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What is the Difference Between Distance Travelled by a Body and Its Displacement ? Explain with the Help of a Diagram.

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Question

What is the difference between distance travelled  by a body and its displacement ? Explain with the
help of a diagram.

Answer in Brief
Distinguish Between
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Solution

Distance Displacement
1.Distance has only magnitude, with no specified direction. 1.Displacement has magnitude as well as direction.
2.It is a scalar quantity. 2.It is a vector quantity.
3.Two different distances can be added directly. 3.We have to follow the vector addition method to add displacements.

One difference in diagrammatic form is as follows:

Here the curved line is the distance traveled and the straight line is the magnitude of the displacement.

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Chapter 1: Motion - Very Short Answers 1 [Page 21]

APPEARS IN

Lakhmir Singh Physics (Science) [English] Class 9 ICSE
Chapter 1 Motion
Very Short Answers 1 | Q 34.1 | Page 21

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