Distance travelled is 600 km and displacement is 0 km
The question involves understanding the difference between distance and displacement.
Distance is the total length of the path traveled by an object. It's a scalar quantity, meaning it only has magnitude (size) and no direction.
Displacement, on the other hand, is the shortest distance between the initial and final positions of an object. It's a vector quantity, possessing both magnitude and direction.
In this problem:
- The car travels from New Delhi to Agra (300 km).
- Then, it travels back from Agra to New Delhi (another 300 km).
Therefore:
- Total distance traveled = 300 km + 300 km = 600 km
- Displacement: Since the car returns to its starting point (New Delhi), the shortest distance between the initial and final positions is 0 km. The direction is also irrelevant because the magnitude is zero.
Thus, the correct answer is: Distance travelled is 600 km and displacement is 0 km.
Important Questions from Position, path length and displacement
A particle has displacement 12cm towards east and 9cm towards north and then 6cm vertically upward. The magnitude of the displacement of the particle is:
The ratio of magnitude of displacement to distance for a moving object is always.
