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Definitions of Position and Velocity    null

If we start knowing the position vs. time x ( t ), then the velocity, v ( t ), is the derivative of its position, and the derivative in turn of this velocity is the particle's acceleration, a ( t ). The force is the particle's mass times a ( t ).

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\begin

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[ v = \frac

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]\end


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\begin

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[ a = \frac

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= \frac{d^

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x}{dt^{2}}]\end


In fact, as you can see, the velocity and acceleration are defined as derivatives of the position, a fact acknowledged by the phrase "the calculus of motion".  Newton had to invent calculus of one variable to deal with motion!

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