Kinematics: Distance and Displacement Quiz
Quiz Overview
Description
Distance is a scalar quantitiy that measures how much someone or something has traveled to a particular destination. It addresses the issue of how much ground is covered. Direction is not a factor when dealing with distance.
Displacement is a vector quantity that measures the distance and the direction from the starting point to the end point. Displacement addresses the issue of is the overall change in position.
For example: Gabby starts at point A and walks 4m to the left and arrives at point B. Then she turns around and walks back to point A from point B. Because point A is 4m from point B, Gabby’s total distance can be calculated in two parts:
From point A to point B: 4m
From point B back to point A: 4m
Her total distance covered is 8m. However, Gabby’s displacement is 0 because she ended back up where she started and there is no overall change in her position.
For the following quiz, you will need a pencil, scratch paper and a calculator. Follow the instructions for sketching the shapes to be used in each problem. Read each question carefully and select the best answer from the choices.
Displacement is a vector quantity that measures the distance and the direction from the starting point to the end point. Displacement addresses the issue of is the overall change in position.
For example: Gabby starts at point A and walks 4m to the left and arrives at point B. Then she turns around and walks back to point A from point B. Because point A is 4m from point B, Gabby’s total distance can be calculated in two parts:
From point A to point B: 4m
From point B back to point A: 4m
Her total distance covered is 8m. However, Gabby’s displacement is 0 because she ended back up where she started and there is no overall change in her position.
For the following quiz, you will need a pencil, scratch paper and a calculator. Follow the instructions for sketching the shapes to be used in each problem. Read each question carefully and select the best answer from the choices.