ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Equations of motion

When objects move, scientists use equations of motion to figure out how they are moving. These equations are like special rules that can tell us important things about the object's movement, like how fast it's going or how far it will travel.

There are three parts to these equations of motion. The first part tells us how far the object will move (also called the distance or displacement) when it is moving at a certain speed. The second part tells us how fast the object will be going after a certain amount of time has passed. And the third part tells us how the object's speed changes over time (also called acceleration).

To use these equations, we need some information about the object's movement, like its initial speed or how long it has been moving. Then, we can follow the rules and calculate how the object will keep moving.

For example, let's say we have a toy car that is traveling at 5 miles per hour. We can use the equations to figure out how far the car will go after 2 hours. The equation for distance is distance = speed x time, so we plug in the numbers we know: distance = 5 mph x 2 hours. The answer is that the car will travel 10 miles in those 2 hours.

Overall, equations of motion help us understand how things move and predict their future movements. They're like secret codes that let us unlock the mysteries of motion!