Question

can the distance travelled by an object be smaller than the magnitude of its displacement?

Answer 1

no the distance travelled by an object cannot be smaller than the magnitude of its displacement

Answer 2

$\bigstar$No, distance is always greater than or equal to the displacement of an object

$\huge \sf Displacement$

Displacement is the shortest distance between two points. And as we know the shortest distance between two points is always a straight line (this may not be applicable in the case of a larger distance because it is a globe and so the shortest distance is a curved line)

$\huge \sf Distance$

Distance is the measure of the whole path covered by an object between any two points.

$\huge \sf{}Conclution$

As we can see from the definition, the shortest path cannot be larger than the whole path travelled and if we tell that the statement is false the. it would be like telling that a part is greater than the whole. And sometimes the distance and the displacement can be the same when the distance travelled is also a straight line

That is :-

$\huge \boxed{ \red{ \fbox{ \pink{ \sf displacement \: \leqslant distance}}}}$