TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Physics > Motion - velocity and acceleration and related equations
Scalar
A quantity with only magnitude and units. e.g. Mass, Speed, Energy. Speed and distance are both scalars.
Vector
- A quantity with magnitude, direction and units.
- Velocity and displacement are vectors because they have magnitude and direction.
- Velocity = Displacement / Time.
- It is also the gradient of a displacement/time graph.
- Units: ms-1
Displacement
- How far an object has moved from a certain position.
- Positive and negative displacement show movement in opposite directions. Units: m
Acceleration
- Rate of change of velocity.
- It is also the gradient of a velocity-time graph.
- A positive acceleration shows speeding up and vice versa.
- Change in velocity / time
- Units ms-2
The equations
= displacement
= initial velocity
= final velocity
= acceleration
= time
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