The short answer is that the displacement is equal tothe area under the curve in the velocity-time graph. The region under the curve in the first 4.0 s is a triangle with height 10.0 m/s and length 4.0 s, so its area - and hence the displacement - is
1/2 • (10.0 m/s) • (4.0 s) = 20.00 m
Another way to derive this: since velocity is linear over the first 4.0 s, that means acceleration is constant. Recall that average velocity is defined as
<em>v</em> (ave) = ∆<em>x</em> / ∆<em>t</em>
and under constant acceleration,
<em>v</em> (ave) = (<em>v</em> (final) + <em>v</em> (initial)) / 2
According to the plot, with ∆<em>t</em> = 4.0 s, we have <em>v</em> (initial) = 0 and <em>v</em> (final) = 10.0 m/s, so
∆<em>x</em> / (4.0 s) = (10.0 m/s) / 2
∆<em>x</em> = ((4.0 s) • (10.0 m/s)) / 2
∆<em>x</em> = 20.00 m
The correct answer is A. In the direction of applied force. This is because acceleration occurs n the direction of applied force according to Newtons second law of motion which states that the acceleration of a body is directly proportional to the applied force and takes place in the direction of force.
