Physics help

• Time wrote on 2012-08-30 18:32
  So, Im taking AP physics this year...and I have some summer homework I need to get done, sadly I have no clue about anything...because I havent yet taken the class.
  
  So would anyone give me a starting point or something for this question? Thank youu
  
  

  [Image: http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/567/physicsp.png]
• Yoorah wrote on 2012-08-30 18:40
  The graph shows you velocity vs time, which is acceleration, a. Figure out how to get a from the graph. Once you know that, you can calculate the position of the particle at various points.
• Time wrote on 2012-08-30 19:33
  Yayyy I figured it outtt thank you...Now for...all the other ones...
• Claudia wrote on 2012-08-30 20:14
  oh my god I know this formula
  
  or I used to
  
  sorry but I always feel dumb when these threads come up but now I don't feel so bad.
• Q wrote on 2012-08-30 22:20
  A faster way to do it is to know that the area under the curve of a velocity vs time graph is always the displacement. Since you already have an initial displacement, you have to add the displacement you get from calculating the area to the initial to get the objects final position at those points.
• Yoorah wrote on 2012-08-30 22:56
  You should always learn from the logical thinking path instead. :P
• Q wrote on 2012-08-30 23:29
  True lol. Didn't take into consideration this was a summer assignment.
• Zeke50100 wrote on 2012-09-04 22:26

  Quote from Yoorah;944398:

  You should always learn from the logical thinking path instead. :P

  
  
  Actually, I think it's perfectly acceptable to "count the squares" in a case like this. Too many people simply learn equations and use them without really understanding what they mean, and as a result are unable to logically think through situations where they have a graph and are asked to find something. The logical thinking path, in this case, actually is the "counting the squares" method - that is, it requires actual logic, and application of knowledge of what graphs mean in order to find the outcome. Simply finding acceleration and plugging it into an equation, I find, is the less logical path. It's fantastic for becoming more familiar with certain formulas, but learning how to figure things out without necessarily jumping to an equation is always good. Considering it's a summer assignment, it's probably the intended route, as well (unless things are different from where I'm from and people are just freaks T_T).
  
  Learning that you can find displacement from a graph of velocity against time is just as meaningful, and in many cases more meaningful (although in many cases less meaningful on the flip-side) as learning that you can find acceleration from the same graph and apply it to a formula.
• Yoorah wrote on 2012-09-04 23:00
  Counting squares has little to do with logic in the given situation. It's a good shortcut, and you can logically explain it if you understand the underlying problem well enough, but it's not the proper way to learn the concepts.
  
  One should memorize the basic equations and understand why they work the way they do. Once you have this knowledge, you can derive more advanced equations from that on the fly to solve more complex problems. Counting squares is ... something I might do on a multiple choice test, or something. :|