Consider the coordinate system shown above. At x = -1 block is a cafeteria, at x=0 blocks is a dorm, the physics building is at x = + 2 blocks and the library is at x = +3 blocks. The positive x direction points east. Shown below is a graph of a trip made by a physics student.
Part A
Describe the student's trip in words that would be understandable to someone who is not taking physics. Give the person information about where the student goes and how fast the student moves to get there (no numbers are needed, but give comparisons like "faster" or "slower").
System: The student will be treated as a point particle.
Model: One-Dimensional Motion with Constant Velocity.
Approach: The One-Dimensional Motion with Constant Velocity gives as an alternate representation the fact that a constant velocity can be represented as the slope of a linear position versus time graph. The graph we are given in the problem introduction is not linear overall, but it can be split into linear segments, as denoted by the different colors in the version given here:
Part B
Plot the student's velocity as a function of time for the trip.