Calculating Distance and Displacement in One Dimension

In summary, the car travels a total distance of 37.5 km and has a displacement of 10 km south. The student attempted to find the distance by using the formula d=speed x time, but this is incorrect as displacement is not the same as distance traveled. The student also attempted to convert m/s to km/h and correctly identified the positive y-axis as north and negative y-axis as south. However, the student did not show their work or provide the answers they got.
  • #1
fiziks09
28
0

Homework Statement


A car travels north at 30 m/s for one half hour. It then travels south at 40 m/s for 15
minutes. The total distance the car has traveled and its displacement are?




Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


First of all i converted from m/s to km/h. I took the positive y-axis as the north direction and the negative y-axis as the south direction. I tried to find the distance using d= speed x time for both axis and summing them up but that seems to be so wrong and don't know what else to do...Any help will be very much appreciated thanks..
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Displacement is not distance traveled. Review the definition of what displacement is...
 
  • #3
cyby said:
Displacement is not distance traveled. Review the definition of what displacement is...

Yeah, i know displacement is change in position... but am trying to find the distance first; because the question asks for both distance and displacement and i think we need to find the distance before we can get the displacement.. isn't that right?
 
  • #4
fiziks09 said:

The Attempt at a Solution


First of all i converted from m/s to km/h. I took the positive y-axis as the north direction and the negative y-axis as the south direction. I tried to find the distance using d= speed x time for both axis and summing them up but that seems to be so wrong and don't know what else to do...Any help will be very much appreciated thanks..
Please show the work you did, and the answers you got.
 
  • #5
If he goes 30m/s for 30 minutes, how many seconds are in 30 minutes. Find that and multiply. Then do the same for the next part.
 

1. What is motion in one dimension?

Motion in one dimension refers to the movement of an object along a single straight line. This means that the object's position can be described using only one coordinate, typically denoted as x.

2. What is displacement?

Displacement is the change in position of an object. It is measured as the distance and direction from the object's starting point to its ending point.

3. How is velocity different from speed?

Velocity is a vector quantity that describes an object's speed and direction of motion, while speed is a scalar quantity that only describes the object's rate of motion.

4. What is acceleration?

Acceleration is the rate of change of an object's velocity. It can be positive (speeding up), negative (slowing down), or zero (constant velocity).

5. How is displacement related to velocity and acceleration?

Displacement is directly related to an object's velocity and acceleration. Velocity is the derivative of displacement with respect to time, and acceleration is the derivative of velocity with respect to time. In other words, acceleration tells us how quickly an object's velocity is changing, and velocity tells us how quickly an object's position is changing.

Similar threads

  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
5
Views
2K
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
14
Views
2K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
3
Views
6K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
19
Views
7K
Replies
12
Views
2K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
6
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
4
Views
1K
Back
Top