Question

When the magnitude of displacement is equal to the minimum possible distance between two positions?

Answer 1

Hint: To answer this question, we first need to understand what displacement is. A displacement is a vector in geometry and mechanics whose length is the shortest distance between the initial and final positions of a moving point P. It measures the distance and direction of net or total motion along a straight line from the point trajectory's initial position to its final position.

Complete answer:
Distance: It is a numerical representation of the distance between two objects or points. Distance can refer to a physical length or an estimate based on other criteria in physics or common usage (e.g., "two counties over"). A distance function, often known as a metric, is a mathematical generalization of the concept of physical distance; it is a way of explaining what it means for elements of a space to be "near to" or "far away" from one another.

So, we conclude that, when an object goes in a fixed direction in a straight line without turning around, its displacement and distance magnitude are always equal.

Note: The rate of change of an object's position with regard to a frame of reference is its velocity, which is a function of time. A definition of an object's speed and direction of travel (e.g., 60 km/h to the north) is identical to velocity. In kinematics, the branch of classical mechanics that explains the motion of bodies, velocity is a fundamental notion.