Calculating instantaneous velocity by drawing a tangent
An object travels south and after 2 seconds has moved 8 m. Calculate
the instantaneous velocity at 1 seconds and 1.5 seconds.
time (s)
position
d (m)
[N]
To calculate instantaneous velocity at 1 second, draw a
tangent at 1 second.
time (s)
position
d (m)
[N]
Choose two points that are easy to read on the tangent
line and calculate the slope.
(0.5, 0)
time (s)
position
d (m)
[N]
(2, -6)
v = -6 - 0
2 - 0.5
v = -4 m/s
To calculate instantaneous velocity at 1.5 seconds, draw
a tangent at 1.5 seconds.
time (s)
position
d (m)
[N]
Choose two points that are easy to read on the tangent
line and calculate the slope.
(0.75, 0)
time (s)
position
d (m)
[N]
(1.5, -4.5)
v = -4.5 - 0
1.5 - 0.75
v = -6 m/s