Position .

Velocity, and Acceler at ion

The d erivative can d etermine s lo p e a nd ca n a lso be used to d e termine the rate of change of one
va riable w ith respect to a nother. The fun ctio n s(t ) tha t gives the p ositio n (relative to the origin)
of an o bject as a fun ct io n of time tis called a position function.
Position function:
Co nside r a n obj ect that is moving a long a s tra ight line. These objects ca n move either horizontally
or ve rtica lly. Can you give s ome examples of a ny object either natural or man-ma de?

Horizontal x(t) Vertical s( t )

The function s(t) or x(t) gives the position, relative to the origin, of an object as a function of
time, t. As the object moves, its position changes over time. Therefore, the velocity function v ( t )
is the change of the position function over time. Now we know that this is the derivative a nd w e
can say that v(t) = s' (t) or x' (t).

Let's clarify some ideas about motion and direction related to these ideas.

Rates of Chanee

In our study of Calculus, we are often interested when an object ( or particle) is speeding up,
slowing down, stopped, or has no acceleration.
i Recall the notation for the average rate of change (ARoC) of a function y = f (x) over an interval
[x 0 , x 1 ]
ARoC = Yi -Yo

Instantaneous Velocity:

Tells how fast something is going at that exact instant and in which direction. That is, how the
position is changing with respect to time represented by

. s ( t + M) - s ( t)
-ds
dt
= s'(t) = v ( t ) = hm - - - - - - -
M .... o lit

Let's de fine the motion of an object v(t) in the table below:

Motion v(t) > 0 v(t) < 0 v(t) = 0

Horizontal Line

Vertical Line
I

I EX # 1: Use the graph at the right to answer the

following. Assume that the positive direction is
to the right. 10
v(t)

1. When is the p article m ovin g at a cons tant 51---,

sp eed?
t
3 4 5
2. When is the particle moving to the right? .
5
[0 , 1]
3. Whe n is it moving to the left? -10

[ 2, f J
4. When is the particle speeding up?

5. When is it slowing ~}Jn} J

6. When is the 1~/ty\1I~/ J
c~,r]
7. When is the velocity decreasing?

l l 16] . .
8. Are your answers to questions 6 & 7 the same as your answers to 4 & S respectively? Expla in.

9. How fast is the particle moving at time t = 4, and in what direction?

10. What is the particle's velocity at time= 4?

11. What is the average velocity over the time interval 2 < t < 3?

12. When does the particle change direction?

13. How far does the particle move during the first second and which way?

14. How far to the right does the particle go and when does it arrive there?

15. What is the total distance traveled by the particle?

16. What is the particle's position after S seconds?

17. What is the average velocity of the particle overthe s second time interval?
18. Are your answers to questions 15 & 16 the same? Explain.

19. What is the average speed over this 5 second interval?

20. What is the particle's acceleration over the 1st second? What does your answer mean?

21. Over what time interval(s) does the particle have positive acceleration?

22. Over what time interval(s) does it have negative acceleration?

23. When is the acceleration undefined on the interval 0 < t < 5?

24. State an interval of time when the particle has positive acceleration but is slowing down.

25. State an interval when the acceleration is negative but the particle is speeding up?

26. What is the particle's acceleration over the time interval (3, 4)?

27. What is the particle's average acceleration over the entire 5 second time interval?

28. Over what time interval is the particle's velocity decreasing at a rate of 5 feet/sec every
second?

EX #2: In general, we are interested about the times when a particle or object is stopped or has no
acceleration. We will also want to know when the object is speeding up or slowing down. Let's
complete the table below to find all the possibilities for an object's motion. Remember that an
object's velocity is either positive (moving right/up), negative (moving left/down) or zero
(stopped). Also, that an object's acceleration is either positive, negative or zero (constant speed).

a(t) > O a (t) < O a(t) =0

v(t) > 0

v (t ) < O

v(t ) = 0
 EX#3: A projectile is launched ve t' II
r Ica Y upward from ground level with an initial velocity of
114 ft/sec. Use the general position function model: s(t) = !. gt2 + vot + so
2

A. Find the velocity and B. How high will the C. Find the speed of the
speed at t = 3 and projectile rise? projectile when it hits
t = S seconds. the ground.

EX #4: A child is tossing a small ball into the air. The position of the ball at a time t, seconds after
it is thrown into the air is given by s(t) = -5.2t 2 + 2St + 4 feet. Find s'(4), explain the
meaning of the value you found.

EX #5: To estimate the height of a building, a stone is dropped into a fountain at ground level
from the top of the building. How high is the building, in feet, if the splash is seen 5.6
seconds after the stone is dropped?
The Effect of a One-Unit Change

We know that for very small values of h, the approximation of the derivative can be found by the_
difference quotient. But, it can be shown that the approximation can be found when h = 1. That 1s,

To clarify, f' (x0) is approximately equal to the change inf caused by a one-unit change in x when
X = x0.

EX #6: For speeds betweens= 30 mph ands= 75 mph, the stopping distance, after the brakes
are applied for a vehicle can be modeled by the formula F(s) = 1.1s + 0.05s2 feet. For a
vehicle traveling at 65 mph:

A. Find the actual stopping distance at 65 mph and 66 mph. What is the stopping
distance needed for an increase in speed by 1 mph?

B. Estimate the change in stopping distance if the speed is increased by 1 mph by using
the instantaneous rate of change at s = 65 mph.

C. Then, compare this estimate with the actual increase in stopping distance.