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Constant Velocity versus Accelerated Motion:
An object that moves with a constant velocity is moving with a constant speed in an unchanging direction. The distance traveled in each consecutive second is the same. An object that has an accelerated motion is changing its velocity. It could be speeding up, slowing down or changing direction. If the object is slowing down, then the amount of distance traveled in each second is decreasing. If the object is speeding up, it is covering a greater distance in each consecutive second.
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The oil drop pattern uses dots to represent the location of the car after a certain interval of time - perhaps after every 1-second interval in time. An inspection of the location of each dot relative to the previous dots allows you to determine if the distance traveled in the most recent second is increasing, decreasing or staying the same. You can decide what type of motion is involved by observing how the distance traveled in each consecutive second is changing.
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Starting at the left side of the diagram, progress towards the right side and inspect the distance between each oil drop. Use this distance and the principle in the Physics Rules section to determine if the object's motion is a constant speed or an accelerated motion. If necessary, use a measuring tool to decide. Continue to inspect dots as you progress towards the right and continuously monitor the changes in the object's speed (if any). The piling up of the oil drops on each other at the far right is an indication that the object has come to a resting position.
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