A boy hits a football high up in the air . He runs and catches the football before it hits the ground. Which of the two , the boyor the football has had the greater diplacement?
To determine which has had the greater displacement, we need to understand what displacement means. Displacement is the change in position or the distance between the starting point and the ending point, regardless of the path taken.
In this scenario, as the boy hits the football high up in the air, the football travels in a parabolic path before coming back down. Although the football covers a longer physical distance during its entire flight, its displacement is zero.
The reason for this is that the displacement is only concerned with the change in position, and since the football returns to the same spot where it was hit, its final position is the same as its initial position. Thus, the football's displacement is zero.
On the other hand, when the boy runs to catch the football before it hits the ground, he actually changes his position from where he started. Therefore, the boy has a non-zero displacement. The exact magnitude and direction of the boy's displacement would depend on the specific details of the situation.
In summary, the boy has had the greater displacement compared to the football in this scenario.