Question

The location of a particle is changed. What can we say about the displacement and distance covered by the particle?
A. Both cannot be zero
B. One of the two may be zero
C. Both must be zero
D. Both must be equal

Answer 1

Hint: The term "displacement" refers to a shift in an object's location. It's a vector quantity with a magnitude and a direction. It's depicted as an arrow pointing from the beginning place to the destination. For instance, if an item travels from location A to position B, its position changes. Displacement is the term for a shift in an object's location.

Complete answer:
Distance is a numerical representation of the distance between two objects or locations. Distance can refer to a physical length or an estimate based on other factors in physics or daily use (e.g. "two counties over"). The distance between two points A and B is sometimes written as AB.

In most instances, "distance from A to B" and "distance from B to A" are equivalent. A distance function, often known as a metric, is a mathematical generalisation of the idea of physical distance; it is a way of expressing what it means for components of a space to be "near to" or "far away" from one another.

A displacement is a vector in geometry and mechanics whose length is the smallest distance between the beginning 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 beginning location to its end position. The translation that translates the original position to the end position can be used to identify a displacement.

Distance and displacement are two terms that appear to be interchangeable but have unique definitions and meanings. The term "distance" refers to "how much ground an item has traversed" during its travel. Displacement is a vector variable that describes "how far an item is out of place"; it represents the object's total change in position.

Hence option A is correct.

Note: The location of an item changes when it moves relative to a reference frame, for as when a lecturer walks to the right of a whiteboard or when a passenger travels to the back of an airliner. Displacement is the term for this shift in position. The term "displacement" refers to an object that has moved or been displaced.