Name:______________________________

Block:_____________ Date:_____________

Chapter 2 Study Guide

Chapter One:

significant figures - All of the valid digits in a measurement, the number of which indicates the
measurement’s precision.

dimensional analysis - A method of treating units as algebraic quantities that can be cancelled;
can be used to check that an answer will be in the correct units.

accuracy - The extent to which a reported measurement approaches the true value of the
quantity measured.

precision - the degree of exactness or refinement of a measurement.

uncertainty/error - An expression of the amount of imprecision or variation in a set of

magnitude - A measure of size.

vector - A quantity, such as position, that has both magnitude and direction.

coordinate system - A system used to describe motion that gives the zero point location of the
variable being studied and the direction in which the values of the variable increase.

origin - The point at which both variables in a coordinate system have the same value.

time interval - The difference between two times.

position - The distance and direction from the origin to an object.

distance - The entire length of an object’s path, even if the object moves in many directions.

displacement - A change in position having both magnitude and direction; is equal to the final
position minus the initial position.

resultant - A vector that represents the sum of two other vectors; it always points from the first
vector’s tail to the last vector’s tip.

position-time graph* - A graph that can be used to determine an object’s velocity and position,
made by plotting time on the horizontal axis and the position on the vertical axis.

instantaneous velocity - A measure of motion that tells the speed and direction of an object at a
specific instant.
 Name:______________________________
Block:_____________ Date:_____________
average speed - The distance traveled divided by the time taken to travel that distance; for
uniform motion, it is the absolute value of the slope of the object’s position.

Concepts -

1. Significant Figures Please use your knowledge of significant figures to indicate how many
significant figures each of the following numbers has:

347.23 5 1.008 4 8000 1

402.34 5 0.00093 2 342.006 6

9005.4 5 36.200 5 4.5000 5

0.354 3 0.00003 1 903980. 6

2. Significant Figures Briefly describe why scientists use significant figures.

Scientists use significant figures to express a degree of precision in their measurements.

4. Picturing Motion Compare and Contrast Speed and Velocity.

Speed describes how fast an object is moving; velocity describes the speed and direction of an
object. Speed is a scalar quantity; Velocity is a vector quantity.

5. Where and When? Briefly describe how coordinate systems help us when representing the
motion of a moving object. Describe ways in which we can manipulate a coordinate system.
Coordinate systems help explain exactly the position of an object. We can use this information
to then describe the motion of an object, the velocity and the momentum. We can manipulate
coordinate systems to fit specific problems by tilting the coordinate system, changing the
origin, or changing the positive and negative directions.
6. Compare and contrast the terms distance and displacement.
Distance is the length of an object’s path, where displacement is the distance the object is
away from the origin. For example, if a football player runs from the 0 yard line to the 50 yard
line and back to the 0 yard line, his distance traveled is 100 yards but his displacement is 0
yards. Displacement also includes direction, where distance does not; this means that
displacement is a vector quantity and distance is a scalar quantity.
 Name:______________________________
Block:_____________ Date:_____________
11. Identify a coordinate system you could use to describe the motion of a girl swimming across
a rectangular pool.
Cartesian coordinate system (x,y); the pool is rectangular which means we would use the
traditional coordinate system to locate her position.
11. Two students drew a motion diagram, the position of a moving object at a particular time.
When they compared their diagrams they found that their vectors did not point in the same
direction. Explain.
The students may have a differing coordinate system, different origin, different positive and
negative directions.

12. Position-Time Graphs Describe the difference between average velocity and
instantaneous velocity.
Average velocity is the speed and direction of an object taken over a time interval, implying that
the car may not have actually been traveling that velocity throughout the trip. However,
instantaneous velocity is the speed and direction of an object at a specific point in time. The
reading on your speedometer, for example, would be an instantaneous velocity.

13. Using the data table, plot the position-time graph and determine the average velocity of the
object.

14. What does the slope of a position-time graph represent? velocity