Describing Location and Movement A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines.

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Title Describing Location and Movement
Description This activity directly addresses core mathematics and science ideas in elementary education. However, the concept of distance versus displacement must often be introduced/reintroduced in middle and high school in advance of the study of motion in order to build up the concept of vectors, which undergirds both advanced mathematics and science.
Subject Physics
Level High School, Middle School
Type Guided Activity, Lab, Remote Learning
Duration 60 minutes
Answers Included No
Language English
Keywords displacement, distance, position
Simulation(s) Number Line: Distance (HTML5)

Author(s) Rebecca Vieyra
School / Organization PhET Interactive Simulations
Date submitted 12/15/21
Date updated 6/7/22