Mississippi Science PHY.1.5
The Standard
- PHY.1
- Students will investigate and understand how to analyze and interpret data.
Differentiate and give examples of motion concepts such as distance-displacement, speed-velocity, and acceleration.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · One-Dimensional Motion
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students track how far an object travels and how its position changes along a line. They distinguish speed from velocity by including direction. They recognize acceleration when velocity changes.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a walk that reverses direction, students calculate distance, displacement, average speed, and average velocity with correct units and direction. They identify acceleration when an object speeds up, slows down, or reverses direction.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often treat distance and displacement as equal, even after a turn. They may use speed and velocity as if both include direction. Some think acceleration only means speeding up, or that a negative velocity means slowing down.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A student walks 3 m east, then 1 m west in 4 s. Find the distance, displacement, average speed, and average velocity, then explain whether reversing direction involves acceleration.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Tape a line on the floor; pairs walk 3 m right and 1 m left while partners time them and record each position.
Ask: A runner goes 4 m east and 4 m west. Why is average velocity zero while average speed is not?
Deal time-ordered velocity cards labeled 0, 2, 2, and 0 m/s east; have pairs mark which intervals show acceleration.
Sketch a straight bus route from school to a stop and back; mark the total distance and displacement after the return.
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Related Standards
- PHY.1.1
Investigate and analyze evidence gained through observation or experimental design regarding the one-dimensional (1-D) motion of objects. Design and conduct exp...
- PHS.5.2
Design and conduct an investigation to study the motion of an object using properties such as displacement, time of motion, velocity, and acceleration.
- PHY.1.2
Interpret and predict 1-D motion based on displacement vs. time, velocity vs. time, or acceleration vs. time graphs (e.g., free-falling objects).
- PHY.1.6
Design and mathematically/graphically analyze quantitative data to explore displacement, velocity, and acceleration of various objects. Use probe systems, video...
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