Answer to Question #260149 in Mechanics | Relativity for JINGJING

Question

What is the total distance traveled by and displacement of a runner that

completes 5 rounds in a standard track oval? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

Explanations & Calculations

• Displacement is the shortest distance between 2 points. When in a situation it is the shortest distance between the starting point and the endpoint.
• The total distance, in contrast, describes the length an object travelled during a given time period.

• The runner in this case runs 5 complete ovals resulting in a total distance equal to 5 times the length of the oval.
• If the runner runs in lane 1 in the STO, then he completes a total distance of $\small 5\times400\,m=2000\,m=2\,km.$
• As he arrives at the same location of start after completing the total run, the displacement turns out to be zero.