Instructions.
Click
Start Journey and carefully observe both the motion of the car and the numerical values displayed. You may click Restart at any time to return the car to Home and begin the investigation again.
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Tracking the Route: As the car travels from Home to the Market and then turns toward School, how does the Distance Traveled change? Why does it continue increasing even after the car changes direction?
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Comparing the Two Measures: When the car reaches School, compare the final values of Distance Traveled and Displacement. Which is greater? What does this tell you about how each quantity is measured?
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Understanding Displacement: The blue dotted line represents displacement. What does this line measure that the red path does not?
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The Shortcut Question: If you could travel directly from Home to School in a perfectly straight line, which value would represent that trip: distance, displacement, or both?
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Making a General Rule: Based on what you observed, can displacement ever be greater than distance? Explain your reasoning.