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Q: Can an object travel a great distance but still end up having a displacement of zero?
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Can displacement ever be greater than the total distance traveled by a moving object?

When an object moves from point A to point B , its displacement is the straight line distance between those points. So, by definition, it is the shortest possible path. The object can certainly travel by a curved path from A to B so its actual distance traveled would be longer then its displacement. This would be true regardless of how much time it takes to travel the paths.


What is the entire path an object travels?

The length of the path an object travels is distance. The shortest distance between the initial and final positions is displacement.


An object has moved though a distance can it have zero displacement it yes support your answer with an example?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/An_object_has_moved_though_a_distance_can_it_have_zero_displacement_it_yes_support_your_answer_with_an_example" Yes If a body travel a distance S from X to Y and return to X then distance travelled is 2S but displacement is zero In a uniform circular motion, the distance travelled by a body in one revolution is 2Ï€r but displacement is zero


Is it possible to displacement to be greater than distance?

Not possible. The displacement could be equal to the distance traveled ... if the route of travel was a straight line ... or less than the distance traveled ... if the route of travel was wavy and wiggly. But you can never wind up farther from your starting point than the distance you travel.


What is the total length of the route the object travels when it moves?

This length is called "distance." It can be tricky for beginning physics students to distinguish between the concepts of "distance" and "displacement." Displacement is the length of the straight line from the starting position of the object to the end position of the object. Distance is a scalar value (meaning in this case that it is not sensitive to direction) and displacement is a vector (meaning it has both magnitude and direction). This means that no matter what the path you travel might be, the length of the path is the distance travelled. Displacement is only determined by the beginning and end positions of the object, so the path of travel can be ignored as long as those two positions are known. Here is an example of what the distinction means. Let's say you walk in a big circle one time, so that you start walking and stop walking at the exact same spot. The distance you traveled is the circumference of the circle. Your displacement is zero, because all that matters are the beginning and ending positions, which are at the same point. You cannot draw a straight line from one point to itself. If you were to walk in a straight line for one mile, your distance travelled and your displacement would both be one mile. In other words, if the route is a straight line, distance and displacement are the same, except that displacement also refers to the direction of travel. The distance would always be "one mile" in this example, but the displacement could be "one mile north", "one mile southeast", etc.

Related questions

Can displacement ever be greater than the total distance traveled by a moving object?

When an object moves from point A to point B , its displacement is the straight line distance between those points. So, by definition, it is the shortest possible path. The object can certainly travel by a curved path from A to B so its actual distance traveled would be longer then its displacement. This would be true regardless of how much time it takes to travel the paths.


Explain how the displacement of an object could be zero while the distance traveled was 150 miles?

Displacement is only the distance from the starting point. As long as you return to where you started, then you can travel 1.0 x 10^999999999999 miles and still have a displacement of zero.


Can displacement be equal to total distance traveled by an object?

Yes,the magnitude of both distance and displacement can be same provided the body continues to travel in a straight line and in the same direction. However you should remember that displacement is a vector quantity while distance is a scalar quantity so they both can be compared only by there magnitude.


What is the entire path an object travels?

The length of the path an object travels is distance. The shortest distance between the initial and final positions is displacement.


An object has moved though a distance can it have zero displacement it yes support your answer with an example?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/An_object_has_moved_though_a_distance_can_it_have_zero_displacement_it_yes_support_your_answer_with_an_example" Yes If a body travel a distance S from X to Y and return to X then distance travelled is 2S but displacement is zero In a uniform circular motion, the distance travelled by a body in one revolution is 2Ï€r but displacement is zero


Is it possible to displacement to be greater than distance?

Not possible. The displacement could be equal to the distance traveled ... if the route of travel was a straight line ... or less than the distance traveled ... if the route of travel was wavy and wiggly. But you can never wind up farther from your starting point than the distance you travel.


Are distance and displacement the same?

distance travel led by a particle in a given interval of time is known as displacement. displacement=distance traveled by time taken.Displacement may be zero. it is path length which a particle travels.distance should not be zero.


What is the distance travel divided by the time needed to travel that distance?

Speed Average speed- the total distance traveled divided by the time it takes to travel that distance Velocity is also the distance or displacement divided by the time


What is the total length of the route the object travels when it moves?

This length is called "distance." It can be tricky for beginning physics students to distinguish between the concepts of "distance" and "displacement." Displacement is the length of the straight line from the starting position of the object to the end position of the object. Distance is a scalar value (meaning in this case that it is not sensitive to direction) and displacement is a vector (meaning it has both magnitude and direction). This means that no matter what the path you travel might be, the length of the path is the distance travelled. Displacement is only determined by the beginning and end positions of the object, so the path of travel can be ignored as long as those two positions are known. Here is an example of what the distinction means. Let's say you walk in a big circle one time, so that you start walking and stop walking at the exact same spot. The distance you traveled is the circumference of the circle. Your displacement is zero, because all that matters are the beginning and ending positions, which are at the same point. You cannot draw a straight line from one point to itself. If you were to walk in a straight line for one mile, your distance travelled and your displacement would both be one mile. In other words, if the route is a straight line, distance and displacement are the same, except that displacement also refers to the direction of travel. The distance would always be "one mile" in this example, but the displacement could be "one mile north", "one mile southeast", etc.


How do you calculate the time it takes an accelerating object to travel a certain distance?

d=displacement v=initial velocity t=time a=acceleration Our basic formula for displacement: d=vt+.5at2 becomes: t = (√(v2+2ad)-v)/a


The total distance an object moves from its starting point is what?

When an object moves, it travels some distance. Distance depends on speed and time traveled.How far you get while traveling is the displacement. Displacement and distance are different.Displacement is the difference from the starting point to the ending point. It is a vector, the vector with direction towards the end point from the starting point and magnitude, the separation.Distance is a scalar, magnitude only, and that is what most people mean by how far they travel.


Is it necessary that if displacement is zero distance traveled also should be zero?

No. Consider the distance between your school and home is 30 km. you would travel to and fro daily, that means you would travel a distance of 60 km. In this scenario, Distance travelled = 60 km whereas, Displacement = 0