Kinematics

Motion Diagrams II

Instantaneous Velocity

← Motion Diagrams All Lessons Acceleration →
Do Now warm-up prompt

Instantaneous Velocity - velocity at a single moment in time

Fill In The Blanks Notes

Warm-Up

Drag and drop displacement activity

Drag and Drop Displacement

Video Instruction

showmethephysics.com

Instantaneous Velocity

Velocity at a single moment in time

Speedometer gauge
Slope and Motion tool

Slope and Motion   [ HTML5 ]

What is the velocity of the object at 6 seconds?

Displacement vs time plot
Step 1 - Draw a tangent line at the time you want to find the velocity
Displacement vs time plot with tangent line
Step 2 - Find the SLOPE of the tangent line (Slope = Velocity)
Displacement vs time plot showing slope calculation
↓

Slope of tangent = Δd/Δt = Velocity @ 6 sec.

= (2.5 m − .5 m)/(8.8 sec − 4 sec)

= .4 m/s

Ranking Task

Rank the accelerations from greatest to least.

Acceleration ranking task diagram

Review

Review motion plot
June 2026

Try This at Home!

Show this to your young siblings or cousins. All you need is whole milk, food dye, and a Q-tip soaked in dish detergent.

Acceleration →