5.6.1 Distance and Displacement

• What is the definition of distance in physics?

  Total length of path covered
• What is the unit of measurement for distance?

  Meters (m)
• What is the definition of displacement in physics?

  Change in position
• What is the unit of measurement for displacement?

  Meters (m)
• What is the key difference between distance and displacement in terms of direction?

  Direction is considered in displacement
• Displacement is the change in position of an object, measured from its starting point to its ending point.
• Displacement is always equal to distance.

  False
• Steps to represent displacement using vectors

  1️⃣ Represent the overall change in position as a single vector

  2️⃣ Combine magnitude and direction of the straight-line path
• What is the formula to calculate displacement?

  Final position - Initial position
• Distance is the total length of the path covered
• What is the unit of measurement for distance?

  Meters
• Displacement is a vector quantity.


  True
• Displacement considers both magnitude and direction
• Distance is the net change in position between the starting and ending points.

  False
• What does a vector for displacement represent?

  Overall change in position
• The displacement of a runner moving 10 meters east and 5 meters west is 5 meters west.

  False
• Distance is a scalar quantity, meaning it only has magnitude without direction.
• Distance considers the direction of motion.

  False
• Displacement is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction.
• Displacement is the same as distance if an object moves in a straight line.

  True
• What type of quantity is distance?

  Scalar
• Distance does not depend on the path taken.

  False
• What is the key difference between displacement and distance in terms of definition?

  Change in position vs. total path
• Steps to represent distance using vectors

  1️⃣ Represent individual segments of the path as vectors

  2️⃣ Consider the direction of each segment

  3️⃣ Calculate the sum of magnitudes of all segments
• To calculate distance, you sum up the lengths of all path segments.
• If a car travels 10 meters forward and 5 meters backward, its displacement is 15 meters.

  False
• Distance is a scalar quantity.


  True
• Displacement is the change in position of an object
• What is the definition of displacement?

  Change in position
• What is the displacement if a runner moves 10 meters east and 5 meters west?

  5 meters east
• Vectors are represented visually using arrows
• To calculate displacement, subtract the initial position from the final position
• A hiker who walks 2 km north, 4 km west, and 1 km south has a displacement of 4.12 km in the southwest direction.