Distance and displacement sim
The trundle wheel is 1 m round, so it clicks once for every metre it rolls: it counts every bend and detour, the distance along the path, 8.64 m from A to B.
Distance and displacement · covers the GCSE, IGCSE, O-Level topic
What the sim shows
The trundle wheel is 1 m round, so it clicks once for every metre it rolls: it counts every bend and detour, the distance along the path, 8.64 m from A to B. The string from A is always straight: its length is the displacement, the shortest way from A, and its direction is part of the answer, given as a bearing clockwise from north. At B the displacement is 4.92 m on a bearing of 061°. Distance is a scalar; displacement is a vector.
- The path walked: the distance
- The string from A: the displacement
Use it in your lessons
- Try it here: anyone can unlock 2 figures free, and a free account unlocks up to 5. Runs on a laptop, a Chromebook or a phone; nothing to install.
- Present it and share student links with the teacher plan, from US$5 a month, billed yearly.
- Put it on your own website or LMS for US$9, paid once, or every sim from US$29 a month.
Free guide: 12 practicals as sims, and how to run one in a lesson →
Need a version for your exact set-up? Have one made: US$49 a figure in an order of 5.
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