Question

When a particle moves in a straight line from point A to point B the distance covered is ___ the magnitude of the displacement.

Answer 1

Distance:

1. It is the complete length of the path between the initial and final positions.
2. It is a scalar quantity as it depends upon the magnitude and not the direction.
3. It can have positive values.

Displacement:

1. It is the shortest path between the initial and final positions.
2. It is a vector quantity as it has both direction and magnitude.
3. It can be positive, negative, and even zero.
4. The diagrammatic representation of the difference between the distance and displacement is given below:

Motion in a straight path:

1. The particle is moving in a straight line and the direction of the particle is not changing.
2. Hence, the distance and displacement are equal to each other.
3. The diagrammatic representation of the particle from point A to point B is given below:

Thus, when a particle moves in a straight line from point A to point B the distance covered is equal to the magnitude of the displacement.