Question

What is the displacement of the object from 12 seconds to 16 seconds

Answer 1

Answer:

The displacement of the object is -8 m

Explanation:

Displacement

The displacement of a moving object can be calculated as the area under (or above) the graph of velocity vs time.

If the area is below the y-axis, then the displacement is negative. Otherwise is positive.

It's important to differentiate displacement from distance. Displacement takes into consideration the direction of the movement. Distance does not and it's always positive.

From the graph provided, we can see the velocity from t=12 s from t=16 s is negative, and the displacement will also be negative.

The displacement is calculated as the area of the triangle with base b=16-12= 4 seconds and height = -4 m/s, thus:

$\displaystyle D = \frac{4*(-4)}{2}=-\frac{16}{2}=-8\ m$

The displacement of the object is -8 m