how will you differentiate between the distance covered by an object and its displacement? write the important characteristics of distance travelled and displacement
Answers
Distance : The Total path Travelled by an object is called Distance.
Example If A travels to B for 5Km then comes back from B house To A then the total distance is 5Km+5Km=10Km
Displacement : The shortest distance between the points is called Displacement. Example If A travels to B for 5Km then comes back from B house To A then the total displacement is 0 Km
Answer:
Following are the differences between distance and displacement:
1. Distance is the length of the path travelled by a body while moving from an initial position to a final position; Displacement is the shortest distance between the initial position and the final position of the body.
2. Distance is a scalar quantity; Displacement is a vector quantity.
3. Distance measured is always positive; Displacement can be positive or negative depending on the reference point.
4. The total distance covered is equal to the algebraic sum of all the distances travelled in different directions. The net displacement is the vector sum of the individual displacements in different directions.
5. There is always a distance covered whenever there is a motion; Displacement will be zero if the body comes back to its initial position.
Suppose you are observing an ant on the table, as shown in the diagram below. The ant moves from one corner of the table to the other corner. The blue irregular line shows the path of the an
Explanation: