Motion

Distance

Displacement

Total length covered

Going straight=least distance

Scalar Quantity

Distance between the final and initial position.

Distance > Displacement

Never negative

Can cover length with 0 displacement

Photo courtesy of Wikibooks

Scalar

Measured in Meters

1000m=1km

Does not specify direction

Anything that doesn't specify direction

Distance with direction

Direction is specified

Becomes vector quantity

Distance is scalar

Will be same length as distance with direction included

Vector

Displacement is vector

Specify's direction

Used on a map with a grid to show distance traveled


Photo Courtesy of Google Developers

If you were an independent taxi driver and you wanted to maximize charges to raise money for your child, would you charge based on distance or displacement? Explain.

Vahan: If I were a taxi driver I would want to charge by distance because the customer could avoid paying if I did a round trip because there would be zero to no displacement.

Mann: If I were an independent taxi driver, I would base my charge on distance, because the passenger would pay me less if I had to take a detour because of a road work or anything else. Also I am also wasting my gas and going the long way.

Speed

Velocity

It is how fast something travels regard less of direction.

Average Speed

Is the ratio between total distance divided by total time.

Usually measured in units per hour

Is used if someone go-s at different speeds at different times.

Instantaneous speed

Is to tell the speed for the particular moment

Is the ratio between distance covered and time.

Has both direction and magnitude