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That's true only if the entire travel from start to finish is in a straight line.

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Q: Is It is always true that the total distance is equal to the displacement?
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How do you find the average speed of an object with changing speed?

It's as simple as total displacement divided by total time. Be careful though. If this is a velocity problem, displacement does not always equal distance.


Can distance be negative in physics?

No. Distance is never negative, and total distance travelled doesn't decrease during a trip. The distance from A to B is the same as the distance from B to A. Displacement, on the other hand, can be negative, and can decrease during a trip. The displacement from A to B is the same magnitude, but opposite sign, as the displacement from B to A. An example would be if you went from your home to a friend's house 1 mile to the east. After you reach your friend's house, you have travelled a distance of 1 mile and your displacement from your starting position is 1 mile. When you come back home from your friends house, you travel a distance of 1 more mile. Your total distance travelled is now 2 miles, but your displacement from your starting location is zero (because you are back where you started.) Distance does not have direction, and is always positive (or zero). Displacement has direction, and can be negative, positive, or zero.


Your perception of the amplitude of a sound wave is?

The amplitude of a sound wave is a measure of the distance between the rest position and the maximum displacement of the particle from its rest position. It is equal to half the total displacement of a vibrating particle.


Is displacement a scalar or vector?

Displacement in any interval of time may be zero,positive or negative.Imagine that a car begins traveling along a road after starting from a specific signpost. To know the exact position of the car after it has traveled a given distance, you need to know not only the miles it traveled but also its heading.The displacement, defined as the change in position of the object, is a vector with the magnitude as a distance, such as 10 miles, and a direction, such as east. Velocity is a vector expression with a magnitude equal to the speed traveled and with an indicated direction of motion. For motion defined on a number line, a positive or negative sign specifies the direction.Average velocity is mathematically defined asaverage velocity = total displacement/time elapsedNote that displacement (distance from starting position) is not the same as distance traveled. If a car travels one mile east and then returns one mile west, to the same position, the total displacement is zero and so is the average velocity over this time period. Displacement is measured in units of length, such as meters or kilometers, and velocity is measured in units of length per time, such as meters/second (meters per second).


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.

Related questions

How do you find the average speed of an object with changing speed?

It's as simple as total displacement divided by total time. Be careful though. If this is a velocity problem, displacement does not always equal distance.


What is thedifference between displacement and distance?

Distance travelled is the total distance covered during the motion and displacement is the distance between the final and initial position.


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.


When is speed equal to magnitude of velocity?

Speed is equal to the magnitude of velocity almost always. Speed is total distance / total time no matter which way the distance goes. Velocity is the distance from a starting point divided by total time.


Displacement is different from distance because?

Well distance is the total lengh travelled but displacement is the distance from the starting point to the ending point(when you join the 2 points)


What is the shortest distance to get from one point to another?

The shortest distance is displacement and total distance is length.


Can distance be negative in physics?

No. Distance is never negative, and total distance travelled doesn't decrease during a trip. The distance from A to B is the same as the distance from B to A. Displacement, on the other hand, can be negative, and can decrease during a trip. The displacement from A to B is the same magnitude, but opposite sign, as the displacement from B to A. An example would be if you went from your home to a friend's house 1 mile to the east. After you reach your friend's house, you have travelled a distance of 1 mile and your displacement from your starting position is 1 mile. When you come back home from your friends house, you travel a distance of 1 more mile. Your total distance travelled is now 2 miles, but your displacement from your starting location is zero (because you are back where you started.) Distance does not have direction, and is always positive (or zero). Displacement has direction, and can be negative, positive, or zero.


Why the ratio of displacement to distance is never greater than 1?

The technical answer is that displacement is the vector sum of the distances. An example to illustrate the difference in less technical terms, distance travelled in one direction added to the same distance in the opposite direction will result in the total distance being twice the distance of each leg but the total displacement is 0.


If you ride and go to bazar which is 5km away from your house to buy some grocery and return back then how many distance you have coveredhow much is your total displacement?

Total distance = 10 km Displacement = zero


What is the difference between the total path taken and the straight line connecting the sarting and last points of the path?

Total path is distance Where as the straight line is the displacement In case of a body going aroung a circle completing one full round, the distance is 2piR But the displacement is ZERO There by distance is a scalar and so it does not have direction But displacement is a vector. Because of vector addition we get displacement in this case as ZERO


How is distance and displacement the same?

The distance and displacement are the same when the displacement is parallel to itself or straight. Displacement is a vector and distance is a real number or scalar. If an object is displaced around a circle the displacement is zero and the distance is 2pi r.


Your perception of the amplitude of a sound wave is?

The amplitude of a sound wave is a measure of the distance between the rest position and the maximum displacement of the particle from its rest position. It is equal to half the total displacement of a vibrating particle.