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Formative assessment questions for teaching physics

A2L Item 259

  • Description: Identify the location of an object at a specific time given a plot of velocity versus time.
  • Goal: Interrelate representations of kinematical quantities
  • Source: CT151.2-8
  • Keywords: Displacement, Graphing, Mechanics, Velocity

The question for students:

Item259_fig1.gif

An object’s motion is described by the graph above. The position of the object at t = 9 seconds is most nearly…

  1. 0 meters
  2. 200 meters
  3. 300 meters
  4. 400 meters
  5. 500 meters
  6. Cannot be determined

Commentary for teachers:

Answer

(6) This problem is primarily to determine if students appreciate the information available from a graph. Many students will determine the displacement forgetting that the initial position is unknown.