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Measuring Speed: Methods Explained

The chapter explains the concept of speed as distance divided by time and describes various methods to measure it, including light gates, speed-trap guns, and satellite tracking. Each method calculates speed by determining the distance traveled and the time taken. The chapter also includes end-of-chapter questions to reinforce understanding of the speed equation and measurement techniques.

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18 views2 pages

Measuring Speed: Methods Explained

The chapter explains the concept of speed as distance divided by time and describes various methods to measure it, including light gates, speed-trap guns, and satellite tracking. Each method calculates speed by determining the distance traveled and the time taken. The chapter also includes end-of-chapter questions to reinforce understanding of the speed equation and measurement techniques.

Uploaded by

esjsj37
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Speed Chapter

=============

Summary
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✔ Speed = distance ÷ time

✔ Science in context: Some ways in which we can measure speed are: using a
stopwatch (or timer), light gates, a light beam, or a speed trap gun.

✔ We can plot the distance travelled by an object over time using a simple
distance/time graph. These can show us if the object is travelling at a constant
speed, slowing down, or speeding up.

Simple Explanations of Ways to Measure Speed


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1. Light Gates
What it is: Two gates with beams of light shining across them.
- When an object passes through the first light gate, it blocks the light beam and
starts a timer.
- When it goes through the second light gate, it blocks that beam too and stops the
timer.
- The system knows the distance between the gates.
- Speed = Distance ÷ Time, so it calculates the speed using the time it took to go
from the first gate to the second.

2. Speed-Trap Gun (Radar Gun)


What it is: A handheld device that looks like a small gun, often used by police.
- The gun sends out a beam of radio waves towards a moving vehicle.
- These waves bounce back off the vehicle.
- A computer inside the gun measures how long the waves took to go out and come
back, and how their frequency changed.
- It uses this info to calculate how fast the vehicle is moving.

3. Measuring Speed from Space


What it is: Uses satellites and a tracker in the vehicle.
- A small device (tracker) in the vehicle sends its position to a satellite.
- The satellite sends this info back to Earth.
- By comparing the vehicle’s position at different times, we can see how far it
moved and how long it took.
- Again: Speed = Distance ÷ Time, so a computer figures out the speed based on
those positions and times.

Each method just finds out how far something moves and how long it takes, then uses
those to find the speed. They just use different tools to do it—light, radar, or
satellites!

End of Chapter Questions & Answers


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1. **Arrange the words ‘time distance speed’ into the speed equation.**
- Speed = Distance ÷ Time

2. **You can see a beetle about to run from under a chair across the room to a
table three metres away. How could you measure the beetle’s speed over the three
metres?**
- You could use a stopwatch to time how long the beetle takes to run the 3
metres. Then use the formula: Speed = Distance ÷ Time.

3. **Name two pieces of electrical equipment that can be used to measure speed.**
- Light gates
- Speed-trap gun

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