Conceptual Questions

2.1
1. Give an example in which there are clear distinctions among distance traveled,
displacement, and magnitude of displacement. Specifically identify each quantity
in your example.
Distance traveled is how much you moved from one place to another. Displacement
is the movement of an object from its starting point. Magnitude of displacement is
the size of a displacement without thinking about its direction, just a number or unit.

2. Under what circumstances does distance traveled equal magnitude of

displacement? What is the only case in which magnitude of displacement and
distance are exactly the same?
Distance traveled = magnitude of displacement: only happens when there is a
straight line in the same direction that is not coming back. That way both laws of
movement cooperate.

2.2
4. A student writes, “A bird that is diving for prey has a speed of −10𝑚/𝑠, What is
wrong with the student's statement? What has the student actually described?
Explain.
The student’s statement is wrong because it is not correct to put the word speed, in
this case it would be correct for the word velocity to take its place for the negative to
make sense, it describes the magnitude at which it is falling, but not the direction.

6. Acceleration is the change in velocity over time. Given this information, is

acceleration a vector or a scalar quantity? Explain.
Given the information acceleration is a vector because it has magnitude and
direction, a change in velocity can be a change in magnitude or direction.
2.3
8. Give an example (but not one from the text) of a device used to measure time and
identify what change in that device indicates a change in time.
An example of device used to measure time is a stopwatch, it indicates change in
time by seconds.

10. Does a car's odometer measure position or displacement? Does its speedometer
measure speed or velocity?
A car’s odometer measures position and the speedometer measures speed.

2.4
13. Is it possible for speed to be constant while acceleration is not zero? Give an
example of such a situation.
This is not possible, when the speed is constant there is no acceleration, there would
have to be change in speed for there to be some acceleration.

15. Give an example in which velocity is zero yet acceleration is not.

When you throw a ball up a hill and then it comes back down it is accelerating down
all of the time but when it reaches its highest point it comes to stop for a small
second and that is the moment.

16. If a subway train is moving to the left (has a negative velocity) and then comes to
a stop, what is the direction of its acceleration? Is the acceleration positive or
negative?
When the train is moving left with a negative velocity and starts to decrease speed
to stop then the acceleration is to the right and is positive, pushing to the opposite
side.

Problems & Exercises

2.1
2. Find the following for path B in Figure 2.71: (a) The distance traveled. (b) The
magnitude of the displacement from start to finish. (c) The displacement from
start to finish.
Distance: 4
Magnitude of displacement: 4
Displacement from start to finish: -4

4. Find the following for path D in Figure 2.71: (a) The distance traveled. (b) The
magnitude of the displacement from start to finish. (c) The displacement from
start to finish.
Distance: 7
Magnitude of displacement: 6
Displacement from start to finish: -6

2.3
5.(a) Calculate Earth's average speed relative to the Sun. (b) What is its average
velocity over a period of one year?
Talked with teacher

7. The North American and European continents are moving apart at a rate of
about 3 cm/y. At this rate how long will it take them to drift 500 km farther apart
than they are at present?
Talked with teacher

9. On May 26, 1934, a streamlined, stainless steel diesel train called the Zephyr set
the world's nonstop long-distance speed record for trains. Its run from Denver to
Chicago took 13 hours, 4 minutes, 58 seconds, and was witnessed by more than a
million people along the route. The total distance traveled was 1633.8 km. What
was its average speed in km/h and m/s?
Talked to teacher
2.4
17. Professional Application
Dr. John Paul Stapp was a U.S. Air Force officer who studied the effects of extreme
deceleration on the human body. On December 10, 1954, Stapp rode a rocket sled,
accelerating from rest to a top speed of 282 m/s (1015 km/h) in 5.00 s, and was
brought jarringly back to rest in only 1.40 s! Calculate his (a) acceleration and (b)
deceleration. Express each in multiples of 𝑔(9.80 m/s2) by taking its ratio to the
acceleration of gravity.
Looking back in 1 week

2.5
20. An Olympic-class sprinter starts a race with an acceleration of 4.50 m/s. (a)
What is her speed 2.40 s later? (b) Sketch a graph of her position vs. time for this
period.
Looking back in a week

[Link] Application:
Blood is accelerated from rest to 30.0 cm/s in a distance of 1.80 cm by the left
ventricle of the heart. (a) Make a sketch of the situation. (b) List the knowns in this
problem. (c) How long does the acceleration take? To solve this part, first identify
the unknown, and then discuss how you chose the appropriate equation to solve
for it. After choosing the equation, show your steps in solving for the unknown,
checking your units. (d) Is the answer reasonable when compared with the time for
a heartbeat?

Talked to the teacher and went back in a week.