Name Class Date

CHAPTER 5 Matter in Motion

SECTION

1 Measuring Motion
National Science
BEFORE YOU READ Education Standards
After you read this section, you should be able to answer PS 2a
these questions:
• What is motion?
• How is motion shown by a graph?
• What are speed and velocity?
• What is acceleration?

What Is Motion?
Look around the room for a moment. What objects STUDY TIP
are in motion? Are students writing with pencils in their Describe Study each graph
notebooks? Is the teacher writing on the board? Motion carefully. In the margin
next to the graph, write a
is all around you, even when you can’t see it. Blood is sentence or two explaining
circulating throughout your body. Earth orbits around the what the graph shows.
sun. Air particles shift in the wind.
When you watch an object move, you are watching it
in relation to what is around it. Sometimes the objects
around the object you are watching are at rest. An object
that seems to stay in one place is called a reference
point. When an object changes position over time in
relation to a reference point, the object is in motion. READING CHECK
You can use standard reference directions (such as 1. Describe What is the
north, south, east, west, right, and left) to describe an purpose of a reference point?
object’s motion. You can also use features on Earth’s
surface, such as buildings or trees, as reference points.
The figure below shows how a mountain can be used as a
reference point to show the motion of a hot-air balloon.

TAKE A LOOK
2. Identify What is the
fixed reference point in the
photos?

The hot-air balloon changed position relative to a reference point.

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Interactive Textbook 71 Matter in Motion
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SECTION 1 Measuring Motion continued

How Can Motion Be Shown?

In the figure below, a sign-up sheet is being passed
around a classroom. You can follow its path. The paper
begins its journey at the reference point, the origin.

,ACEY ,UPE -AYA *EFF

*AMAL /WEN !BSENT !NOKE

,UIS %VA +EIKO 4ONY

TAKE A LOOK
3. Identify What is the
origin, or reference point, of
the paper?
The path taken by a field trip sign-up sheet.

The figure below shows a graph of the position of the

sign-up sheet as it is passed around the class. The paper
moves in this order:
1. One positive unit on the y-axis
2. Two positive units on the x-axis
3. Two negative units on the y-axis
4. Three negative units on the x-axis
The graph provides a method of using standard
STANDARDS CHECK reference directions to show motion.
PS 2a The motion of an object
can be described by its position,
direction of motion, and speed.
That motion can be measured 3
and represented on a graph.

4. Identify What is the

1
shortest path that the
paper could take to return Desks
to Owen’s desk? The paper –3 –1 1 3
cannot move diagonally.

–3

Desks

The position of the sign-up sheet as it moves through the classroom.

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

Interactive Textbook 72 Matter in Motion
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SECTION 1 Measuring Motion continued

What Is Speed?
Speed is the rate at which an object moves. It is the Critical Thinking
distance traveled divided by the time taken to travel 5. Explain The average
that distance. Most of the time, objects do not travel at a flight speed of a bald eagle
is about 50 km/h. A scientist
constant speed. For example, when running a race, you has measured an eagle
might begin slowly but then sprint across the finish line. flying 80 km/h. How is this
So, it is useful to calculate average speed. We use the possible?
following equation:
total distance
average speed 
total time
Suppose that it takes you 2 s to walk 4 m down a
hallway. You can use the equation above to find your
average speed:
average speed 
4m
 2 m/s Math Focus
2s 6. Calculate Suppose you
walk 10 m down a hallway
Your speed is 2 m/s. Units for speed include meters in 2.5 s. What is your average
per second (m/s), kilometers per hour (km/h), feet per speed? Show your work.
second (ft /s), and miles per hour (mi/h).

How Can You Show Speed on a Graph?

You can show speed on a graph by showing how the
position of an object changes over time. The x-axis shows
the time it takes to move from place to place. The y-axis
shows distance from the reference point.
! 'RAPH 3HOWING 3PEED




0OSITION M


TAKE A LOOK

7. Apply Concepts Suppose
 the dog walks at a constant
 speed the whole way. On the
 graph, draw a line showing
          
4IME S that the dog walks at a
A graph of position versus time also shows the dog’s speed during his walk. The constant speed during the
more slanted the line, the faster the dog walked. walk.

Suppose you watched a dog walk beside a fence. The

graph above shows the total distance the dog walked in
10 s. The line is not straight because the dog did not walk
the same distance in each second. The dog walked slowly
for 2 s and then quickly for 1 s. From 3 s to 5 s, the dog
did not move.

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Interactive Textbook 73 Matter in Motion
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SECTION 1 Measuring Motion continued

The average speed of the dog is:

total distance walked 7 m
average speed    .07 m/s
total time 10 s

What Is Velocity?
Suppose that two birds leave the same tree at the same
time. They both fly at 10 km/h for 5 min, then 5 km/h for
10 min. However, they don’t end up in the same place. Why
not?
The birds did not end up in the same place because
they flew in different directions. Their speeds were the
same, but because they flew in different directions, their
velocities were different. Velocity is the speed of an object
READING CHECK and its direction.
8. Analyze Someone tells The velocity of an object is constant as long as both
you that the velocity of a car speed and direction are constant. If a bus driving at
is 55 mi/h. Is this correct?
Explain your answer.
15 m/s south speeds up to 20 m/s south, its velocity
changes. If the bus keeps moving at the same speed but
changes direction from south to east, its velocity also
changes. If the bus brakes to a stop, the velocity of the bus
changes again.
The table below shows that velocity is a combination
of both the speed of an object and its direction.
Say It Speed Direction Velocity
Share Experiences Have you 15 m/s south 15 m/s south
ever experienced a change
20 m/s south 20 m/s south
in velocity on an amusement
park ride? In pairs, share an 20 m/s east 20 m/s east
experience. Explain how the 0 m/s east 0 m/s east
velocity changed—was it a
change in speed, direction, or Velocity changes when the speed changes, when the
both? direction changes, or when both speed and direction
change. The table below describes various situations in
which the velocity changes.
Situation What changes
Raindrop falling faster and faster
Runner going around a turn on a track direction
Car taking an exit off a highway speed and direction
Train arriving at a station speed
Baseball being caught by a catcher speed
TAKE A LOOK Baseball hit by a batter
9. Identify Fill in the empty
boxes in the table. speed and direction

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Interactive Textbook 74 Matter in Motion
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SECTION 1 Measuring Motion continued

TAKE A LOOK
10. Identify Is the cyclist
accelerating? How do you
know?
1 m/s 2 m/s 3 m/s 4 m/s 5 m/s

This cyclist moves faster and faster as he peddles his bike south.

What Is Acceleration?
Acceleration is how quickly velocity changes. An
object accelerates if its speed changes, its direction
changes, or both its speed and direction change.
The units for acceleration are the units for velocity
divided by a unit for time. The resulting unit is often
meters per second per second (m/s/s or m/s2).
Looking at the figure above, you can see that the speed
increases by 1 m/s during each second. This means that
the cyclist is accelerating at 1 m/s2.
An increase in speed is referred to as positive
acceleration. A decrease in speed is referred to as
negative acceleration or deceleration. READING CHECK
Acceleration can be shown on a graph of speed 11. Explain What happens
versus time. Suppose you are operating a remote control to an object when it has
car. You push the lever on the remote to move the car negative acceleration?
forward. The graph below shows the car’s acceleration
as the car moves east. For the first 5 s, the car increases
in speed. The car’s acceleration is positive because the
speed increases as time passes.
For the next 2 s, the speed of the car is constant. This
means the car is no longer accelerating. Then the speed
of the car begins to decrease. The car’s acceleration is
then negative because the speed decreases over time.

6
A Graph Showing Acceleration
Math Focus
12. Interpret Graphs Is the
5
Speed (m/s)

slope positive or negative

4
when the car’s speed
3 increases? Is the slope
2 positive or negative when the
1 car’s speed decreases?
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (s)

The graph of speed versus time also shows that the acceleration of the car was
positive and negative. Between 5 s and 7 s, it had no acceleration.

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Interactive Textbook 75 Matter in Motion
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Section 1 Review NSES PS 2a

SECTION VOCABULARY
acceleration the rate at which the velocity motion an object’s change in position relative to
changes over time; an object accelerates if its a reference point
speed, direction, or both change velocity the speed of an object in a particular
speed the distance traveled divided by the time direction
interval during which the motion occurred

1. Identify What is the difference between speed and velocity?

2. Complete a Graphic Organizer Fill in the graphic organizer for a car that starts
from one stop sign and approaches the next stop sign. Use the following terms:
constant velocity, positive acceleration, deceleration, and at rest.

3. Interpret a Graph Describe the motion of the skateboard using the graph below.
Write what the skateboard does from time = 0 s to time = 40 s.

Position Verses Time for a Skateboard

50

40
Position (m)

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Time (s)

4. Calculate The graph above shows that the skateboard went a total distance of
80 m. What was the average speed of the skateboard? Show your work.

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Interactive Textbook 76 Matter in Motion