Answer to Question #136040 in Mechanics | Relativity for any

Question

In terms of their definitions, an essential difference between displacement and distance is that

Answer 1

Distance:

1.The complete length of the path between any two points is called distance.

2. It is denoted by 'd'.

3. It is scalar quantity i.e. To calculate distance direction is not needed.

4.distance can have only positive value and can be measured along non straight path.

Displacement :

1. Displacement is the direct length between any two points when measured along the minimum path between them.

2. It is denoted by 's'.

3. It is vector quantity i.e. To calculate displacement direction is taken into consideration.

4. Displacement can have both positive and negative value and can only be measured along straight path.