the graph shown below is the velocity, in cm/sec, of an object moving along the x-axis between times t = 0 and t = 5 seconds. Positive velocity indicates motion to the right.

Question

The graph shown below is the velocity, in cm/sec, of an object moving along the x-axis between times t = 0 and t = 5 seconds. Positive velocity indicates motion to the right.

Link to image question

https://ibb.co/yFm97YR

Answer 1

For this problem, you can use the fact that the area under the graph tells you the change in position.

For part a, calculate the are under the graph from t = 0 to t = 5. Over the first 3 seconds, the area under the graph (3 x 2) indicates the object moves 6 cm to the right. Over the time from t = 3 to t = 5, the area under the graph (3 x (-2)) indicates the move 6 cm to the left. So, the object goes back to its initial position.

For part b, the area under the graph is 4, so the object moves 4 cm to the right from the initial position.

For part c, it sounds like maybe they are asking for distance instead of displacement (part a asked for displacement), so that would be 6 cm + 6 cm = 12 cm.