Kinematics Study Guide

For the test over kinematics and motion, you should know:

• The meaning of the terms: velocity, speed, displacement, acceleration, instantaneous speed, instantaneous acceleration, average speed, constant velocity, constant acceleration

• How constant acceleration affects speed
• For an object thrown straight up in the air and falling back to the same spot, what the speed and acceleration are at the top of the path, and how initial and final speed compare
• For free fall, how fast an object falls and how far it falls at any given time.
• What the difference between distance and displacement is, and how that affects the calculations for speed or velocity.
• How to use the constant acceleration equations to solve simple problems.
• How to find resultant velocity vectors.
• How to graph motion data.
• How to interpret a displacement graph to find the velocity and acceleration.