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General Physics 1
Quarter 1 - Module 3
One-Dimensional Kinematics

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General Physics 1 – Grade 12
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Quarter 1- Module 3: One-Dimensional Kinematics
Fourth Edition, 2021

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General Physics 1
Quarter 1 - Module 3
One-Dimensional Kinematics

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 Table of Contents
What This Module is About..................................................................................................i
What I Need to Know...........................................................................................................i
How to Learn from this Module...........................................................................................ii
Icons of this Module............................................................................................................ii
What I Know........................................................................................................................iii

Lesson 1: Describing Motion

What I Need to Know......................................................................................................1

What’s New: Describing Motion......................................................................................1
What Is It.........................................................................................................................3
What’s More: Solving Distance and Displacement Problems ........................................6
What’s More: Solving Speed and Velocity Problems....................................................7
What’s More: Solving Acceleration Problems….............................................................7
What I Have Learned: Sum it Up!...................................................................................7
What I Can Do: Conducting an Interview.......................................................................8

Lesson 2: Graphical Representation of Motion

What’s In..........................................................................................................................9
What I Need to Know.......................................................................................................9
What’s New: Graphing Motion.........................................................................................9
What Is It.........................................................................................................................11
What’s More: Through the Graph!..................................................................................15
What I Have Learned: Interpret Me!...............................................................................16
What I Can Do: My Motion Story....................................................................................16

Summary........................................................................................................................... 17
Assessment: (Posttest)..................................................................................................... 18
Key to Answers................................................................................................................. 20
References........................................................................................................................ 22
 Module 3
One-Dimensional Kinematics

What This Module is About

This module provides you with scientific knowledge and skills about One-
Dimensional Kinematics. Kinematics is a branch of mechanics that deals with
describing an object’s motion without considering its causes. One dimensional
kinematics, therefore, is about describing the motion of objects along a straight path
(rectilinear motion) through words, diagrams, graphs or equations. The lessons in
this module are necessary in studying other concepts of motion in the succeeding
lessons.
The following are the lessons contained in this module:
 Lesson 1- Describing Motion
 Lesson 2- Graphical Representation of Motion

What I Need to Know

After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. Convert a verbal description of a physical situation involving uniform acceleration
in one dimension into a mathematical description (STEM_GP12Kin-Ib12)
2. Interpret displacement and velocity, respectively, as areas under velocity vs. time
and acceleration vs. time curves (STEM_GP12KINIb-14)
3. Interpret velocity and acceleration, respectively, as slopes of position vs. time and
velocity vs. time curves (STEM_GP12KINIb-15)
4. Construct velocity vs. time and acceleration vs. time graphs, respectively,
corresponding to a given position vs. time-graph and velocity vs. time graph and
vice versa (STEM_GP12KINIb-16)

i
How to Learn from this Module
To achieve the learning competencies cited above, you are to do the following:
• Take your time reading the lessons carefully.
• Follow the directions and/or instructions in the activities and exercises diligently.
• Answer all the given tests and exercises.

Icons of this Module

This part contains learning objectives that

What I Need to
are set for you to learn as you go along the
Know
module.

This is an assessment as to your level of

knowledge to the subject matter at hand,
What I know
meant specifically to gauge prior related
knowledge

This part connects the previous lesson with

What’s In
that of the current one.

An introduction of the new lesson through

What’s New various activities, before it will be presented
to you

These are discussions of the activities as a

What is It way to deepen your discovery and
understanding of the concept.

These are follow-up activities that are

What’s More intended for you to practice further in order
to master the competencies.

What I Have Activities designed to process what you

Learned have learned from the lesson

These are tasks that are designed to

showcase your skills and knowledge
What I Can Do
gained, and applied into real-life concerns
and situations.

ii
 What I Know
MULTIPLE CHOICE: Directions: Read and understand each item and choose the letter of
the correct answer. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper. One point for each
correct answer.
1. Which if the following statements best describes the difference between distance and
displacement?
A. Distance has magnitude only, while displacement has direction only.
B. Distance has both magnitude and direction, while displacement has magnitude
only.
C. Distance has magnitude only, while displacement has both magnitude and
direction.
D. There is no difference. Both distance and displacement have magnitude and
direction.
2. What is measured by a car’s speedometer?
A. Average speed C. Instantaneous speed
B. Average acceleration D. Instantaneous acceleration

3. Mark walked 5 km/h. How long did it take him to travel 15 km?
A. 3 h B. 5 h C. 10 h D. 12 h

4. What is the average speed of an object moving 10 kilometer in 30 minutes?

D. more than 30 km/hr
A. 10 km/hr B. 20 km/hr C. 30 km/hr

5. A two-year old boy runs 20 m away from his mother in a straight path in 6 s and then runs
halfway back in one-half the time. What is his average velocity?
A. 2.55 m/s toward his mother C. 1.11 m/s away from his mother
B. 4.20 m/s away from his mother D. 4.44 m/s toward his mother

6. It is defined as the rate of change of velocity.

A. distance B. displacement C. speed D. acceleration

7. Which of the following is an example of acceleration?

A. 10 m/s B. 10 m C. 10 s D. 10 m/s2

8. Which of the following situations happen when a driver steps on the accelerator?
A. The car speeds up C. The car decelerates
B. Velocity is changed D. No fuel is consumed

9. An object is moving in the +x direction with an acceleration of +2.0 m/s2. What does it tell
you about the objects motion? The object_____________________________________.
A. travels 2.0 m in every second.
B. is traveling at 2.0 m/s.
C. is decreasing its velocity by 2.0 m/s every second.
E. is increasing its velocity by 2.0 m/s every second.

10. What is the acceleration of a car that maintains a constant velocity of 55

mi/hr for
10.0 seconds?
A. 0 B. 5.5 mi /hr/s C. 5.5 mi /s/s D. 550 mi/hr/s
 iii
11. An airplane increases its speed at the average rate of 15 m/s2. How much time does it
take to increase its speed from 100 m/s to 160 m/s?
A. 17 s B. 0.058 s C. 4.0 s D. 0.25 s

12. The motions of a car and a truck along a straight road are represented by the
iii
velocity-time graphs in the figure on the right. The two vehicles are initially
alongside each other at time t = 0. At time T, what is true of the distances traveled
by the vehicles since time t = 0?
A. They will have traveled the same distance.
B. The truck will not have moved.
C. The car will have travelled further than the truck.
D. The truck will have travelled further than the car.

The graph represents the relationship between velocity and time for an object moving in
a straight line. Use this graph to answer questions 13 and 14.

13. Looking at the graph above, which of the following statements is TRUE about the motion
of the object?
A. The object speeds up C. The object stays at rest
B. The object slows down D. The object moves with a constant velocity

14. What is the velocity of the object at 5 s based on the graph above?
A. 1 m/s C. 3 m/s
B. 2 m/s D. 5 m/s

15. The graph on the right represents the position as a function

of time of a moving object. What is the velocity of the object?
A. 2 m/s C. 6 m/s
B. 4 m/s D. 5 m/s

iv
 Lesson

1 Describing Motion

What I Need to Know

Motion is all around us. Every day, we see objects that are moving like
people walking or running, ball rolling, birds flying in the sky, vehicles running on the
road and many more. We also noticed that objects move in different ways. Some in
curved paths, others in straight-line path. In this lesson, we will mathematically
describe the motion of objects along a straight-line path (one-dimensional motion) in
terms of distance, displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration. We have to note
that these terms are either scalar or vector quantities so the rules in subtracting or
adding them which you learned from module 2 will be used in this lesson.
After this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Describe the motion of an object in terms of distance or displacement, speed
or velocity;
2. Solve problems on distance, displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration;
3. Measure the distance and displacement from a travel map.

What’s New

Activity 3.1 Describing Motion

Source. Physics LP by DepEd and UP NISMED

Objectives
 Measure the distance and displacement from a travel map;
 Calculate for the distance / time in km/min.
Material: ruler
Situation:
In Figure 3.1, Angelo, a fourth-year student, monitored his trip from his house
to school. He walked from his house (A) to the nearby jeepney stop (B) for 4
minutes. He travelled by jeepney for 10 minutes to the tricycle stop near his school
(C). From the tricycle stop, he took a tricycle to D for 2 minutes until he reached the
school (E) for another 2 minutes.

1
 D
(School) E

B C

Figure 3.1 Map of Angelo’s Trip

Scale: 1 cm =0.05 km

Procedure
1. Measure the line segment AB, BC, CD and DE on the map shown in Fig.
2.1 using a ruler. Record the data in column 3 of Table 3.1 below. Convert
your measured value to kilometers using the scale given above and record
it in column 4 of the same table. Record the corresponding time of travel in
column 5.
2. Compute Angelo’s distance/time in km/min from A to B, B to C, C to D, and
finally D to E. Write the corresponding values in column 6.
Data
Table 3.1: Motion of Angelo
Means of Line Length of Line Distance Time Distance/time
Transport Segment Segment (cm) (km) of (km/min)
Used Travel
(min)
walking AB
jeepney BC
tricycle CD
tricycle DE
Note: You will use your data to answer the questions found in the “What’s More” section of
this lesson.

2
 What Is It

Activity 3.1 walks us through the basic concepts of motion. When we discuss
the motion of an object, we describe it relative to a reference point. We call this as a
frame of reference. Objects that we call stationary—such as a tree, a sign, or a
building—make good reference points. An object is in motion if it changes position
relative to this frame of reference. There are several physical quantities that can
quantitatively describe the motion of objects as you have studied in your Junior High
school science. We shall review them in this lesson.

Distance and Displacement

A body has moved if it has changed position with respect to a reference point,
like traveling from your house to school. This change in position is termed as
distance. Distance, d, a scalar quantity, is the length of path that a moving body
travels. It is commonly expressed in meter, kilometer, centimeter or feet.
Displacement, d, a vector quantity, is the shortest distance between the initial
position and final position. Examples of displacement are 5 km, E and 100 m, NE.
Sample Problem 1: A boy started from the tower (point A) moved to point B then
went back to point A. What is his total distance travelled? What about his
displacement?

Source: Project EASE:

Figure 3.2: Motion of the boy along a straight path.

Solution:
d=10m + 10m =20 m; since distance is a scalar quantity, we don’t mind the
direction. We simply add the magnitude.
d= 10m, E + (-10 m,W)=0; since displacement is a vector quantity, we have to
consider the direction of the motion. Travelling to the East, E, is positive and
travelling to the West, W, is negative.
Sample Problem 2. A man walks 175 m to the east, then turns back and walks 40
m due west. What is the total distance he walked? What is his
total displacement?

d1= 175 m

d2= 40
Figure 3.3: Motion of the m
man.
Solution: The total distance he walked is d= 175 m + 40 m= 215 m. However, for
3
his total or net displacement, we have to consider the directions. Considering the
Cartesian plane, going east is positive and going west is negative, his displacement
is d= 175m East+ (- 40 km West) = 135 m, East. Therefore, the net displacement of
the man is 135 m, due East.

Speed and Velocity

Speed, v , a scalar quantity, refers to the rate of motion. It is the ratio of distance
covered and the elapsed time of travel. In equation,
distance
speed=
elapsed time
d
In symbol: v=
t
Since speed is distance divided by time, speed is expressed in terms of the
unit of distance and unit of time. The SI unit for distance is meter, and time is
second. Thus, speed is expressed in meters per second or m/s. For vehicles, the
standard unit for speed is kilometers per hour or km/h (kph). In other countries such
as USA, they use miles per hour or mph as unit of speed. What about the speed of
ship? Are they also expressed in kph or mph? (No. Ship’s speed is expressed in
nautical per hour or knots.)
The average speed can be determined by dividing the total distance travelled by
the total time of travel. In equation:
total distance
Ave . speed =
total time of travel
d total
In symbol: v ave =
t total
For example, a bus travelled 120 kilometers in 3 hours. What is the speed of
the bus? Did the bus travel at constant speed of 40 kph in 3 hours? Perhaps, the
bus travelled at 20 km/h, 30 km/h, 60 km/h or 120 km/h or it stopped several times.
In other words, its speed was not constant as it travelled for 3 hours. So, the 40 kph
refers to the average speed of the bus.
Are you familiar with the instrument called speedometer? It is one of the
devices on the instrument panel in front of the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle. Is the
speed indicated in the speedometer an average speed? (No.) The speedometer
indicates the instantaneous speed of the vehicle, which refers to the speed of the
vehicle at the instant you were reading the speedometer.
The description of motion is not complete if it includes speed only. We also
have to consider its direction. With this, we use the term velocity. Velocity is a vector
quantity defined as the ratio of the displacement to the total time elapsed.
The average velocity ( ⃗v ave ¿ is the total displacement of an object divided by the
d
elapsed time. In symbols: ⃗v ave =
t
4
where : d = total displacementt = elapsed time ⃗v ave = average velocity

Sample Problem 1 (Speed): Lydia de Vega is a world-renowned

Filipino track and field athlete. She can run the 100-m dash in
about 11.0 seconds. What is her average speed?
Given: d= 100.0 m t= 11.0 s
Required: average speed
d
Solution: v ave =
t
100 m Source: [Link]
v ave =
11.0 s Figure 3.4 Lydia de Vega during a track
and field match.
m
v ave =9.09
s
m
Therefore, the average speed of Lydia de Vega is 9.09 .
s

Sample Problem 2 (Velocity):

John walks to his friend’s house. He walks 750 meters East, then realizes he walked
too far. He turns around and walks 250 meters West. The entire walk takes him 13
seconds. What is his average velocity?
Given: d1= 750 m, East d2= 250 m, West t = 13 s
Required: ⃗v ave
d
Solution: ⃗v ave =
t
750 m−250 m
⃗v ave =
13 s
500 m
⃗v ave =
13 s
m
⃗v ave =38.46
s
m
The average velocity of John in his entire walk is 38.46 .
s

Acceleration
An object accelerates when it speeds up, slows down or changes
direction. In other words, the motion is accelerated when the velocity of the object
changes. Recall that velocity refers to both magnitude (speed) and direction.
 Acceleration is the rate of change of motion or the change in velocity per unit
∆v
time. In equation, a=
∆t
v f −vi
a=
∆t
The unit of acceleration is m/s/s or m/s2.
Sample Problem 1: A race car’s forward velocity increases from 4.0 m/s to 36 m/s
over a 4.0 s-time interval. What is its average acceleration?
5

Figure 3.5 A race car’s motion.

Given: v i=4.0 m/s ∆ t=4.0 s

v f =36 m/s
Required: a
Solution:
v f −vi
a=
∆t
36 m/s−4.0 m/ s 32.0 m/s 2
a= = =8.0 m/s
4.0 s 4.0 s

The average acceleration of the race car is8.0 m/s 2.

Sample Problem 2: A car with an initial velocity of 20 m/s, accelerates at a rate of
5 m/s2 for 3 seconds, what will its final velocity be?

Figure 3.6 A car’s motion.

Given: v i=20 m/s a=5 m/s
2

∆ t=3 s
Required: v f
Solution:
v f −vi
From the equation: a= , we can derive a formula to be used in solving
∆t
for the final velocity. That would be v f =v i +at .
v f =v i +at .
v f =20 m/ s+ ( 5 m/ s2 ) (3 s).
v f =20 m/ s+ ( 15 m/ s ) .
v f =35 m/ s
The final velocity of the car is 35 m/s .

What’s More
 Activity 3.2.1: Solving Distance and Displacement Problems
Direction: Use the data you obtained in Activity 3.1: Describing Motion to answer
the following questions. Use separate sheet of paper. One point for each correct
answer.
1. What was the total distance traveled by Angelo in km?
2. How long did it take him to reach the school?
3. What was his average speed in the first part of his trip? In the succeeding
parts?

4. What is his average speed in the entire trip from his house to school?
5. What is his net displacement? (Hint:6 Draw a straight line from his house
to school.)
6. Get the ratio of the distance that you measured in Q5 to the total time of
travel. What does this ratio give you?

Activity 3.2.2: Solving Speed and Velocity Problems

Directions: Show your answers legibly, concisely and completely. Use separate
sheet of paper. Five points for complete solution to each item.
1. A banca takes about 1.0 h to travel a distance of 15 km. A sailboat travels
the same distance in 0.5 h. The same distance is travelled by a motorboat
in 0.3 h. (a) Compute the average speed of each vessel. (b) Which vessel
is the fastest? (c) Based on the data, how fast is the sailboat compared to
the banca?
2. A car travels along a straight road for 100 meters, East in 4 seconds, then
go the west for 50 meters in 1 second. Calculate the car’s average speed
and average velocity.

Activity 3.2.3: Solving Acceleration Problems

Directions: Show your answers legibly, concisely and completely. Use separate
sheet of paper. Five points for complete solution to each item

1. A race car’s forward velocity increases from 4.0 m/s to 36 m/s over a 4.0 –s
time interval. What is its average acceleration?
2. If the rate of continental drift were to abruptly slow from 1.0 cm/ year to 0.5
cm/year over the time interval of a year, what would be the average
acceleration?

What I Have Learned

Activity 3.3: Sum it Up!
Directions: Show your answers legibly, concisely and completely. Use separate
sheet of paper. Five points for a complete solution to each item.

1. A car is driven 4.5 km due north before the driver remembers a forgotten
package. The car is driven back 4.5 km in the opposite direction. What is the
total distance covered by the car? What is the net displacement?
2. The marathon runner jogged 2 km along a straight shoreline, rested, then
continued in the same direction for another 2 km. Find the total distance and
displacement he covered.

3. A bus travels at a distance of 90 km7 in 2 h and another 30 km in 1 h. What is

the average speed of the bus?
4. A bus is moving west at 25 m/s when the driver steps on the brakes and
brings the bus to a stop in 3.0 s.
a. What’s the bus’ average acceleration while braking?
b. If the bus took twice as long to stop, how would the acceleration compare
with that you found in part a?

What I Can Do
Activity 3.4: Conducting an Interview

Following speed limit is of great importance. The minimum speed limit is set at 60
kph and the maximum at 100 kph. With this, conduct an interview to 2 drivers of
different automobiles such as a jeepney, a bus, a taxi or a private vehicle to find
out their relative average speed as well as their driving experiences in relation to
increasing and decreasing speed and following road safety measures. Construct
at least 3 questions to be used in your interview. Write a transcript of your
interview.
INTERVIEW RUBRIC
Criteri 4 3 2 1 Points
a
Student can Student can Student can Student cannot
accurately answer accurately answer a accurately answer a accurately answer
Knowledge

several questions few questions about few questions about questions about the
about the person who the person who was the person who was person who was
Gained

was interviewed. interviewed interviewed. interviewed.

The student edited The student edited The student edited The student edited
and organized the and organized the and organized the and organized the
Formatting and

transcript to make it transcript in a way transcript but the transcript but the
informative and that made the information lacks information was not
Editing

interesting information clear. clarity and less clear and interesting

interesting
 The student asked The student asked a The student asked a The student did not
several relevant couple of relevant couple of follow-up ask any follow-up
Questions follow-up questions follow-up questions questions based on questions based on
based on what the based on what the what s/he thought the what the person said
person said. person said. person said.

The presentation is The presentation is The presentation The presentation is

well organized and well organized and contains accurate lacking facts and
contains accurate contains accurate quotations and facts quotations from the
taken from
Presentation

quotations and facts facts taken from the interview OR the

taken from the interview. the interview. quotes and facts are
interview. not accurately
reported.

Lesson
Graphical Representation of
2 Motion
What’s In
In the previous lesson, we use words, numbers, equations and diagrams to
describe an object’s motion. For this lesson, we will explore another way of
describing one dimensional motion through a visual representation we call graphs.
We will use line graphs throughout this lesson. In making the line graphs, we put the
independent variable on the x- axis and the dependent variable on the y-axis.

What I Need to Know

After this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Construct a position-time graph;
2. Construct a velocity-time graph;
3. Solve for the slope of a position-time graph;
4. Solve for the slope of a velocity-time graph;
5. Interpret position-time and velocity-time graphs;
6. Make a story out of a position-time graph;
7. Identify the quantity represented by the slope of a position-time graph;
8. Identify the quantity represented by the slope of a velocity-time graph.
9. Interpret displacement and velocity, respectively, as areas under velocity
vs. time and acceleration vs. time curves.
 What’s New

Activity 3.5: Graphing Motion

Source. Physics LP by DepEd and UP NISMED

Direction: Use graph paper to plot the motion of the bicycle, the passenger jeepney
and the car. Please keep your graphs for you will use them to answer
questions in the “What Have I Learned” section of this lesson.
Objectives:
a) Construct distance-time graphs from given
Distance Time
tabulated data.
b) Describe motion in words, using the graph d (km) t (h)
as point of reference.
c) Calculate and interpret the slopes of the 0 0
graph. 50 1
9
100 2
Materials: ruler, pencil and calculator
100 3
Data
100 4
Part A- Data for a Bicycle’s Motion Part B – Data for the Motion of a
1. Plot the tabulated data (d vs t) 150 5
Passenger Jeepney
2. Time will be in the x-axis and distance in 100 6
the y-axis.
Table 3.2: Bicycle’s Motion 1. Plot the given tabulated data (d
3. Connect the points. Describe the graph. vs t) 50 7
Distance Time 2. Time will be in the x-axis and
0 8
distance
Table 3. 3: in the y-axis.
Passenger Jeepney’s Motion
d (m) t (s)
3. Connect the points. Describe
0 0 your graph.
20 2
38 4
60 6
79 8
100 10
120 12
138 14 Distance Time
d (m) t (s)
0 0
15.5 4.8
46.5 8.7
75.0 11.1
105.2 13.0
150.0 15.3
200.1 17.7
 Table 3.4: Car’s Motion

Part C – Data for the Motion of a Car

1. Plot the distance against time (d-t graph)
2. Time will be in the x-axis and distance in the
y- axis.
3. Connect the points. Describe the graph.

What Is It
100

Position vs. Time Graph

An object’s motion can be represented by a position-time graph (See Figure
2.1). In this graph, the x- axis represents the time and the y- axis represents the
position of the object relative to the starting point. The position-time graph tells us
how far an object has travelled from its starting position at any given time it started
moving.

Sample Problem 1:
Use Figure 2.1 to answer the following:

1. At what time is the car’s position equal to

40 m? The car is at 40 m at time t= 4 s.

2. What was the car’s position at t= 2 s?

The car’s position is 20m at t= 2 s.

3. What is the total distance travelled by the Figure 3.7 Position vs. Time Graph of a Car
car at the end of 5s?The car travelled a
total distance of 50m.

What Does the Slope of the Position- Time Graph Represent?

 Recall that in Mathematics, the slope of the line describes the direction and
the steepness of the line. It is equal to the rise divided by the run. Mathematically,
∆ y y 2− y 1
m= =
∆ x x 2−x 1
where m= slope of the line
y 1= y coordinate of Point 1 x 1= x coordinate of Point 1
y 2= y coordinate of Point 2 x 2= x coordinate of Point 2

Consider again Figure 2.1, let us determine its slope

using the following two points.
P1 (1s, 10m) and P2 (2s, 20m)
To get the slope:
∆ y y 2− y 1 20 m−10 m 10 m Figure 3.8 Position vs. Time Graph of a Car
m= = = = =10 m/s
∆ x x 2−x 1 2 s−1 s 1s
Take a look at the unit of the slope of the line we got.
What quantity does this unit represent? The slope11
of the line of a Position-time graph
is the speed or velocity of an object.
Let us try using other set of two points from the graph.

P1 (3s, 30m) and P2 (4s, 40m) P1 (1s, 10m) and P2 (5s, 50m)

∆ y y 2− y 1 m=
50 m−10 m 40 m
= =10 m/ s
m= =
∆ x x 2−x 1 5 s−1 s 4s

40 m−30 m 10 m
m= = =10 m/ s
4 s−3 s 1s
P1 (2s, 20m) and P2 (5s, 50m) P1 (1s, 10m) and P2 (4s, 40m)
50 m−20 m 30 m 40 m−10 m 30 m
m= = =10 m/s m= = =10 m/ s
5 s−2 s 3s 4 s−1 s 3s

Note that for the different sets of two points on the line that we used, the slope
is the same. It means that the velocity of the car is constant. The graph above shows
an object moving at constant velocity.
Position-Time Graph Summary
Position
(a) Graph shows the object is moving at constant
At
positive velocity. This explains further that as the
time increases the distance also increases with
Time time.
Position (b) Graph shows object is moving at
constant negative velocity
 Time

Position
(c) Graph shows the object is at rest, it
has zero velocity

Time

Position
(d) Graph shows the object is moving with
varying speed. It means that the velocity is not
constant. The object is accelerating.

Time
Velocity- Time Graph
An object’s motion can be represented by12a velocity-time graph (See Figure
2.3). In this graph, the x-axis represents the time and the y-axis represents the
velocity of the object relative to the starting point. The velocity-time graph tells us
how fast an object moves.

Let’s solve for the slope of the velocity-time graph

of a car in Figure 2.3.

P1 (0 s, 5 m/s) and P2 (5 s, 25m/s)

25 m/s−5 m/s 20 m/s 2
m= = =4 m/s
5 s−0 s 5s

Source: [Link]
Notice the unit of the slope of velocity-time graph. The
Figure 3.9 Velocity vs. Time Graph of a Car
quantity that represents this slope is the acceleration.
Velocity- Time Graph Summary

Velocity
(a) Graph shows the object is moving at constant
positive acceleration.

Time

Velocity
(b) Graph shows object is moving at
constant negative acceleration.
 Velocity
(c) Graph shows the object is at
constant velocity. It is not accelerating.

Time

Velocity (d) Graph shows the object is moving with

varying speed. It means that the velocity is not
constant. The object is accelerating.

Time
Finding the Displacement from the Velocity vs. Time Graph
13
The velocity-time graph can be used to determine the displacement of an
object. This is done by getting the area of the shaded sections between the line and
the time axis.
Sample Problem 1: Determine the displacement of the object in Figure 3.8 for the
first 4 seconds.

Solution: To get the displacement, we will get the area

of the rectangle.
Given: b= 4 s h= 30 m/s
Figure 3.10. Velocity vs. Time Graph of an
Arectangle =bh
Object’s Motion (in the first 4 seconds)
= (4s) (30 m/s)
=120 m

The object was displaced 120 m during the first 4 seconds of motion.
Sample Problem 2: Determine the displacement of the object in Figure 3.8 during its
3 seconds of motion.

Solution: To get the displacement, we will get the area

of the triangle.
Given: b= 3 s h= 30 m/s
Figure 3.11. Velocity vs. Time Graph of an
1 Object’s Motion
Atriangle = bh
2 (during its 3 seconds of motion)
1
= (3s)(30 m/s)
2
 The object was displaced 45 m during its 3 seconds of motion.
Finding the Velocity from the Acceleration vs. Time Graph
The acceleration-time graph can be used to
determine the change in velocity of an object. This is done
by getting the area of the shaded sections between the
line and the time axis.
Sample Problem 1: The graph shown on the right gives
the acceleration of the race car as it starts to speed up.
Assume the race car had a velocity of 20 m/s at time t=0
s. Find the final velocity of the driver when she reaches
the finish line.

Figure [Link] vs. Time Graph of

an Object (during its 3 seconds of motion).

Solution:
14
We can find the change in velocity by finding the area under the acceleration-
time graph. We will take the area of the triangle. Δv =
1
Atriangle = bh
2
1
( ) m
Δv = Atriangle = ( 8 s ) 6 2 =24
2 s
m
s

This calculation gave us the change in velocity during the given time interval. To
calculate the final velocity, we need to use the definition of change in velocity.
Δv = v f −v i
Substituting the values in the equation, we get
m m
v f −20 =24
s s
m m
v f =24 +20
s s
m
v f =44
s
m
Therefore, the final velocity of the racer is 44
s
.

What’s More

Activity 3.6: Through the Graph!

 Direction: You are given the velocity-time graph of the motion of a
race cart along a linear track. Answer the questions below regarding
its motion. One point for each correct answer.

1. Which part(s) of the graph shows

that the object is moving at
constant positive acceleration?

2. What is the acceleration of the cart

between t= 10 min to t= 15 min?

3. How fast was it moving between 40

and 55 minutes?
Figure 3.13 Motion of a Race Cart
4. At which time interval shows that
the object is moving at constant
negative velocity? Source. Physics LP by DepEd and UP NISMED

What I Have Learned 15

Activity 3.7: Interpret Me!

Direction: Use the graph you made for each vehicle’s motion in Activity 3.5 page 9
to answer the following questions: One point for each correct answer.

Part A – Data for a Bicycle’s Motion

1. What does it show regarding the motion of the bicycle?
2. Find the slope of the graph. What does the slope of d-t graph represent?

Part B- Data for the Motion of a Passenger Jeepney

3. Calculate the slope of the graph
a. at t = 0 h to t = 2 h
b. at t = 2 h to t = 4 h
c. at t = 4 h to t = 5 h
d. at t = 5 h to t = 8 h
4. What do the slopes show? What does a positive slope show? A negative slope?
A zero slope?
5. Describe the motion of the jeepney based on the slopes you calculated in (3).
Part C- Data for the Motion of a Car
6. Describe the motion of the car. Is the speed constant? How do you know?
7. Draw a line tangent to the curve at t= 7 s. Get the slope of the straight line drawn
tangent to the curve. What does this slope represent?
 What I Can Do

Activity 3.10: My Motion Story

. d (km)
You are riding a passenger
jeepney on the way to your 40
school. You are given the
distance-time graph of its 30
motion below. Make a 20
simple story out of the
graph describing the 10
jeepney’s motion while you
are riding. Use a separate 0 10 20 30 40 50
sheet of paper for your
t (min)
answer. Ten points for your
Figure 3.14 Motion of the Jeepney
correct answer. Source. Physics LP by DepEd and UP NISMED

Summary: 16

 Distance is a scalar quantity defined as the length of path that a moving body
travels.
 Displacement is a vector quantity which is considered as the shortest distance
between the initial position and final position.
 Speed a scalar quantity, is the ratio of distance covered and the elapsed time
of travel.
 Velocity is a vector quantity defined as the ratio of the displacement to the
total time elapsed
 Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity. It is the change in velocity per
unit time, while velocity is the rate of motion of a body.
 An object accelerates when it speeds up, slows down, or it changes direction.
 Some examples of accelerated motion are:
- the motion of an object on an inclined plane or a hill
- a freely falling body
- an object moving along a curved path
- an object that moves with varying speed in a horizontal plane in a unit of
time.
 An object changes its rate of motion due to any of the following:
a. the magnitude of the velocity is changed
b. the direction of the velocity is changed
c. both the magnitude of velocity and direction is changed.
 Distance-time graph gives a visual representation of the object’s motion.
From the graph, we can obtain how far the object has travelled at a given time
and the speed of the object.
  The slope of a position-time graph represents the speed/velocity.
 The slope of a velocity-time graph represents the acceleration.

Assessment (Posttest)
17
MULTIPLE CHOICE:
Directions: Read and understand each item and choose the letter of the correct answer.
Write
your answers on a separate sheet of paper. One point for each correct answer.

1. John walks 6 km east during the first day, and 3 km east the next day. What is the total
displacement of John in two days?
A. 6 km, west B. 3 km, east C. 10 km, east D. 9 km, east
Use the diagram below to answer questions No.2 and [Link] the illustration, Elsa, who
started from the origin, walks 8 km east during first day, and 5 km west the next day.

2. What is
the total displacement of Elsa from the initial point in two days?
A. 6 km, east B. 3 km, east C. 10 km, west D. 5 km
3. What is the total distance of Elsa from the initial point in two days?
A. 13 km B. 3 km C. 10 km D. 5 km
4. A toy car moves 8 m in 4 s at the constant velocity. What is the car’s velocity?
 A. 1 m/s B. 2 m/s C. 3 m/s D. 4 m/s
5. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

I. The distance travelled by an object can be equal to its displacement.

II. The displacement of a moving object can be greater than its distance travelled.

A. I B. II C. both I and III D. neither of the two

6. Given the table below, which of the following statement about the learners’ speeds
is TRUE? Learner Distance Travelled (m) Time (s)
John 40 8
Paul 20 5

A. Jim 60 12 Jim > John

>Paul
C. Paul < Jim = John
B. John = Jim < Paul D. Paul < John > Jim.

7. An airplane increases its speed at the average rate of 15 m/s2. How much time does it
take to increase its speed from 100 m/s to 160 m/s?
A. 17 s B. 4.0 s C. 0.25 s D. 0.058 s

8. What is the average velocity of a train moving along a straight track if its displacement is
192 meters East during a time period of 8.0 s?
A. 0.087 m/s B. 24 m/s C. 768 m/s D. 1536 m/s
9. What does the slope of a distance vs. time graph represent?
18
A. Acceleration B. Displacement C. Distance D. Speed
10. What does the slope of a velocity vs. time graph represent?
A. Acceleration B. Displacement C. Distance D. Speed

11. Consider the figure on the right, which of the following

statements is TRUE?
A. The object speeds up.
B. The object slows down.
C. The object moves with a constant velocity,
D. The object stays at rest.

The graph on the right represents the position as a function

of time of a moving object. Use this graph to answer
questions 12 and 13.
12. What is the initial position of the object?

A. 2 m B. 4 m C. 6 m D. 8 m

13. What is the velocity of the object?

 A. 2 m/s B. 4 m/s C. 6 m/s D. 8 m/s

14. The motions of a car and a truck along a straight road are represented by the
velocity-time graphs in the figure on the right. The two vehicles are initially alongside
each other at time t = 0. At time T, what is true of the distances traveled by the
vehicles since time
t = 0?
A. They will have traveled the same distance.
B. The truck will not have moved.
C. The car will have travelled further than the truck.
D. The truck will have travelled further than the car.

15. The following below represents the position as a function of time for a moving object.

What is the velocity of the object?

A. 4 m/s
B. 20 m/s
C. 8 m/s
D. 5 m/s

KEY TO ANSWERS
19
 21
REFERENCES:
21
Giancoli, Douglas. Physics Principles With Applications. 5th ed. Reprint, Philippines:
Prentice-Hall Inc., 2001.
Hewitt, Paul. Conceptual Physics. 9th ed. Reprint, Singapore: Pearson Education,
2002
Navaza, Delia, and Bienvenido Valdes. You And The Natural World Physics. 3rd ed.
Reprint, Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc., 2010
Zitzewitz, Haase, and Harper. Physics Principles & Problems. Reprint, United States
of America: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., 2013.
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