Distance and Displacement

Distance.The length of the actual path traversed by an object during motion in a given interval of time is called distance travelled by that object.

Suppose an object goes from Ato C following path ABC, in a certain time t, Then total distance travelled by object in time interval t= AB+BC.

If the object goes from Ato B, B to C and C to A in time t, the total distance travelled by object in time t= AB+BC+CA.

Distance is a scalar quantity. Its value can never be zero or negative, durning the motion of an object

Displacement The displacement of an object in a given interval of time is defined as the shortest distance between the two position of the object in a particluar direction during that time and given by the vector drawn from the initial position to its final postion.

Characteristics of displacement

1.The displacement of anobject has the unit of length.

2.The displacement of an object in a given interval of time can be postive, zero or negative.

3.The magnitude of the displacement of an object between two points gives the shortest distance between those two points.

4.The displacement of an object between two pints has a unique value

5.The actual distance travelled by the object in the given interval can be equal or greater than the magnitude of the displacement.

6.The displacement of an object is unaltered due to the shift in the origin of the postion axis.