Suppose that an object travels from one point in space to another. Make a comparison between the displacement and the distance traveled.
a) the displacement is either greater than or equal to the distance traveled
b)the displacement is always equal to the distance traveled.
c)the displacement is either less than or equal to the distance traveled
d) the displacement can be either greater than, smaller than, or equal to the distance traveled.
the answer would be c) right? Since distance is the total distance over time where as displacement can never be "greater than distance"
Yes, you are correct. The correct answer is c) the displacement is either less than or equal to the distance traveled. Let's discuss why this is the case.
Displacement refers to the change in position of an object, specifically the straight-line distance between the initial and final positions. It is a vector quantity, which means it has both magnitude (size or length) and direction.
On the other hand, distance traveled refers to the total path length covered by an object regardless of its initial and final positions. It is a scalar quantity, which means it only has magnitude and no direction.
In most cases, an object's displacement will be less than or equal to the distance traveled. This occurs when the object's path does not involve changing direction, or when it moves along a straight line from the initial to the final position. In such cases, the displacement and distance traveled will be equal.
However, there are situations where the object changes direction during its motion. For example, if an object moves in a circular path, its displacement will always be smaller than the distance traveled because the displacement is measured only between the initial and final positions, while the distance traveled includes the entire circular path.
Therefore, in general, the displacement will be either less than or equal to the distance traveled, making option c) the correct answer.