Question

Can displacement be zero even if distance is not zero? Give an example to explain your answer.



please don't give spam answer if anyone give spam their answer is going to be reported from me

Answer 1

Yes it can be zero...

Here's the example,

Suppose in a car racing track, a Dodge starts from an initial starting line, at say 165 mph, and swerves round the race track (circular) and gets to the same initial point after, say 20 minutes... The car - surely has spent some gasoline in this traversal, which is a proof that it for real had traveled some DISTANCE. But since the initial and ending position in this race is the same line, the difference between both the extreme points of position of the car is zero, aka, considering the whole journey of 20 minutes, it has landed on the same position as before and hence it's displacement is zero.

Take another example, say a juggler throws a shot of apple (let's assume one of the many his eyes are on) in the air, say 30 cm upwards, you know gravitational acceleration will bring back that apple to the ground, say after 1.39 seconds, once the apple crashes onto his hands, it's initial and final position for the context of the whole journey of 1.39 seconds, will be the same, aka the juggler's hand, Therefore tho the apple had traveled twice the distance, aka 2×30 = 60 cm, from the juggler's hand to the air where it momentarily hovered, and then back to his hand, but its displacement, being the difference in positions at the starting and ending of a motion is zero !

Edit : all numericals value are random, not meant for the actual measurements...

ES