LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

QUARTER 1 SEMESTER 1

Name: __________________________________________________ Score: _______

Grade & Section: ________________________ Subject: _______________________

Name of Teacher: ___________________________________ Date: _____________

I. Title: Relative Velocity

II. Type of Activity: Concept notes with formative activities

LAS for summative assessment ( Written Work Performance Task)

III. MELC: Describe motion using the concept of relative velocities in 1D and 2D
(STEM_GP12KIN-Ic-20).

IV. Learning Objective/s:

Describe how motion is relative.
Calculate the relative velocities of objects with respect to reference points.
Relate the concept of relative motion in the journey of life.

V. Reference/s:

For Print Material/s

Esguerra, J.P.H. et al. 2018. General Physics I Learner’s Material First Edition.
Department of Education – BLR, Philippines. page 28-30.

Silverio, A. 2007. Exploring Life Through Science – Physics, page 60-61.

For Online Resource/s:

Bergstresser, M. 2019. Relative Motion & Acceleration: Definition and Examples.

Study.com. Accessed August 1, 2020 from
https://study.com/academy/lesson/relative-motion-acceleration-definitions-
examples.html

Biezen, M.V. 2012. Algebra - Word Problems - Rate and Distance Part 3/3.
Accessed August 1, 2020 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztDpc9Makjo&t=5s

The Organic Chemistry Tutor. 2017. Relative Velocity Physics Basic Introduction,
In One Dimension, Car & Train Problems Explained. Accessed August 2,
2020 from elative Velocity Physics Basic Introduction, In One Dimension, Car
& Train Problems Explained

The Physics Classroom. 2020. Relative Velocity. Accessed August 4, 2020 from
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/vectors/Lesson-1/Relative-Velocity-
and-Riverboat-Problems

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VI. Concept Notes

Important Equations:
𝑣𝑣𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 𝑣𝑣𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 + 𝑣𝑣𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑 𝑇𝑇 = (𝑆𝑆 × 𝑡𝑡)𝐴𝐴 + (𝑆𝑆 × 𝑡𝑡)𝐵𝐵
𝑡𝑡 =
𝑆𝑆𝐴𝐴 + 𝑆𝑆𝐵𝐵

A. Relative Motion

The laws of physics which apply when you are at rest on the earth also apply when
you are in any reference frame which is moving at a constant velocity with respect to the
earth. For example, you can toss and catch a ball in a moving bus if the motion is in a
straight line at constant speed.

The motion may have a different appearance as viewed from a different reference
frame, but this can be explained by including the relative velocity of the reference frame
in the description of the motion.

B. Relative Velocity

One must take into account relative velocities to describe the motion of an
airplane in the wind or a boat in a current. Assessing velocities involves vector addition
and a useful approach to such relative velocity problems is to think of one reference
frame as an "intermediate" reference frame in the form:
𝒗𝒗𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨 = 𝒗𝒗𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨 + 𝒗𝒗𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨
Put into words, the velocity of A with respect to C is equal to the velocity of A with
respect to B plus the velocity of B with respect to C. Reference frame B is the
intermediate reference frame.

Example: A motorboat travelling 4 m/s,

East encounters a current travelling 3.0 m/s,
North. (a) What is the resultant velocity of the
motorboat? (b) If the width of the river is 80
meters wide, then how much time does it take
the boat to travel shore to shore? (c) What
distance downstream does the boat reach the http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/vectors/u3l1f6.gif
opposite shore?

(a) The resultant velocity is 5 m/s at 36.9 degrees, using the addition vectors:
𝑅𝑅 = √𝐴𝐴2 + 𝐵𝐵2 = �(4𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠)2 + (3 𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠)2 = 𝟓𝟓 𝒎𝒎/𝒔𝒔
we compute the angle,
3
𝜃𝜃 = tan−1 = 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑. 𝟗𝟗°
4

(b) The river is 80-meters wide. That is, the distance from shore to shore as
measured straight across the river is 80 meters. The time to cross this 80-
meter wide river can be determined by rearranging and substituting into the
average speed equation.
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑎𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 =
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
The distance of 80 m can be substituted into the numerator. But what about
the denominator? What value should be used for average speed? Should 3
m/s (the current velocity), 4 m/s (the boat velocity), or 5 m/s (the resultant
velocity) be used as the average speed value for covering the 80 meters?
With what average speed is the boat traversing the 80-meter wide river?

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http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/vectors/u3l1f8.gif
 In our problem, the 80 m corresponds to the distance A, and so the average
speed of 4 m/s (average speed in the direction straight across the river)
should be substituted into the equation to determine the time.
80 𝑚𝑚
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = = 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝒔𝒔
4 𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠

(c) The distance downstream corresponds to Distance B on the diagram. The

speed at which the boat covers this distance corresponds to Average Speed
B on the diagram (i.e., the speed at which the current moves - 3 m/s). And so
the average speed of 3 m/s (average speed in the downstream direction)
should be substituted into the equation to determine the distance.
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = (𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠)(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = (3𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠)(20 𝑠𝑠) = 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 𝒎𝒎

YOU CAN DO THIS!

Task 1. Frayer Model. Summarize the concepts that you already know about relative
motion using the Frayer Model below:

Task 2. Thought Experiment 1 – Eye to Eye. Use your imagination and critical
thinking skills in answering the questions below. It is important for you to answer the
questions chronologically. Do not worry about points for all answers in this task will be
acceptable since this activity depends on your level of perception.
SET-UP: Place an object on top of your desk (i.e. phone, notebook, etc) and use this
set-up to answer the following questions:
1. Is the object moving? Encircle your answer.
YES NO MAYBE
2. Elaborate your answer in question 1.
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 3. While you are looking at the object on the table, an alien with super-vision who is
in his UFO just beside the Earth claims that the object is moving at a whopping
speed of 1,500 kilometers per hour. Is the alien’s claim valid?
YES NO MAYBE

4. Elaborate your answer in question 3.

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5. Can an object have multiple velocities at the same time? Explain.

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Task 3. Thought Experiment 2 – The Bus Ride. Use your imagination and critical
thinking skills in answering the questions below. It is important for you to answer the
questions chronologically.

SET-UP 1: You are sitting still inside the stationary bus. Your friend is standing at the
road looking at your bus.
1. From your friend’s perspective, are you moving?
______________________________________________________________
2. From your perspective, are your moving?
______________________________________________________________

SET-UP 2: You are sitting inside the bus which is moving at a constant velocity of 10
m/s east. You can see the conductor walking from the front of the bus to the
rear end of the bus at a velocity of 10 m/s, west.
1. From your perspective, what is the velocity of the conductor?
______________________________________________________________
2. From the perspective of your friend who is standing outside the bus, what is the
velocity of the conductor?
______________________________________________________________
SET-UP 3: You are sitting inside the bus which is now moving at a constant velocity of
20 m/s east. You can see a woman walking from the back of the bus to the
front of the bus at a velocity of 5 m/s, east.
1. From your perspective, what is the velocity of the woman?
______________________________________________________________
2. From the perspective of your friend who is standing outside the bus, what is the
velocity of the woman?
______________________________________________________________

YOU CAN DO MORE!

Task 4. Picture Problems - Relative Velocities. Use the illustration below to solve the
problem. The first item has been made as an example.

2 trucks are traveling toward each other. Truck A is moving to the east while Truck B is
moving to the west:

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 1. If Truck A is moving at 20 kph and Truck B is moving at 30 kph, what are the
velocities of the trucks with respect to each other?

Solution:
The velocity of Truck A with respect to B The velocity of Truck B with respect to A
𝑣𝑣𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 𝑣𝑣𝐴𝐴 − 𝑣𝑣𝐵𝐵 𝑣𝑣𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 = 𝑣𝑣𝐵𝐵 − 𝑣𝑣𝐴𝐴
𝑣𝑣𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = +20 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ − (−30𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ) 𝑣𝑣𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 = −30 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ − (20𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ)
𝑣𝑣𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = +50 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ 𝑣𝑣𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 = −50 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ

Note: This means that Truck A is moving Note: This means that Truck B is moving
at 50 kph with respect to an observer in at 50 kph with respect to an observer in
Truck B. The positive sign shows the Truck A. The negative sign shows the
direction, East. direction, West.

2. If Truck A is moving at 5 kph and Truck B is moving at 15 kph, what are the
velocities of the trucks with respect to each other?
3. If Truck A is moving at 50 kph and Truck B is moving at 100 kph, what are the
velocities of the trucks with respect to each other?
4. If Truck A is moving at 10 kph and Truck B is moving at 10 kph, what are the
velocities of the trucks with respect to each other?
5. If Truck A is moving at 0 kph and Truck B is moving at 10 kph, what are the
velocities of the trucks with respect to each other?

Task 5. When will they Meet? Solve the following problems. The first item has been
made as an example.
1. Two trucks are traveling toward each other as shown in the diagram below. If Truck
A is moving at a constant speed of 20 kph and Truck B is moving at a constant
speed of 40 kph, and they are originally 120 kilometers apart, when will they meet?

Givens: Formula:
𝑆𝑆𝐴𝐴 = 20 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 (𝑑𝑑)
Since we know that 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 = ,solving for t, we have,
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 (𝑡𝑡)
𝑆𝑆𝐵𝐵 = 40 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ
𝑑𝑑 = 120 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
𝑑𝑑
Find: 𝑡𝑡 =
𝑡𝑡 = ? 𝑆𝑆𝐴𝐴 + 𝑆𝑆𝐵𝐵
Solution:
120 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 120 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
𝑡𝑡 = = = 2 ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
20 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ + 40𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ 60 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘/ℎ𝑟𝑟

This means that the two truck will meet after 2 hours.

2. Two trucks are traveling toward each other. If Truck A is moving at a constant
speed of 120 kph and Truck B is moving at a constant speed of 80 kph, and they
are originally 20 kilometers apart, when will they meet? Express your answer in
minutes.

3. Allice rode a bus from Laoag going to Vigan which is travelling at a constant
speed of 80 kph. At the same time, Robin’s bus from Vigan going Laoag left the
terminal and travelled a constant speed of 100 kph. When will the bus meet if the
distance from Laoag to Vigan is 80 kilometers?

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 4. Alden and Katherine are approaching each other at 2.0 m/s and -3.5 m/s
respectively. If they are 5 meters apart, when will they meet?

5. Train A, traveling 70 miles per hour (mph), leaves Westford heading toward
Eastford, 260 miles away. At the same time Train B, traveling 60 mph, leaves
Eastford heading toward Westford.
A. When do the two trains meet?
B. How far from each city do they meet?

Task 6. Online Simulation – Relative Velocity. Using your

smartphone or computer, access the online simulation to have a
better understanding of the topic. Scan the QR code to right or
key-in the URL provided below.

https://interactives.ck12.org/simulations/physics/relative-
velocity/app/index.html
bit.ly/GP1SimRV
The online simulation features 2 bikers, Yari and George and a stationary observer.
Determine the relative velocities which they will meet at the specified time. It also
features their position-versus-time graphs for your to easily grasp the concept. Discover
the mathematical relationship involved in this exciting activity!

CHALLENGE YOURSELF!
Task 7. Quantitative Problems. Read the following problems carefully and solve.

1. A motorboat traveling 5 m/s, East encounters a current traveling 2.5 m/s, North.
A. What is the resultant velocity of the motor boat?
B. If the width of the river is 80 meters wide, then how much time does it take
the boat to travel shore to shore?
C. What distance downstream does the boat reach the opposite shore?

2. A motorboat traveling 6 m/s, East encounters a current traveling 3.8 m/s, South.
A. What is the resultant velocity of the motor boat?
B. If the width of the river is 120 meters wide, then how much time does it
take the boat to travel shore to shore?
C. What distance downstream does the boat reach the opposite shore?

3. If the current velocity in question #2 were increased to 5 m/s, then

A. how much time would be required to cross the same 120-m wide river?
B. what distance downstream would the boat travel during this time?

4. A plane can travel with a speed of

80 mi/hr with respect to the air.
Determine the resultant velocity of
the plane (magnitude only) if it
encounters a
A. 10 mi/hr headwind.
B. 10 mi/hr tailwind.
C. 10 mi/hr crosswind.
D. 60 mi/hr crosswind.

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 5. A police car and a sports car are 15 miles apart and travelling towards one
another. The sports car is travelling 10 miles per hour faster than the police car.
They meet in 6 minutes. How fast are they travelling?

Task 8. Conceptual Questions. Answer the following questions briefly and concisely
but substantially.
1. Rainfall makes slanted streaks on the side windows of a moving car. Why?
2. When moving in a car the trees and buildings appear to move backwards
whereas the moon appears to be following you. Why?
3. State if the statement is true or false: Relative velocity can be negative.
4. What is the need of using relative velocity?
5. A piece of chalk is dropped by a teacher walking at a speed of 1.5 m/s. Compare
the path of the chalk on the teacher’s perspective and a stationary observer.

Task 9. Frayer Model. Now that you have accomplished several tasks, complete the
Frayer Model again below and compare it to your Frayer Model in Task 1.

Reflection (Compare your Frayer Models in Task 1 and 9):

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LEVEL UP!
Task 10. Airplane in Wind Calculator. Using your smartphone or
computer, access the online calculator to have a better understanding
of the topic. Scan the QR code to right or key-in the URLs provided
below.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/airpw.html#c1
Short URL: https://bit.ly/GP1RVCalculator1

Do you still have questions about airplanes in wind? You can access this online
calculator. Here, you will be able to manipulate the givens and formulate your own
problems. This will surely enhance your problem-solving skills! Take a screenshot of
your work showing calculations on:

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 • Ground velocity
• Wind Velocity
• Desired Heading and Resultant Speed
Task 11. Boat in Current Calculator. Using your smartphone or
computer, access the online calculator to have a better understanding of
the topic. Scan the QR code to right or key-in the URLs provided below.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/boatc.html#c1
Short URL: https://bit.ly/GP1RVCalculator2

Do you still have questions about boat in current? You can access this online calculator.
Here, you will be able to manipulate the givens and formulate your own problems. This
will surely enhance your problem-solving skills! Take a screenshot of your work showing
calculations on:
• Resultant speed and bearing
• Rowing speed and bearing
• Speed of current

Task 12. Life Lessons. Choose one from the three quotes below and expound it using
the life lessons you that the concepts of relative motion taught you.

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Task 9. Frayer Model.

Task 12. Life Lessons.

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