Graphical Analysis of One-Dimensional Motion

A graph, like a picture, is worth a thousand words. Graphs not only contain numerical information; they also reveal relationships between physical quantities. This section uses graphs of position, velocity, and acceleration versus time to illustrate one-dimensional kinematics.

Slopes and General Relationships

First note that graphs in this text have perpendicular axes, one horizontal and the other vertical. When two physical quantities are plotted against one another in such a graph, the horizontal axis is usually considered to be an independent variable and the vertical axis a dependent variable. If we call the horizontal axis the $x$-axis and the vertical axis the $y$-axis, as in Figure 2.46, a straight-line graph has the general form

$y=m x+b.$

Here $m$ is the slope, defined to be the rise divided by the run (as seen in the figure) of the straight line. The letter $b$ is used for the $y$-intercept, which is the point at which the line crosses the vertical axis.

Figure 2.46 A straight-line graph. The equation for a straight line is $y=mx+b$.

Graph of Position vs. Time (a = 0, so v is constant)

Time is usually an independent variable that other quantities, such as position, depend upon. A graph of position versus time would, thus, have $x$ on the vertical axis and t on the horizontal axis. Figure 2.47 is just such a straight-line graph. It shows a graph of position versus time for a jet-powered car on a very flat dry lake bed in Nevada.

Figure 2.47 Graph of position versus time for a jet-powered car on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Using the relationship between dependent and independent variables, we see that the slope in the graph above is average velocity $\bar{v}$ and the intercept is position at time zero-that is, $x_{0}.$ Substituting these symbols into $y=m x+b$ gives

$x=\bar{v} t+x_{0}$

or

$x=x_{0}+\bar{v} t.$

Thus a graph of position versus time gives a general relationship among displacement(change in position), velocity, and time, as well as giving detailed numerical information about a specific situation.

From the figure we can see that the car has a position of 525 m at 0.50 s and 2000 m at 6.40 s. Its position at other times can be read from the graph; furthermore, information about its velocity and acceleration can also be obtained from the graph.

Source: Rice University, https://openstax.org/books/college-physics/pages/2-8-graphical-analysis-of-one-dimensional-motion
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