Question

Determine the signs (positive, negative, or zero) of the position, velocity, and acceleration for the particle in Figure Q1.6.

Short answer

Position defines where the particle is located, velocity defines which direction the particle is moving, and acceleration defines whether the particle is speeding up or slowing down.

Step-by-step solution

Given  information:

There are three dots with gradual decrease in the vector distance.

Finding the Position:

• Velocity is defined as the rate of change of displacement of the particle with respect to time.
• Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity of the particle with respect to time.

• In the given figure, the position of the particle is towards the left of the zero on the x-axis.
• Therefore, the sign of position is negative.

Finding velocity and acceleration of the particle:

• The particle is moving towards the right. Therefore, the sign of velocity is positive.
• The direction of acceleration is the same as the direction of velocity. Therefore, the acceleration is positive.