Motion 101

You overslept and now you're going to be late for school. After stumbling out of bed, you throw on some clothes, slow down for a minute to find something to eat, then grab your bag and run up the street as quickly as you can. It's ugly but you're there just in time to hop on the bus.

Just when you thought it was over, your science teacher happens to ask you to describe to the class all the motions you went through that morning. What would you say?

You'll probably end up using the words stumble, slow, quick, hop, run and maybe winding. But then the teacher tells says there are more scientific and precise ways to describe all that motion, and look here, there's a bunch of videos you can watch, beginning with this one.

Watch the video to find out more about how to describe motion. Then, answer the question in the Take Notes box, below. You may read the transcript to the video, and watch the segment, as many times as you like.

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Motion 101 Transcript

Motion is the movement of an object. It seems simple, but there is a whole lot of physics happening. And thanks in part to scientists like this guy (Newton), we have some universal ways to describe, measure and calculate motion.

First, an object must first be somewhere. This is called its position.

In order to be “moving” the object must change position. When it does, we (the observers) can describe and measure its movement using these key concepts.

First, we have to consider its direction. Depending on what is moving, where it starts, and what we are trying to measure we can use directions such as east, west, up, down, left, right.

Then there is distance, the measurement of how much space an object has covered with its movement. And displacement, the measurement of how far the object moves from its original position.

Intuitive or not, these variables help to describe motion. So something as simple as a ball roll to something as complex as the movement of the universe, starts with these basic concepts.

What you'll do

In this lesson you’ll learn some basic information about how to tell a motion story. You’ll watch a short video and then three animations that explain what causes motion, how we describe motion, and how graphs show how an object moves. After taking notes and online quizzes, you’ll have a chance to review and organize what you’ve learned. Then you will produce your own project in which you’ll tell your own motion story.

Take Notes

List four ways to describe motion. Give an example of each one.