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Vectors Assignment

This document discusses displacement vectors in one and two dimensions. It contains an introduction describing how self-driving cars use displacement vectors to represent movement. It then provides interactive simulations and problems to practice adding displacement vectors, including finding the final position of an object given multiple sequential displacements. It concludes by asking questions to apply the new knowledge of vectors versus scalars and using displacement vectors to solve for the final position of objects undergoing multiple displacements.

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Jhamilet Yzaquirre Quispe
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© © All Rights Reserved
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47 views

Vectors Assignment

This document discusses displacement vectors in one and two dimensions. It contains an introduction describing how self-driving cars use displacement vectors to represent movement. It then provides interactive simulations and problems to practice adding displacement vectors, including finding the final position of an object given multiple sequential displacements. It concludes by asking questions to apply the new knowledge of vectors versus scalars and using displacement vectors to solve for the final position of objects undergoing multiple displacements.

Uploaded by

Jhamilet Yzaquirre Quispe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Investigation 3A: Displacement

Essential question: How do we quantitatively describe movements in space?

Within the next decade self-driving cars will make the leap from science fiction to dealer showrooms
to people's driveways. How does a self-driving vehicle represent movements? In this investigation
we look at one and two dimensional displacement vectors and how they are added to create motion
paths.

Part 1: Displacements in one dimension


The interactive simulation allows you to add multiple displacements in one dimension. You may also
shift the origin. Use the simulation to solve the following problems.

a. A man moves 6 m east, stops, turns around, and moves 2 m west. What is his final position?
How far did he travel?

b. A woman starts at position −10 m and has three successive displacements of −5 m each. What
is her final position?

c. What displacement moves an object from an initial position of +25 m to a final position of
−10 m?

d. A robot starts at the origin. Use three different displacements to move the robot to a final
position of +8 m, where the second displacement must be negative.

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Part 2: Displacements in two dimensions
This interactive simulation allows you to add multiple displacements in two dimensions. You may
also reset the origin of the display. Use the simulation to solve the following problems.

a. What two perpendicular displacements will move an object from the origin to a position of
(4,3) m?

b. What is the final position of a robot that starts from (0, 0) m and makes displacements of
(4,4) m, (3,3) m, and (−4,−2) m?

c. Create a path of 4 displacements of equal distance that move from a position of (1,1) m to a
position of (2,2) m. Note that there are many possible solutions.

d. A student starts at the origin and ends up at a position 500 meters north of the origin. She
knows she walked 250 meters straight west, but then she was blindfolded and led to the final
position. Assume she walked a straight path for the hidden leg of the trip. What displacement
vector did she move?

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e. What sequence of two displacements moves from (5,5) m to (−5,−5) m while traveling a
distance of exactly 20 meters? How does this distance compare to the single displacement that
connects the same starting and ending point?

f. Create a series of eight successive displacements that would program a robot to move in an
octagon path that is as close as you can get to approximating a circle. The robot should returns
to its starting point after the eighth displacement. What total distance does the robot move?
Calculate the radius of the circle that has this distance as its circumference.

Applying new knowledge


1. Describe the difference between a vector and a scalar.

2. Identify each variable listed below as either a vector or a scalar.


a. temperature
b. force
c. displacement
d. length
e. velocity
f. time

3. A boat travels 5 kilometers east, then 8 kilometers north, then 8 kilometers west.
a. What are the boat’s displacement vectors?

b. What is the final position of the boat?

c. What distance has the boat traveled?

d. What vector would bring the boat back home?

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4. A student starts at position (4,4) m and undergoes three displacements:
d1 = (2, -3) m, d2 = (-5, 0) m, and d3 = (1, 6) m.
What is the final position of the student? Show your solution graphically and numerically.

5. Write a multiple-choice question that will require the reader to show that they understand how
. displacement vectors are added.

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