Fill in the blanksQuestion 1 · Recall
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By the end you can define distance, displacement, speed and velocity in the words examiners reward, and calculate average speed and average velocity for a journey.
The main symbols used in this lesson:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| displacement | |
| final velocity | |
| initial velocity | |
| radius of the circle |
Run one full lap of a 400 m track. Your legs say you've gone 400 m. Physics says your displacement is zero: you finished exactly where you started.
Both are right. They are answering different questions:
Distance
The total length of the path travelled, whatever the direction. A scalar, measured in metres (m).
Displacement
The distance moved in a specified direction (from a fixed starting point). A vector, measured in metres (m), symbol .