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Problems with detailed solutions on displacement and distance of moving objects. Problem 1. An object moves from point A to point B to point C, then back to point B and then to point C along the line shown in the figure below. a) Find the distance covered by the moving object. b) Find the magnitude and direction of the displacement of the object.
The variables include acceleration (a), time (t), displacement (d), final velocity (vf), and initial velocity (vi). If values of three variables are known, then the others can be calculated using the equations. This page demonstrates the process with 20 sample problems and accompanying solutions.
Distance is a scalar measure of an interval measured along a path. Displacement is a vector measure of an interval measured along the shortest path.
Help students learn the difference between distance and displacement by showing examples of motion. As students watch, walk straight across the room and have students estimate the length of your path.
Displacement is a vector and vectors have direction, so it's best to diagram this problem (a procedure that's remarkably useful in general). The resultant displacement is the vector sum of the two displacements experienced during the trip.
Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how much ground an object has covered" during its motion. Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to "how far out of place an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.
If an object moves relative to a reference frame—for example, if a professor moves to the right relative to a whiteboard, or a passenger moves toward the rear of an airplane—then the object’s position changes. This change in position is known as displacement. The word displacement implies that an object has moved, or has been displaced.
