Physics - Describing Motion

Kinematics is a branch of mechanics that deals with the description of motion. It comes from the Greek word "kinema", meaning to move. The simplest kind of motion to describe is motion in one dimension. One dimension refers to movement that is in a line. It can be backward and forward or up and down but not both. In order to describe motion in one dimension, you need to know the variables of time and position. Time is easily measured with a stopwatch, but the number used to describe position is based on an arbitrary coordinate system, while the position itself is real. These basics are important as they are the foundation for the more complicated physics concepts that will come later. In today's free Physics 1 video on Describing Motion with Professor Steve Pollock, you'll learn all about kinematics and see examples of how you can graph and describe motion. It's a good place to start thinking about motion and physics.