Question

An object moves from the position +16 m to the position +47 m in 12 s. What is its total displacement? What is its average velocity?

Answer 1

Given that an object moves from the position +16 m to the position +47 m in 12 s. Now we need to find about what is its total displacement and what is its average velocity.

We know that displacement is the object's overall change in position.

So total displacement is given by:

Displacement = (+47) - (+16) = +31

Now velocity is given by ratio of displacement and time so final answer for velocity will be :

$Velocity=\frac{displacement}{time}=\frac{+31}{12}=2.583333$

Which is approx 2.6 m/s.

Answer 2

The displacement is the distance that exists between the end position and initial position of an object, and is independent of the trajectory.

Then, for this problem, the object started the movement from a point at 16 meters to a point at 47 meters.

Then the displacement of the object was:

$47-16 = 31m$

Then, the average speed of the object is the distance that displaced between the time it did (12 seconds).

So:

$v =\frac{d}{t}$

Where:

d is the displacement

v is the average speed

$v =\frac{31 m}{12 s}$

v = 2.58 m / s