A circular track is made on which an athlete has to cover 3 rounds to complete a 1000 m run. During the run find the distance and magnitude of displacement of the athlete.
Answers
Answer:
distance = 1000m
displacement=0
Explanation:
As Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how much ground an object has covered" during its motion. Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to "how far out of place an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.
Even though the athlete has run a total distance of 1000 meters, her displacement is 0 meters. During the course of her motion, she has "covered 1000 meters of ground" (distance = 1000 m). Yet when she is finished runing, she is not "out of place" - i.e., there is no displacement for her motion (displacement = 0 m). Displacement, being a vector quantity, must give attention to direction. Vector quantities such as displacement are direction aware. Scalar quantities such as distance are ignorant of direction. In determining the overall distance traveled by the athlete, the various directions of motion can be ignored.