Distance and Displacement

Distance -The actual path or length travelled by the object travelled by the object is called the distance.

  • It is a scalar quantity.
  • It is always positive.
  • It can never be zero or negative.

Displacement It is the shortest path between initial and final point.

  • It is a vector quantity.
  • It can be positive or negative.
  • It can be zero.

Difference b\w distance and displacement

  • Example 1: A body travels in a semicircular path of radius 10 m starting its motion from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’. Calculate the distance and displacement.             
  • Example 2: A body travels 4 km towards North then he turn to his right and travels another 4 km before coming to rest. Calculate (i) total distance travelled, (ii) total displacement.