Math  /  Calculus

QuestionCompleted: 9 of 11 My score: 7.63/117.63 / 11 pts (69.32\%)
Given the graph of the positive velocity of an object moving along a line, what is the geometric representation of its displacement over a time interval [a, b]?
Let the horizontal axis measure time in terms of t . Choose the correct answer below. A. The object's displacement can be represented geometrically as the area between the graph and the t -axis from t=a\mathrm{t}=\mathrm{a} to t=b\mathrm{t}=\mathrm{b}. B. The object's displacement can be represented geometrically as the difference between the value of the graph at t=at=a and the value of the graph at t=bt=b. C. The object's displacement can be represented geometrically as the average value of the graph between t=at=a and t=bt=b. D. The object's displacement can be represented geometrically as the slope of the graph between t=at=a and t=bt=b.

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

What is this asking? If we know how fast something is moving at different times, how can we figure out how far it's traveled overall? Watch out! Velocity is *how fast* and *in which direction* something's moving, while displacement is the *overall change in position*.
Don't mix them up!

STEP 2

1. Understand Velocity and Displacement
2. Connect Velocity to Area

STEP 3

Imagine a car moving at a *constant* velocity of 5050 meters per second.
After 22 seconds, it will have traveled 502=10050 \cdot 2 = 100 meters.
This calculation is simply the **velocity** multiplied by the **time**.

STEP 4

Graphically, this is a rectangle!
The width is the **time interval** (22 seconds), the height is the **velocity** (5050 meters/second), and the *area* is the **displacement** (100100 meters).

STEP 5

Now, what if the velocity isn't constant?
We can break the time interval into tiny pieces, where the velocity is *almost* constant in each tiny piece.

STEP 6

For each tiny piece, the displacement is *approximately* the velocity at that moment times the tiny time interval.
This is the area of a tiny rectangle!

STEP 7

Adding up the areas of all these tiny rectangles gives us an *approximation* of the total displacement.
As the rectangles get smaller and smaller, this approximation gets closer and closer to the *exact* displacement, which is the area under the velocity graph.

STEP 8

The problem gives us a graph of the velocity of an object.
We want to find the object's displacement over the time interval [a,b][a, b].

STEP 9

From our earlier thinking, we know that displacement is represented by the area under the velocity graph.

STEP 10

Specifically, the displacement over the interval [a,b][a, b] is the area between the velocity graph and the tt-axis from t=at = a to t=bt = b.

STEP 11

The correct answer is A.
The object's displacement can be represented geometrically as the area between the graph and the tt-axis from t=at = a to t=bt = b.

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