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Physics Tutorial 3.4 - Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions

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There are 3 lessons in this physics tutorial covering Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions. The tutorial starts with an introduction to Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions and is then followed with a list of the separate lessons, the tutorial is designed to be read in order but you can skip to a specific lesson or return to recover a specific physics lesson as required to build your physics knowledge of Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions. you can access all the lessons from this tutorial below.

In this Physics tutorial, you will learn:

  • The difference between Displacement and Distance in two dimensions
  • How to calculate the Displacement and Distance in two dimensions
  • The same for the three dimensional motion

Introduction

In the previous tutorial "Displacement and Distance in One Dimension", we discussed about these two fundamental concepts of Kinematics. We explained the common things and differences between Displacement and Distance in one dimension by illustrating the explanation with examples.

However, all examples (including the concept-checking questions at the end of the article), have a serious shortcoming: they deal only with situations in which the object moves in a straight line. Hence, only one direction was involved (only one coordinate was needed).

In fact, needless to say, most movements occur in a plane or even space. This means the movements of the objects in real life are more complicated than those discussed in the previous article. They often occur in 2 and 3 dimensions (in plane and space), so our approach must be more realistic in this regard.

Therefore, it is worth dealing again with Displacement and Distance but this time in a higher level of explanation.

Please select a specific "Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions" lesson from the table below, review the video tutorial, print the revision notes or use the practice question to improve your knowledge of this physics topic.

Kinematics Learning Material
Tutorial IDPhysics Tutorial TitleTutorialVideo
Tutorial
Revision
Notes
Revision
Questions
3.4Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions
Lesson IDPhysics Lesson TitleLessonVideo
Lesson
3.4.1Displacement and Distance in two dimensions
3.4.2Displacement in the 2-D coordinative system
3.4.3Displacement and Distance in Space (in three dimensions)

Whats next?

Enjoy the "Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions" physics tutorial? People who liked the "Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions" tutorial found the following resources useful:

  1. Physics tutorial Feedback. Helps other - Leave a rating for this tutorial (see below)
  2. Kinematics Revision Notes: Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions. Print the notes so you can revise the key points covered in the physics tutorial for Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions
  3. Kinematics Practice Questions: Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions. Test and improve your knowledge of Displacement and Distance in 2 and 3 Dimensions with example questins and answers
  4. Check your calculations for Kinematics questions with our excellent Kinematics calculators which contain full equations and calculations clearly displayed line by line. See the Kinematics Calculators by iCalculator™ below.
  5. Continuing learning kinematics - read our next physics tutorial: Speed and Velocity in 1 Dimension

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Kinematics Calculators

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