Practice Displacement in Physics

Use these practice problems to test your method after reviewing the concept explanation and worked examples.

Quick Recap

The change in position of an object, measured as the straight-line distance and direction from the starting point to the ending point.

How far you are from where you started, in a straight line. Not the path you took.

Example 1

easy
A person walks 4 \text{ m} east and then 3 \text{ m} north. What is the total distance traveled and the displacement?

Example 2

medium
A runner completes one full lap around a 400 \text{ m} circular track. What is the runner's displacement and total distance?

Example 3

easy
A car drives 100 \text{ m} north and then 100 \text{ m} south. What is the displacement?

Example 4

medium
A hiker walks 3 \text{ km} north, then 4 \text{ km} east. What is the hiker's total distance walked and their displacement (magnitude and direction)?