Glossary
- acceleration
- the rate of change in velocity; the change in velocity over time
- acceleration due to gravity
- acceleration of an object as a result of gravity
- average acceleration
- the change in velocity divided by the time over which it changes
- average speed
- distance traveled divided by time during which motion occurs
- average velocity
- displacement divided by time over which displacement occurs
- deceleration
- acceleration in the direction opposite to velocity; acceleration that results in a decrease in velocity
- dependent variable
- the variable that is being measured; usually plotted along the [latex]y[/latex]-axis
- displacement
- the change in position of an object
- distance
- the magnitude of displacement between two positions
- distance traveled
- the total length of the path traveled between two positions
- elapsed time
- the difference between the ending time and beginning time
- free-fall
- the state of movement that results from gravitational force only
- independent variable
- the variable that the dependent variable is measured with respect to; usually plotted along the [latex]x[/latex]-axis
- instantaneous acceleration
- acceleration at a specific point in time
- instantaneous speed
- magnitude of the instantaneous velocity
- instantaneous velocity
- velocity at a specific instant, or the average velocity over an infinitesimal time interval
- kinematics
- the study of motion without considering its causes
- model
- simplified description that contains only those elements necessary to describe the physics of a physical situation
- position
- the location of an object at a particular time
- scalar
- a quantity that is described by magnitude, but not direction
- slope
- the difference in [latex]y[/latex]-value (the rise) divided by the difference in [latex]x[/latex]-value (the run) of two points on a straight line
- time
- change, or the interval over which change occurs
- vector
- a quantity that is described by both magnitude and direction
- y-intercept
- the [latex]y -[/latex]value when [latex]x[/latex]= 0, or when the graph crosses the [latex]y[/latex]-axis
“Glossary” from College Physics 2e by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
