Understanding Displacement and Distance
Asked by Pranav Deshpande · 2 years ago
Can someone explain the difference between displacement and distance in the context of motion in a straight line?
1 Answer
Distance is the total length of the path traveled by an object, regardless of its direction. It is a scalar quantity, which means it only has magnitude and no direction.
Displacement, on the other hand, is the shortest distance from the initial to the final position of the object, measured along a straight line. It is a vector quantity, which means it has both magnitude and direction.
For example, if you walk 3 km north and then 4 km south, your total distance traveled is 7 km, but your displacement is 1 km to the south.
NEET Faculty · 2 years ago
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