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3.3 Motion graphs of acceleration and
deceleration
Imagine you are Representing acceleration
rafting down the river How does the velocity during an accelerated motion change, and how
on Altai fields near the do we represent this in a graph? Firstly, look at the equation of motion
textbooks nis edu kz
mountains in Katon- we learnt in 3.2:
Karagai (Eastern v = v o + a ∙ t
Kazakhstan). Why From this equation we first identify
is this type of sport the variables we are interested v
called an ‘extreme in: time and velocity. Time is the
sport’? Think about the variable we are changing, so
types of motion you that goes in the x-axis. Velocity
experience. is the variable we are measuring
or calculating. The acceleration
is a constant value and v in this t Graph A
o
case is zero (0). So, the graph of a
motion with constant acceleration
would look like Graph A. Here, a
the slope of the line indicates
the acceleration. The steeper the
slope, the greater the acceleration.
An acceleration–time graph would
be a flat line (Graph B) because
t Graph B
the acceleration doesn’t change
over time.
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