difference between displacement and distance with the help of an example.
Question
difference between displacement and distance with the help of an example.
Solution
Sure, let's understand the difference between displacement and distance with an example.
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Distance: Distance is the total movement of an object without any regard to direction. We can say that distance is a scalar quantity as it has magnitude but no direction. For example, if you walk around a 400m track, your distance is 400m.
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Displacement: Displacement is the object's overall change in position. It is the shortest distance from the initial to the final position of a point. Thus, it can be positive, negative, or zero. Displacement is a vector quantity as it has both magnitude and direction. For example, if you start walking around the same 400m track but stop halfway around, your displacement is 200m, not 400m. The direction of your displacement would be "200m forward".
So, the main difference between distance and displacement involves direction. Distance does not account for the direction, while displacement does.
Similar Questions
Define displacement and distance.
In physics, the similarity between distance and displacement is that:both are a vector quantityboth have directionboth have magnitudeboth are scalar quantityContinue
which defines displacement
Explain the difference between scalar and vector quantities using distance and displacement as examples
displacement can be zero even when the distancetraveled is not.
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