SCIENCE – Grade 7

Quarter 3
Week 1

Competency:

LO 1. Describe the motion of an object in terms of distance or

displacement
1.1. describe motion as a change in position;
1.2. define distance and displacement;
1.3. measure the total distance and displacement
covered by a body; and
1.4. value the importance of reference point and
perspective in describing objects in motion.

Review (What’s In)

In Grade 6 you have learned about simple machines. A simple machine is a mechanical device
that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. They are the foundations of mechanics and applied
science.
Can you still recall the different simple machines?
Let’s have an activity to refresh your mind. Below are figures of examples of the six classical
simple machines. Identify the type of simple machine on each picture. You can choose your answer
from the “Clue Words” below.

1. _____________ 2 . _____________ 3 . _____________

4. _____________ 5 . _____________ 6 . _____________

“Clue Words”
- l ever - screw - inclined plane
- wheel and axle - wedge - pulley
 Mini-Lesson
Describing Motion

Source: https://web.facebook.com/etrikepas/?_rdc=1&_rdr
Figures 1 & 2. Pasig City’s E-trikes

Have you ever seen this kind of vehicle in the busy streets of Cebu? Have you experienced
riding one? This is called an “e-trike”, short for “electric tricycle”.

The wheel and axle are present on the e-trike’s wheels,

enabling it to move similar to other kinds of vehicles on land.

As we face the COVID-19 pandemic, this vehicle serves as one of the common modes of
transportation for most of our front-liners or those people who are essential in fighting the spread of the
virus. They are our doctors and nurses, along with other essential workers like security guards,
cashiers, baggers, bank tellers, and other members of the skeleton work force of different industries.
E-trikes and other vehicles enable public motion in our city.

Motion is described as a continuous change in position of a body relative to a reference point,

as measured by a particular observer in a particular frame of reference.

How will you describe your current position? Are you sitting right now as you read this module?
Are you sitting on a chair in your room beside your bed? Or are you sitting in the living room in front of
the television? Position and motion can be best described by using a reference point.

Look around you. What things are moving? How can you tell that such things are moving?
One way of knowing whether an object is moving or not, is by comparing it with another object that
stays in place or not moving. This will be your reference point. An object is said to be moving when it is
traveling towards or away from a reference.

Analyze Figure 4. Which object do you think is in

motion? Is it the basketball ring or the ball? Which will
serve as the reference point?

In this image, we can infer that that ball is in motion

with respect to the basketball ring. The ball is falling
while the basketball ring stays still.

Distance and Displacement

An object which moves, changes its position and travels a certain distance or has been
displaced from its original position as the reference. Distance and Displacement are both used to
describe if an object has moved.
Distance is the total length of path traveled by an object. It is a scalar quantity. It only has
magnitude or size. Other examples of scalar quantities are time, mass, and temperature.
Displacement is the straight-line distance between the initial and final position. It is the change
in position of an object or how far the object is from its starting position. Displacement is a vector
quantity. It has both magnitude and direction. Acceleration, force and momentum are examples of
vector quantities.
Distance and displacement are two quantities that are usually interchanged. They both seem to
mean the same thing but they are actually very different from each other.
 Let us study Figure 5. Chris and April
are looking for their pet dog, Bantay.
Distance is represented in the illustration by
the two yellow solid arrows. They have to
walk 3 m due East and 4 m due North to
reach their pet dog. The total distance that
they will cover is 7 m (3 m + 4 m = 7 m).

In terms of their displacement, the

total length between the starting and final
points measure 5 m, Northeast.
Displacement is represented by the red
broken arrow in the figure. Remember that it
has always a direction.

Figure 5 : Distance and Displacement

Because of the COVID-19
pandemic, we were all ordered to stay at home, immobilizing most fields to prevent the spread of
the virus. Public motion was restricted strictly during the Enhanced Community Quarantine.
But even if we are at the safety of our houses, we cannot say that we are motionless. We
can still observe objects and bodies that are in motion with respect to different reference points.

Activities
Activity 1
Procedure:
Look around you. Observe objects or bodies that are in motion. Identify other prominent objects or
parts of the house that will serve as your reference point. List them down on the table below. The first
one serves as your example.

Objects or Bodies in Motion Reference Point

1 A walking dog in the kitchen. Refrigerator
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Closure: What is the importance of using a reference point in describing an object that is in motion?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 2

Identify the words that are being described by each sentence. The number of boxes indicate the
number of letters of the correct answer.

1. The continuous change in position with respect to a reference point.

2. The total length of path travelled by an object.

3. The straight-line distance between the initial and final position.

4. A quantity that has magnitude or size.

5. A quantity that has both magnitude and direction.

Assessment

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.

1. What do you call the object used for comparison to determine if something is in motion or
has changed its position?
A. boiling point B. melting point C. reference point D. referral point

2. Displacement is a vector quantity because it has both magnitude and direction. Which of the
following quantities is NOT a vector?
A. 3 N, down B. 4 m/s, West C. 5 kgm /s, left D. 6 m

For Nos. 3-4 analyze the figure below:

3 m

Point A Point B

3. From its original position (Point A), the ball was pushed and rolled to its new location (Point
B). Which of the following statements about its distance and displacement in terms of its size is
TRUE?
A. The distance covered by the ball and its displacement are equal.
B. The distance covered by the ball is longer than its displacement.
C. The displacement of the ball is shorter than its covered distance.
D. There is no displacement nor distance covered by the ball.

4. If the ball was kicked and returned to its original position, what is the value of its
displacement? (Point A back to Point A)
A. 0 B. 3 m C. 6 m D. 9 m

5. Staying at home is the best way to distance oneself to others and to lessen the risk of
exposure to COVID-19, but it is inevitable to go outside especially in buying one’s essential
needs. Which of the following is NOT a good practice when going outside the house during this
pandemic period?
A. washing and sanitizing hands frequently
B. practicing and observing social distancing
C. wearing face mask and face shield properly
D. attending birthday parties and other social gatherings

ELEONOR L. BENITEZ
Teacher 1
Awihao National High School