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Position, Displacement, Velocity

1. Displacement is a vector quantity because it includes both magnitude and direction of an object's motion from its initial to final position. 2. Velocity is also a vector quantity as it includes both speed and direction of an object's motion. The slope of a position vs. time graph gives an object's instantaneous velocity at a point in time. 3. There are differences between distance and displacement, speed and velocity, and average and instantaneous velocity. Distance is a scalar quantity referring to how far an object travels, while displacement is a vector referring to the net distance between initial and final positions including direction. Speed refers to how fast an object moves at an instant while velocity includes both speed and direction of

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1K views3 pages

Position, Displacement, Velocity

1. Displacement is a vector quantity because it includes both magnitude and direction of an object's motion from its initial to final position. 2. Velocity is also a vector quantity as it includes both speed and direction of an object's motion. The slope of a position vs. time graph gives an object's instantaneous velocity at a point in time. 3. There are differences between distance and displacement, speed and velocity, and average and instantaneous velocity. Distance is a scalar quantity referring to how far an object travels, while displacement is a vector referring to the net distance between initial and final positions including direction. Speed refers to how fast an object moves at an instant while velocity includes both speed and direction of

Uploaded by

Mark Prochaska
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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POGIL: Position and Velocity in One Dimension Position and Displacement To answer the question How do things move?

, we often want to know where an object is located and how far it is from its initial location. For one dimensional motion, we define the following quantities for such descriptions, listed with their algebraic symbols: position x identifies where the object is located relative to a reference point on a line, called the origin. If the object is to the right of the origin, the position is given as a positive distance from the origin. If the object is to the left of the origin, the position is given as a negative distance from the origin. A B C

-4 m -3 m -2 m -1 m 0 1m 2m 3m 4m For example: point A is 2 m to the left of the origin and therefore has a position of x = 2 m point B is 1 m to the right of the origin; it has a position of x = +1 m point C is 2.5 m to the right of the origin; it has a position of +2.5 m. displacement x the change in an objects position. It gives the distance between the initial and final positions of an objects motion as well as the direction from the initial to final point. In one dimension, if the final position is to the right of the initial position, then the displacement is positive; if the final position is to the left of the initial position, then the displacement is negative.

1. Is displacement a scalar quantity or a vector quantity? Justify your answer.

2. The position vs. time graph below describes the motion of a person walking.
25 20 15 10 5 0 0 2 4 6
time (s)

position (m)

10

12

(a) What distance does the person travel from: i. 0 to 6 s? ii. 6 to 8 s? iii. 8 to 12 s? iv. 0 to 12 s?

(b) What is the person's displacement from: i. 0 to 6 s? ii. 6 to 8 s? iii. 8 to 12 s? iv. 0 to 12 s? 3. What is the difference between distance and displacement?

Speed and Velocity We also want to know how fast an object is moving and the direction it is headed. For one dimensional motion, we define the following quantities for such descriptions, listed with their algebraic symbols: instantaneous speed s how fast an object is moving at one instant in time, measured by a distance unit divided by a time unit. instantaneous velocity v how fast an object is moving at one instant in time and the direction it is moving. In one dimension, this is simply expressed by a positive value if the object is moving in the positive direction and a negative value if the object is moving in the negative direction. d s average speed = , where d is the distance traveled by an object during its motion and t is t the time elapsed during the motion. It is the average of all the instantaneous speeds during an objects motion. x average velocity v = , where x is the displacement during an objects motion and t is the t time elapsed during the motion. It is the average of all the instantaneous velocities during an objects motion.

4. Is velocity a scalar quantity or a vector quantity? Justify your answer.

5. Use the position vs. time graph in question 2 to answer the following questions. (a) What is the person's average speed from: i. 0 to 6 s? ii. 6 to 8 s? iii. 8 to 12 s? iv. 0 to 12 s? (b) What is the person's average velocity from: i. 0 to 6 s? ii. 6 to 8 s? iii. 8 to 12 s? iv. 0 to 12 s? (c) What is the person's instantaneous velocity at: i. 3 s? ii. 7.5 s? iii. 10.236 s?

(d) When is the person at rest? (e) When does the person move in the positive direction? (f) When does the person move in the negative direction? 6. What is the difference between speed and velocity?

7. What is the difference between average velocity and instantaneous velocity?

8. What quantity does the slope of a position vs. time graph tell you?

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