What I Know About Motion

When we first began this unit on motion, I knew very little about it. All I had known, was that motion is when movement occurs, and is caused by forces. I wasn't able to go into detail about this then, but now I can. 

Now, I am able to thoroughly explain what motion is, and what happens when it occurs. Motion is movement that occurs when an object's distance from another object, changes. In other words, its position changes, relative to a reference point. A reference point  is another object that can be used for comparison, to determine whether or not something is in motion. For example, a passenger sitting inside a moving train, would not be in motion relative to the train. However, relative to a stationary object such as a tree outside, the passenger would be in motion. 

To measure the change in distance from another object, the basic unit - meter - is used. When something is in motion, you can calculate it's speed, or the distance an object travels over a certain period of time. Motion can be very useful when it is given in the form of velocity. Velocity is speed in a given direction.

Extremely slow motion occurs in Earth's outermost layer called the Lithosphere. It is divided up into major pieces called plates. Some of these plates include Earth's landmasses, or continents, and overtime these plates have shifted, due to a theory known as the Theory of Plate Tectonics. Underneath Earth's plates occurs a process similar to convection. This process allows heated material deep within the Earth, to rise and push aside cooler material at the top. Scientists believe that this process causes the Earth's plates to shift, and therefore explains how Earth's landmasses have changed position over time. Most plates shift several centimeters each year, while others move only a few millimeters. 

Acceleration is another kind of motion. It is when an increase in speed, decrease in speed, or change in direction occurs. So really, it is that rates at which velocity changes. 

Now that I know so much more about motion, I'm excited to learn more about the forces that affect motion. 

- Sana Mehmood