The Nature of Vectors: Understanding Displacement, Position, and Velocity

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the classification of vectors, specifically focusing on displacement, position, and velocity. Participants clarify that displacement is a vector quantity, while speed and temperature are scalar quantities. The average velocity of a vehicle traveling 250 km in 2.3 hours is calculated to be 89.13 km/h. Additionally, the total displacement of a man walking 700 m north and then 438 m south is confirmed to be 262 m south, highlighting the importance of direction in vector analysis.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of vector and scalar quantities
  • Basic knowledge of kinematics and motion
  • Familiarity with average velocity calculations
  • Concept of displacement in physics
NEXT STEPS
  • Study vector and scalar quantities in physics
  • Learn about kinematic equations and their applications
  • Explore the concept of relative motion and reference frames
  • Investigate the differences between speed and velocity in detail
USEFUL FOR

Students of physics, educators teaching kinematics, and anyone interested in understanding the fundamental concepts of motion and vector analysis.

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1. Which quantities are classified as vectors?
A. Distance, position, and velocity
B. Position, displacement, and speed
C. Displacement, speed, and velocityD.Displacement, position, and velocity

Use the information to answer the next question.
A student was given the following situations.
1. A cold air mass has a temperature 5ºC.
2. A car increases its velocity to 90 km/h.
3. An airplane changes its position to N 52º W.
4. A track contestant runs the 100 m dash in 9.89 s.
5. A submarine covers a displacement of 150 km, north.
2. Which of the given situations are examples of scalar quantities?
A. 1 and 3 only
B. 1 and 4 only
C. 2, 3, and 5 only
D. 2, 4, and 5 only
Use the information to answer the next question.
A student was given the following examples of motion.
1. A complete walk around a circular track.
2. A walk to school four blocks west.
3. A complete walk around the block.
4. A walk two blocks east, and then three blocks west.
3. For which motions is there displacement?
A. 1 and 3
B. 2 and 3
C. 2 and 4
D. 3 and 4
For displacement, the ending position has to be different than the starting positions.
4. A vehicle travels 250km in 2.3h. The average velocity for the trip is
The average velocity is 89.13km/h
5. How long would it take an asteroid traveling at 2.7 x 103m/s to travel 5.9 x 109m? 4.58x10^-7
6. A man walks 700m north, turns around and walks 438m south. What is his total displacement from his starting point?
His total displacement is 262 S

Thanks :rolleyes:
 
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I only checked 4,5,6 (I have a short attention span at the moment, sorry).

-4- 250/2.3 has to be over 100, right?

-5- Are 103 and 109 exponentials like 10^3 and 10^9? If so, 10^9[m] / 10^3[m/s] is about 10^6 seconds...

-6- He walked farther north than south, so how can the total displacement be in the "S" southern direction...?
 
Question one is incorrect.

-Hoot:smile:
 
Hootenanny said:
Question one is incorrect.

-Hoot:smile:
Really? Assuming velocity is a vector (I can never remember the speed versus velocity semantics), why aren't displacement and position vectors? Displacement is the difference between two position vectors, no?
 
berkeman said:
Really? Assuming velocity is a vector (I can never remember the speed versus velocity semantics), why aren't displacement and position vectors? Displacement is the difference between two position vectors, no?

Your quite correct, I thought the OP had highlighted C, my laptop screen doesn't work well with pinks
 

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