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13 Questions around this concept.
Assertion: For unidirectional movement of an object, displacement > distance.
Reason: For unidirectional movement of an object, displacement = distance.
Position vector
The position of a point, in space, is an important physical quantity which is also known as position vectors.
- Representation of position vector $\vec{r}=x \hat{i}+y \hat{j}+z \hat{k}$
- Its magnitude is the distance between the initial point (tail) and the final point (head).
Jenerally, we take initial point as origin)
- Its direction is from the initial point and the final point.
Magnitude of $r=\sqrt{x^2+y^2+z^2}$
- E.g. If $\vec{A}=3 \hat{i}-4 \hat{j}+2 \hat{k}$ then its magnitude
$$
\begin{aligned}
& =\sqrt{(3)^2+(-4)^2+(2)^2} \\
& =\sqrt{9+16+4} \\
& a=\sqrt{29}
\end{aligned}
$$
2. Distance or Path length
- Length of the actual path between the initial and final positions of the body.
- E.g. Distance travelled along a circle for one complete rotation is $2 \pi r$
- Tips of distance,,
Distance is a scalar quantity.
It is always positive.
S.I. Unit: meter (m).
Dimension [L]
Distance is depend on the path followed by the body.
Displacement
The shortest path is between the initial and final positions.
Tips for Displacement.
Displacement is a vector quantity.
It can be positive, zero or negative.
Displacement is independent of path.
S.I. unit: Meter (m)
Dimension (L)
The magnitude of Displacement $\leqslant$ Distance.
- E.g. For Semi circle
Distance $=\pi r$ while Displacement $=2 r$
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