Motion Vocabulary

The total length of the path an object travels, without considering direction, meaning it's the "amount of ground covered" by an object regardless of its starting or ending position; it is considered a scalar quantity.

• Displacement

• Distance

• Length

• Meters

A vector quantity that refers to "how far out of place an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.

• Distance

• Displacement

• Speed

• Time

A vector quantity that refers to "the rate at which an object changes its position."

• speed

• acceleration

• velocity

• distance

A scalar quantity that refers to "how fast an object is moving".

• Distance

• Time

• Speed

• Velocity

The measurement of change in a physical quantity, or the interval over which change occurs.

• Time

• Speed

• Velocity

• Acceleration

Rate at which velocity changes with time, in terms of both speed and direction.

• Displacement

• Speed

• Time

• Acceleration

A physical quantity that has magnitude but no direction.

• motion

• time

• scalar

• vector

A quantity that has both magnitude and direction.

• vector

• scalar

• length

• motion

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

NGSS.MS-PS2-5

Distance/Speed

or
Displacement/Velocity

• acceleration

• scalar

• time

• vector

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-1

Match the following formulas

• Displacement/
  Time

• Speed

• Velocity x Time

• Velocity

• Change in Velocity/Change in Time

• Displacement

• Speed x Time

• Acceleration

• Distance/Time

• Distance