Reference Frames

A physics student measures the position of an object and reports the results to you in the table shown above.   You are viewing the same object from your reference frame.  Your view is shown in the animation.  Assume that your reference frame is an inertial reference frame and that both you and the other student use the same units for time and distance.

Do the following for each of the simulations:

• Determine if the other student is in an inertial reference frame. 
• If the other student is in an inertial reference frame, determine the transformation between the x and y data from your frame to her frame.

Challenge exercise:  Determine the transformation between between the two frames if the student is in a noninertial reference frames.

Answers

• Animation 1:   The physics student is in an inertial reference frame.  The transformations are
          x' = x - 2*t  and v' = v - 2.
•  Animation 2:  The physics student is in a noninertial reference frame.
• Animation 3:  The physics student is in an inertial reference frame.  The transformations are
          x' = x +1.0*t  and v' = v +1.