The motion of objects can be described by words, with images, as well as with the language of math by using graphs, charts, and equations.

We've already learned about the p-t and v-t graphs in our experiments, and now it's time to figure out the kinematic equations that will describe the motion of objects by relating the time, distance, displacement, velocity, speed, and acceleration. They're a really handy set of four equations that you can use to figure out how fast you're moving in a swing, how far your car will skid, the height your rocket will reach, or how far your baseball will go.

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The four Kinematic Equations are:

d = v_i t + (1/2) a t²

v_f² = v_i² + 2ad

v_f = v_i + at

d = (1/2) (v_i + v_f) t

Where:

t = time
d = displacement
v_f = final velocity
v_i = initial velocity
a = acceleration

These equations describe the relationship between the variables (v, t, d, a) so that if you know three out of four of them, you can solve for the missing variable. The video below will show you how to use these equations in a number of sample problems so you can discover how to do this for yourself.

Click here to go to next lesson on Kinematic Equations Example Problems.

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