11th Grade · Week 1 of 36 · Science
Physics: position, displacement, constant velocity
1. Hook
- Read (or listen to) what you’re learning. Don’t jump to the quiz.
- Walk the worked example. Then use the interactive lab on this page.
- Guided set → independent set → mastery check → teach-back.
- If you write a paper, stay on campus: Citation Helper, Source Library, Paper Studio.
This is self-paced homeschool on Life Academy. Everything you need is on this page.
You walk 3 blocks east to the store, then 3 blocks back home. You walked 6 blocks — but how far did you actually go from start to finish?
Then: lab → guided → quiz → teach it back. The lab is the lesson, not a decoration.
2. Teach
Distinguish position, distance, and displacement, and analyze constant-velocity motion with equations and graphs.
Standards alignment: NGSS HS-PS2/PS3/PS4 (Forces, Energy, Waves) (domain-level; works with any state’s standards)
STEM this week is Physics: position, displacement, constant velocity: change one thing, measure one thing, write claim + evidence + because.
- Position is location relative to an origin; displacement Δx = x_final − x_initial (has direction); distance is total path length.
- Velocity = displacement ÷ time (a vector); speed = distance ÷ time.
- On a position–time graph, constant velocity is a straight line whose slope equals the velocity.
Round trip of 6 blocks: distance 6 blocks, displacement 0.
A cyclist goes from x = 10 m to x = 70 m in 12 s: v = 60 m ÷ 12 s = 5 m/s. At constant velocity, x = x₀ + vt, so after 20 s she would be at 10 + 5(20) = 110 m.
- A car moves from x = 200 m to x = 50 m in 10 s.
- Δx = 50 − 200 = −150 m.
- v = −150/10 = −15 m/s.
- The negative sign means it moves toward the origin.
Walk at a steady pace while a partner records your position every 2 seconds for 10 seconds. Graph position vs. time, find the slope, and state your velocity with units.
Treating distance and displacement as the same, or ignoring the sign of velocity.
GPS apps, sports analytics, and traffic engineers all compute displacement and velocity.
No classroom teacher today — this page is the lesson. Follow the how-to, then the lab, then the quiz. Follow Lesson Studio, then the lab, then the quiz. Open Transcripts for credits and grades.
Quick check · from this week’s lesson
Tap the answer that fits. Every item comes from this week’s lesson.
Your work — type it here
Do the lab first. Then write what you noticed. Then a because-sentence. That is the assignment.
3. Guided practice
Try these with me — type the missing word, then check.
Reveal the thinking
Displacement = final − initial; velocity = slope of the position–time graph.
4. Independent practice
Work the set. Check when finished — this is practice (mastery quiz is next).
5. Mastery check
Scored quiz — results save to your gradebook.
The lab is on this page
Do the experiment here. Change one thing. Read what happened. We do not send you to an outside simulation site. Today: Physics: position, displacement, constant velocity.
Research Desk · Transcripts · Gradebook
Honest limit: We did not film a custom movie for every core lesson. The teach-back, the on-page lab, and the campus library are the curriculum. The teach-back, the on-page lab, and Lesson Studio are the lesson.
6. Reflection / teach-back
Teach-back: Explain position, displacement, and d = v × t in your own words. Give one example and name the usual mistake.