Practice Displacement in Physics

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

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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.

Showing a random 20 of 50 problems.

Example 1

medium
A boat sails 44 km north, 44 km east, 44 km south. Find the displacement from start.

Example 2

hard
A particle moves 2020 m at 30°30° above horizontal, then 1515 m horizontally. Find the displacement components and magnitude.

Example 3

medium
A hiker walks 88 m east then 66 m south. Find the magnitude and direction of the displacement.

Example 4

easy
A person walks 4 m4 \text{ m} east and then 3 m3 \text{ m} north. What is the total distance traveled and the displacement?

Example 5

hard
A car goes 3030 m east in 55 s, then 5050 m west in 1010 s. Find the average velocity (with sign).

Example 6

hard
A particle moves with velocity v(t)=4−2tv(t) = 4 - 2t m/s. Find the displacement from t=0t = 0 to t=3t = 3 s.

Example 7

easy
A car drives 100 m100 \text{ m} north and then 100 m100 \text{ m} south. What is the displacement?

Example 8

hard
A plane flies 100100 km east, then 100100 km at 60°60° north of east. Find the magnitude of the total displacement.

Example 9

challenge
Vectors: a walk is 77 m east then 2424 m north. Find the displacement magnitude and confirm it is a Pythagorean triple.

Example 10

medium
A runner laps a 400400 m track exactly once. Distance and displacement?

Example 11

easy
True or false: distance traveled is always greater than or equal to the magnitude of displacement.

Example 12

easy
A drone returns to its launch pad after a tour. What is its displacement magnitude?

Example 13

medium
An elevator goes up 1010 m, down 44 m, up 22 m. Net vertical displacement (up positive)?

Example 14

medium
A drone flies 1515 m east, 88 m north, then 99 m west. Find the magnitude of the displacement.

Example 15

challenge
A car accelerates from rest at a=2a = 2 m/s2^2 for 55 s, then maintains its speed for 55 more seconds. Find the total displacement.

Example 16

easy
An object moves from x=−3x = -3 m to x=+4x = +4 m. Find the displacement.

Example 17

easy
A walker goes 33 m north then 44 m north. What is the total displacement?

Example 18

medium
A runner's position changes from x=4x=4 m to x=4x=4 m after a lap, but she ran 400400 m. Give displacement and distance.

Example 19

medium
A runner completes one full lap around a 400 m400 \text{ m} circular track. What is the runner's displacement and total distance?

Example 20

easy
A particle's displacement is given as '6 m'. What is missing to make it a complete vector statement?
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Related Concepts

PositionVelocityVectors