Mistake Master
Mistake Master · AP Precalculus · Unit 4 · Step-Through Animation
Motion Becomes Arithmetic
You'll learnto turn questions about motion into vector arithmetic.
A vector-valued function hands every value of the parameter a whole position, so questions about motion turn into vector arithmetic: where it went is a subtraction, how far apart the ends are is a magnitude, and how fast it is going is the size of a change vector. Twelve short steps; press Next for each one.
Unit 4 is not assessed on the AP exam; schools include it where local requirements ask.
position from the origin, displacement from point to point
Before you start
What you're looking at
An object following a path, with a position arrow drawn from the origin as the parameter grows.
The question
Where did it go, how far apart are the ends, and how fast is it moving?