Understanding Displacement and Distance in Motion in a Straight Line
Asked by Anjali Kapoor · 2 years ago
Can someone explain the difference between displacement and distance when discussing motion in a straight line?
1 Answer
Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how much ground an object has covered" during its motion. It is always positive and does not have a specific direction.
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. Displacement has both magnitude and direction. For example, if an object moves from point A to point B and then returns to point A, the distance traveled is twice the distance from A to B, but the displacement is zero because the object ends up at the starting point.
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. Displacement has both magnitude and direction. For example, if an object moves from point A to point B and then returns to point A, the distance traveled is twice the distance from A to B, but the displacement is zero because the object ends up at the starting point.
NEET Faculty · 2 years ago
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