kinematics Equations Describe Acceleration, Displacement, and Velocity

Get Focused

At 4:02 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, August 2, 2005, Air France Flight 358 landed on runway 24 at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto. It had been circling the airport in a heavy thunderstorm. Within 20 minutes, passengers from this aircraft appeared on Highway 401 near the airport, flagging down drivers and claiming to be the victims of a plane crash.

It was later revealed that the plane failed to stop before the end of the runway. The fuselage ended up in a creek bed, engulfed in flames. What had happened? Was the runway too short? Did the plane’s braking system fail? What role did the weather play?

Detailed information must be used to determine takeoff and landing distances for each type of commercial and passenger plane. Runway lengths are based on the relationships between the initial velocity, final velocity, and acceleration of the aircraft. To do this, investigators use a set of equations to help solve acceleration, velocity, and displacement problems.

kinematics: the study of motion without concern for forces, masses, or energy

Which equations do they use, and how do they use them? You will determine this as you investigate, derive, and apply kinematic equations to solve complex problems involving applications of constant acceleration.

In this lesson you will explore the following essential questions:

Which equations are useful in solving acceleration, velocity, and displacement problems?
Where do these equations come from?

As you work through this lesson, you will find it useful to recall the following facts that you should already know about describing motion graphically from your work in Lessons 3 and 4.

Displacement-time graphs have a slope that indicates the object’s velocity.
For uniform acceleration, the velocity-time graph has a slope that indicates the object’s acceleration.
Instantaneous velocity can be found using a tangent on the position-time graph for an object undergoing accelerated motion in a straight line.
The area under the curve of a velocity-time graph is equal to the object’s displacement.

If you are unsure or need to review any of these concepts, look back at Lessons 3 and 4 or read pages 11 and 12, 24 to 26, and 31 to 34 in your textbook.

Module 1: Lesson 5 Assignments

Your teacher-marked Module 1: Lesson 5 Assignment requires you to submit a response to the following:

Try This—TR 1, TR 2, TR 3, and TR 4
Lab—LAB 1, LAB 2, LAB 3, LAB 4, and LAB 5

You must decide what to do with the questions that are not marked by your teacher.

Remember that these questions provide you with the practice and feedback that you need to successfully complete this course. You should respond to all the questions and place those answers in your course folder.