Name: ___________________ Physics 11 Block: ____

Lesson 3 Distance and Displacement

In physics, every measured quantity is either a

____________________ or a _________________________.

Scalars: __________________________________________________________________

For example:

_________________________________________________________________________

Vectors: __________________________________________________________________

For example:

___________________________________________________________________________

Note: Vectors are either written in bold font (ie v, F), but this is hard to handwrite. So, the other

notation is to put an arrow above the vector (ie

v ,F ), although since we are lazy we often just write half

the arrow.

Distance vs Displacement

Distance:

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________ Symbol: _________________

Displacement:

______________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________Symbol: ___________________

Ex 1): Use the diagram to determine the resulting displacement and the distance traveled by the skier

during these three minutes

Distance traveled =

Displacement =

Ex.2) What is the coach's resulting displacement and distance of travel?

The coach covers a distance of and has a displacement of

Speed vs Velocity

Speed is a ___________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Velocity is a

__________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Average speed =

Average velocity =

Ex. 3) While on vacation, Mr. M traveled a total distance of 440 miles. His trip took 8 hours. What was

his average speed?

Ex. 4) Use the diagram to determine the average speed and the average velocity of the skier during these

three minutes.

Refer to Ex.2) What is the coach's average speed and average velocity?

Ex. 4) Jason is giving Peter a football play to run.

a) What distance will Peter run in order to complete this play?

b) What will Peter’s displacement be?

In conclusion, speed and velocity are kinematic quantities that have distinctly different definitions.

Speed, being a _________________, is the rate at which an object covers ______________. The

average speed is the __________________ (a scalar quantity) per time ratio. Speed is ignorant of

direction. On the other hand, velocity is a ________________; it is direction-aware. Velocity is the rate

at which the position changes. The average velocity is the _________________ or position change (a

vector quantity) per time ratio.

Ex. 5) In the Funny Car competition at the Joliet Speedway in Joliet, Illinois in October of 2004, John

Force complete the ¼-mile dragster race in a record time of 4.437 seconds. Determine the average

speed of the dragster in mi/hr and m/s. GIVEN: (1.000 mi =1609 m)

Ex. 6) Ken Runfast is the star of the cross-country team. During a recent morning run, Ken averaged a

speed of 5.8 m/s for 12.9 minutes. Ken then averaged a speed of 6.10 m/s for 7.1 minutes.

Determine the total distance which Ken ran during his 20 minute jog.

Ex. 7) the position-time graph below represents the motion of South's basketball coach during the last

sixteen seconds of overtime during this past weekend's game.

Use the graph to answer the next several questions.

a. Determine the total distance walked by the coach during these 16 seconds.

b. Determine the resulting displacement of the coach during these 16 seconds.

c. Determine the displacement of the coach after 12.0 seconds.

d. At what time did the coach have the greatest displacement from his starting position?

e. What was the fastest speed which the coach walked during any of the time intervals for the last 16.0

seconds?

f. What was the average speed of the coach for these 16.0 seconds?

Ex. 8) Mr. M is preparing to show the class a Strobe demonstration when he realizes that his absent-

mindedness has struck once more. He left the strobe on the counter in the back of the lab after the last

class period. Starting 1.0 meter from the front of the room, Mr. M walks quickly to the back of the lab,

picks up the strobe and returns to the middle of the classroom. The position-time graph below represents

his motion. Use the graph to answer the next several questions.

a. What is the total distance walked by Mr. M during these 8.0 seconds?

b. What is the average speed of Mr. M during these 8.0 seconds?

c. What is the average velocity of Mr. M during these 8.0 seconds?

d. How fast did Mr. M walk during the first 5.0 seconds?

e. How fast did Mr. M walk during the last 3.0 seconds?

Name: __________________ Block: _____

Physics 11 Average Velocity Calculations

1. A high school bus travels 240 km in 6.0 h. What is its average speed for the trip? (in

km/h)

2. A black widow spider chasing its mate (which it will eat) travels across a driveway 3.6 m wide with

a speed of 12 cm/s. How long will it take to cross the driveway?

3. Joe Blow, one of the many stars of the local basketball team, steals the ball and runs the length of the

court in 8.5 sec at a speed of 5.0 m/s. How long is the court?

4. The average speed of a runner in a 400.0 metre race is 8.0 m/s. How long did it take the runner to

complete the race?

5. If a car is traveling at 25 m/s, how far does it travel in 1.0 hour?

6. A caterpillar travels across the length of a 2.00 m porch in 6.5 minutes. What is the average velocity

of the caterpillar in m/s?

7. A motorist traveling on a straight stretch of open highway sets his cruise control at 90 km/h. How far

will he travel in 15 minutes?

8. A motorcycle travels 90.0 km/h. How many seconds will it take the motorcycle to cover

2.00 x 103 m?

9. A hiker is at the bottom of a canyon facing the canyon wall closest to her. She is 280.5 m from the

wall and the sound of her voice travels at 340 m/s at that location. How long after she shouts will she

hear her echo?

10. A woman from Pasadena makes a trip to a nearby shopping mall that is located 40 km from her

home. On the trip to the mall she averages 80 km/h but gets a speeding ticket upon her arrival. On

the return trip she averages just 40 km/h. What was her average speed for the entire trip ?

11. A cross-country racecar driver sets out on a 100 km race. At the halfway marker (50 km), her pit

crew radios that she has averaged only 80 km/h. How fast must she drive over the remaining

distance in order to average 100 km/h for the entire race?

12. A supersonic jet travels once around the earth at an average speed of 1.6 x 103 km/h. Its orbital

radius is 6.5 x 103 km. How many hours does the trip take?