Instantaneous and Average Speed Andrew G. Binas Oliver G. Fualo Ma. Pearl S. Marinas Josephine D. Detera Maryjane P.

Felismino BEED-4A Education Department Sorsogon City Campus Sorsogon State College, Sorsogon City

Abstract This activity was conducted to measure the instantaneous speed of 3 runners and to determine the average speed of each. The equation v= is used to calculate the instantaneous speeds and =dT/tT is used to determine the average speed. Through which we were able to realize the relationship of the two concepts. 1. INTRODUCTION Authentic experience can brought about lasting learning to an individual/learner. It is imperative for us to fully understand the concept of instantaneous speed and average speed so us to understand that motion is not always constant but it changes at some point, and this change has its corresponding value. And only through this authentic activity can one fully understand this concept To further understand this concept, one concrete example that motion is not always constant is when a person rides a tricycle. The speed of the motorcycle cant always be constant since there are factors to consider such as the safety of the passenger. So it accelerates its speed only if the situation permits. But average speed has also a place in consideration so as to determine the time that a traveler would take upon reaching his/her destination. 2. THEORY Moving object/body changes its speed while in motion. Instantaneous speed is defined as the speed at any given instant in time. It is important to determine the average speed of the given instantaneous speed so as to understand at what average rate of speed does this body moves. Average speed is a measure of a distance travelled in a given period of time. We conducted the experiment to fully understand the concept or relation of average speed and instantaneous speed. The result would be proven by using this equation;

 =dT/tT Where, ( ) is the average speed, dT is the total (T) distance (d) travelled and tT is total (T) time (t) of travel taken by the moving body. Instantaneous speed will be the speed of a runner in every 25 meter. Without this data it is impossible to derive the average speed of a runner, since average speed is the average speed of all instantaneous speed. 3. METHODOLOGY First, we measured 100m using the meter stick then divided it into 4 where we positioned the students with their stop clocks. The runners positioned at the starting point. The first timer starts as the runner begin to run and shouts stop as the runner reaches the first 25 meters. As he/she shouts, the next timer shall start his/her stop clock and so on.

25m

25m

25m

25m

4. RESULTS & DISCUSSION In this activity, we measured the instantaneous speed of three (3) runners then determined the average speed of each. RUNNER A B C TIME IN PARTICULAR DISTANCE (s) 25m 25m 25m 25m 4.08 6.03 6.11 4.18 4.56 6.73 6.54 5.35 4.57 5.98 5.97 4.59 Table 1.1

Presented in Table 1.1 are the time spent by each runner in reaching the particular distance of 25m. This clearly shows the inconsistency of the speed of each runner. Using these data, we were able to calculate their instantaneous speeds through the equation v= . The solutions are as follows: RUNNER A V1=d/t=25m/4.08s=6.13m/s V2=d/t=25m/6.03s=4.15m/s V3=d/t=25m/6.11s=4.09m/s V4=d/t=25m/4.18s=5.98m/s RUNNER B V1=d/t=25m/4.56s=5.48m/s V2=d/t=25m/6.73s=3.71m/s V3=d/t=25m/6.54s=3.82m/s V4=d/t=25m/5.35s=4.67m/s RUNNER C V1=d/t=25m/4.57s=5.47m/s V2=d/t=25m/5.98s=4.18m/s V3=d/t=25m/5.97s=4.19m/s V4=d/t=25m/4.59s=5.45m/ V1 A B C 6.13 5.48 5.47 INSTANTANEOUS SPEED (m/s) V2 V3 4.15 4.09 3.71 3.82 4.18 4.19 Table 1.2 V4 5.98 4.67 5.45 AVERAGE SPEED (m/s) 4.90 4.37 4.74

RUNNER

Table 1.2 shows the instantaneous speeds of three (3) runners and the average speed of each of them that was determined through the equation =dT/tT. Given that the total distance is 100m and using the time presented at the Table 1.1.The solutions are as follows: RUNNER A

=dT/t=100m/20.4s=4.90m/s RUNNER B

=dT/t=100m/22.88s=4.37m/s RUNNER C

 =dT/t=100m/21.11s=4.74m/s These data presented only shows that the speed of the moving body is not constant. Furthermore, it proves the close relationship of the two concepts, wherein average speed is the average of all instantaneous speed. 5. CONCLUSION The instantaneous speed of a moving body can be determined by the equation v=d/t where v is the speed/velocity, d is the distance travelled and t is the time of travel. Whereas, the average speed can be determined by the equation =dT/t where, ( ) is the average speed, dT is the total distance and tT is total time. By this equation we determined that the average speed of Runner A is 4.90m/s, Runner B is 4.37m/s, & Runner C is 4.74m/s. REFERENCE
http://www.physicsclassroom.com