DISTANCE and DISPLACEMENT

POSITION – the location of

an object at any particular
time
POINT OF REFERENCE –
objects that are fixed
relative to Earth such as
tree, building, or post. (The
origin of the position, starting point)
DISTANCE - is the total length of path travelled from its initial position to its final position. It refers
to how much ground the object has covered during its motion.
- Described as magnitude or size (amount) only. (Scalar)
DISPLACEMENT – is the object’s overall or net change in position. It refers to how far out of place
an object is from its initial position.
-Described as magnitude and direction (Vector Quantity)

Let’s Practice!

Guide Questions:
1. What is the starting point of the dog?
2. Define point of reference in your own words.
3. What is the distance covered by the dog from point A to point D?
4. What is the displacement of the dog?
5. Suppose the dog goes back to point A as its final position, what will be its displacement?
6. It is possible to get zero displacement? When can displacement be equal to zero?
7. Suppose the dog travels only from point A to point B, What will be its total distance
covered? How about its displacement?
8. When can displacement be equal to distance?
9. Can displacement be greater than distance? Why or why not?
10. Give one difference between distance and displacement based on the given example.
Activity 1
Directions: Choose the best answer from the given choices. Write the letter of your choice on a
separate sheet of paper.
1. Which refers to the length of the entire path travelled by an object?
A. Displacement B. Distance C. Motion D. Time
2. Which of the following describes displacement?
A. It has direction only.
B. It has magnitude only.
C. It lacks magnitude and direction.
D. It has both the magnitude and direction.
3. Which of the following measures the length of the straight line that connects the
object’s point or origin and its point of destination?
A. Motion B. Distance C. Displacement D. Point of
reference
4. Which of the following shows a distance covered by an object?
A. 15 s B. 20 m C. 10 m/s D. 5 m East
5. Which of the following best differentiates distance from displacement?
A. Distance is a vector quantity while displacement is a scalar quantity.
B. Distance always follows a straight line while displacement does not always follow a
straight line.
C. Distance is the total length of the entire path travelled by an object while displacement is
the shortest distance between the object’s two positions.
D. Displacement is the total length of the entire path travelled by an object while distance is
the shortest distance between the object’s two positions.
For numbers 6-12, analyze the illustration given below and answer the questions.
Figure 6. Reference point of the car, the ball and house.
6. What is the position of the car with the house as its reference point?
A. – 10 m B. 0 m C. 40 m D. 50 m
7. What is the position of the ball with the house as its reference point?
A. 0 m B. 10 m C. 20 m D. 40 m
8. How far is the car from the ball?
A. The car is 30 meters to the left of the ball.
B. The car is 20 meters to the left of the ball.
C. The car is 30 meters to the right of the ball.
D. The car is -10 meters to the right of the ball.
9. If the ball moves from its position to the 30-meter mark, what is its displacement?
A. 0 m B. 10 m C. 20 m D. 30 m
10. Suppose the car moved 20 meters to the right, then turned 10 meters back to the left. What are
its distance travelled and its displacement?
A. The distance will be 30 meters and the displacement will be 0.
B. The distance will be 20 meters and the displacement will be 10 m, right.
C. The distance will be 30 meters and the displacement will be 10 m, right.
D. The distance will be 10 meters and the displacement will be 10 m, right.
11. Assume that the ball moved to the house and rolled back to its original position, how far would
the ball travel and what would be its displacement?
A. The distance and the displacement of the ball from its reference point would be both 40
meters.
B. The distance and the displacement of the ball from its reference point would be both 0
meter.
C. The distance of the ball from its reference point will be 40 meters and its displacement
would be 0 meter.
D. The distance of the ball from its reference point will be 0 meter and its displacement
would be 20 meters.
12. Assume that the car moved to the house and moved back to its original position, what would be
its distance and its displacement?
A. The distance travelled and the displacement of the car would be both 100 meters.
B. The distance travelled by the car will be -10 m and its displacement would be 40 m.
C. The distance travelled by the car will be zero and its displacement would be 100 meters.
D. The distance travelled by the car will be 100 meters and its displacement would be zero.
13. If the position of an object is not changing, what do you think does this indicate about its
displacement?
A. The displacement is zero.
B. The displacement is lesser than the distance.
C. The displacement is greater than the distance.
D. The displacement is the same with the distance travelled by an object.
14. Glenn was asked by his science teacher if an object’s displacement could be shorter than
distance. He answered yes. Is Glenn’s answer correct?
A. Yes, displacement is always equal to zero.
B. No, displacement is the total length covered by an object in motion.
C. No, displacement is the longest length between two object’s point of origin and its point of
destination.
D. Yes, displacement is the shortest length between two object’s point of origin and its point
of destination.
15. Is it correct to say that our house is constantly moving when its reference point is the sun?
A. No, the house will only move when an earthquake occurs.
B. No, the house as the reference point is not affected by the sun.
C. Yes, since the house is placed on the Earth’s ground where the sun is constantly moving.
D. Yes, since the house is placed on the ground where the Earth is constantly moving around
the sun.
SPEED, VELOCITY and ACCELERATION
SPEED - A description of how fast or slow an object moves. It is the rate at which an object changes
its location. Considers magnitude only. (Scalar quantity)
Average speed - the distance travelled divided by the time it takes to travel the distance.
SI unit – meter per second m/s, kilometers per hour km/h
Equation: where: v = speed
d
v= d = distance covered
t
t = time of travel
Example 1
Elma Muros, the fastest female sprinter in Southeast Asia, can run a 200-m distance course
in 24.42 seconds. What is Elma’s speed?
Given: d = 200 m
t = 24.42 s
Find: v=?

VELOCITY - describes the speed and direction of an object. (vector quantity)

SI unit – meter per second m/s, kilometers per hour km/h

Example 2
Samrod drove to the city to pick up a friend. She went 3000 km east in about 10 hours. Calculate
her velocity.

CONSTANT SPEED – any object is moving over equal distance in equal periods of time.
INSTANTANEOUS SPEED – the speed at any specific instant.
INSTANTANEOUS VELOCITY – the velocity of a moving object
SPEEDOMETER – an instrument that determines the instantaneous speed of a vehicle.
SPEED LIMIT – is either the maximum or minimum speed allowed for vehicles.
Speed Limit in School zone – maximum of 20 km/h
Speed limit in highways – minimum of 60 km/h
ACCELERATION - how fast an object or a body changes its velocity. Rate of change in velocity
(a) it is travelling in one direction with changing speed (either speeding up or slowing down)
(b) moving at a constant speed but changes its direction, and
(c) when it changes both the speed and its direction
DECELERATION – slowing down the motion
SI unit of Acceleration – meters per second per second m/s/s or m/s 2
Kilometers per hour per hour km/h/h or km/h2

Activity 2 Solving Time!

Directions: Solve the following problems below involving speed and velocity. Show your solution.
1. A bird can fly a distance of 250 miles in 5 hours. What is the average speed of the bird?
2. If you travel 300km in 6 hours, what is your average speed?
3. A jeepney moves along a straight road at an average speed of 10m/s. What is the distance
travelled by the jeepney in 2.5 s?

Activity 3 By Group!
Directions: Graph the given velocities and the time interval as shown in the table below. Label your
graph correctly. Place the velocity on the y-axis and time on the x-axis. Connect the points after
graphing. Then compute and analyze the acceleration of the object between: 1) point A—C, 2) point
C—D and 3) point D—E.