Name:___________________________________________Date:_________
Position, Distance, and Displacement
A. Reading Positions
To describe location, imagine a meterstick is placed next to the object. The meter stick acts as a number line. Objects to the left of 0 have a negative position, objects to the right of zero have a positive position.
Example: The position of the heart is 5m
1. What is the position of the smile face? __________ The position of the lightning? __________ (don't forget units)
B. Locating Positions
2. Draw each letter as indicated:
Place an W at the 2 m mark. | Place an P at the -5 m mark.
Place a S at the 6 m mark | Place a A at at the -1m mark.
C. Changing Positions
Displacement = xf - xi
xf = final position and xi = initial position
3. What is the initial position of the car? _________________ What is the final position of the car? ______________
4. What is the car's displacement? __________________ (don't forget units!)
D. Distance and Displacement
Distance = a measurement of the actual path traveled
Displacement = the straight-line distance between two points.
5. The rabbit and the fox both start from point A and end up at Point B. How far does the fox travel? ______ the rabbit? _____
E. Showing Displacement
When an object moves, an arrow is drwn to show displacement. That arrow starts at xi and ends at xf.
6. What is the displacement of the smile as shown on the line below? _____________
Directions are negative if the arrow points left or down
Directions are positive if the arrow points right
up.
What is the object's direction? __________________
7. Draw an arrow showing an object that moves from the 5m position to the -4m position.( Hint: Try placing a marker on the lines to help you count)
What is the object's displacement?__________ What is the object's direction? _______________
8. Draw an arrow showing an object that moves from the -2m position to the 5m position.
What is the object's displacement?__________ What is the object's direction? _______________
9. Draw an arrow showing an object that moves from the 8m position to the 2m position.
What is the object's displacement?__________ What is the object's direction? _______________
10. On the number line below, a crab started at the -6 m position. He then crabwalked to other locations. Mark each on the number line with the letter indicated.
A. First Crabby walked 7 m in the positive direction. Place an D in this location.
B. Then Crabby walked 3 m in the negative position. Place an I in this location.
C. Crabby then walked 9 m in the positive direction. Place an E at this location.
D. Finally Crabby walked 15 m in the negative direction. Place a T at this location.
: 
The letters will answer the important question: "Why did the crab cross the road?... To get to the other _____________!"
11. Place a displacement arrow from Crabby's initial position and his final position.
What is Crabby's total displacement? Be sure to include sign, number and units. _______________
12. What is the total DISTANCE that Crabby traveled? _________________
13. You may need to think about this problem
A child is jumping up and down on a trampoline. With each jump, she can clear 1 meter.
If she jumps 10 times, what is her distance traveled? __________________
What is her displacement? _______________
.
