Displacement Quiz with Answers: Test Your Physics Knowledge

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 📏 Definition: Displacement is the shortest distance between an object's initial and final positions, including direction. It's a vector quantity.
• 🧭 Vector vs. Scalar: Remember, displacement is a vector (magnitude and direction), unlike distance, which is a scalar (magnitude only).
• 📐 Calculating Displacement: * In one dimension: $\Delta x = x_{f} - x_{i}$, where $x_{f}$ is the final position and $x_{i}$ is the initial position. * In two dimensions: Use vector components to find the resultant displacement.$\Delta r = \sqrt{(\Delta x)^2 + (\Delta y)^2}$
• 🧭 Direction: The direction of displacement can be found using trigonometry (e.g., $\tan(\theta) = \frac{\Delta y}{\Delta x}$).
• 💡 Key Points: * Displacement can be zero even if the distance traveled is not. * Displacement is independent of the path taken.

🧪 Practice Quiz

1. A car travels 40 km east and then 30 km north. What is the magnitude of its displacement?
   1. 10 km
   2. 70 km
   3. 50 km
   4. 35 km
2. A runner completes one lap around a 400m track. What is the runner's displacement?
   1. 400 m
   2. 200 m
   3. 0 m
   4. 800 m
3. A ball is thrown straight up into the air. It reaches a height of 5 meters and then falls back down to its starting point. What is the ball's displacement?
   1. 10 m
   2. 5 m
   3. -5 m
   4. 0 m
4. A student walks 3 meters south, then 4 meters east, and finally 3 meters north. What is the magnitude of the student's displacement?
   1. 10 m
   2. 4 m
   3. 0 m
   4. 7 m
5. A plane flies 300 km due east and then turns and flies 400 km due north. What is the magnitude of the plane's displacement?
   1. 100 km
   2. 700 km
   3. 500 km
   4. 350 km
6. What distinguishes displacement from distance?
   1. Displacement is always greater than distance.
   2. Distance is a vector quantity, while displacement is scalar.
   3. Displacement includes direction, while distance does not.
   4. Distance includes direction, while displacement does not.
7. A boat sails 8 km East, then 6 km North. What is the boat's displacement?
   1. 2 km
   2. 14 km
   3. 10 km
   4. 48 km