1. Section 11.1 Distance and Displacement
Chapter 11: Motion
Section 11.1
Distance and Displacement

2. Distance
Distance: the length of a path between two points. (nothing about direction)
SI unit of measurement for distance is the meter (m).

3. Displacement
Displacement: the direction from the starting point and the length of a straight line from the starting point to the ending point
walk 5 blocks vs. walk 5 blocks north
“how far out of place” an object is ~ how far from the starting point an object is
NOT necessarily equal to the distance that the object has traveled

4. Examples of Displacement
Think about a roller coaster.
Think about someone walking around this rectangle. If the person walked all the way around it, what would be the distance traveled? What would be the displacement?

5. Combining Displacements
Displacement is an example of a vector.
Vector: a quantity that has magnitude (size, length, or amount) and direction
Vector addition: the combining of vector magnitudes and directions
When adding displacements, you are using vector addition.

6. Vector Addition Examples
Example on page 330
Using vector addition, explain why the displacement is zero if you start in the upper left corner and travel all the way around the rectangle.