1. What is the difference between distance and displacement?

Question

2. What are the differences between speed and velocity?
3. What do positive and negative mean when talking about velocity?
4. What do you need to know to calculate velocity?
5. What is the formula for calculating velocity?
6. How do you calculate speed using a data table?
How do you calculate speed using a graph?

answer each question in order, very short sentences as answers, but make it very understandable

Answer 1

1. Distance is the total path traveled, while displacement is the straight-line distance from the starting point to the endpoint, including direction.

2. Speed is the scalar measure of how fast something is moving, while velocity is a vector that includes direction.

3. Positive velocity indicates movement in a defined forward direction, while negative velocity indicates movement in the opposite or backward direction.

4. To calculate velocity, you need the displacement (change in position) and the time taken.

5. The formula for calculating velocity is: \( v = \frac{\Delta x}{\Delta t} \) (velocity = displacement / time).

6. To calculate speed using a data table, divide the distance traveled by the time taken for each segment.

   To calculate speed using a graph, determine the slope of the distance vs. time graph; the slope represents speed.