Question #ac0c0
1 Answer
May 3, 2017
Distance is a scalar, displacement is a vector.
Explanation:
Distance is a scalar, meaning it does not include a direction.
Eg : Bob walks 1metre to the right, turns around and then walks 1metre to the left. He ends up at his initial position.
Distance
Displacement is a vector, meaning it has a direction.
Eg: Bob walks 1metre to the right, turns around and then walks 1metre to the left. He ends up at his initial position.
Displacement
In the above situation, we take the rightward direction to be positive, and leftward to be negative.
Thus, Bob walks to the right, a displacement of 1metre and to the left, a displacement of -1m.
The total distance travelled is 2metres but the total displacement is 0metres.