Q1
Displacement is measured as:
Athe shortest straight-line distance with direction
Bthe total path length
Calways equal to distance
Dalways positive only
CBSEClass 9 (CBSE)ScienceCh 7 · Topic 1
Distance, Displacement and Speed
Learning to distinguish distance from displacement and calculate speed.
Core concept
Speed is calculated as distance travelled divided by time taken (Speed = Distance/Time) and is a scalar quantity, while velocity is calculated as displacement divided by time (Velocity = Displacement/Time) and is a vector quantity, including direction. A car driving around a circular track back to its starting point has covered a large distance but has zero displacement, meaning its average velocity for the trip would be zero, even though its average speed is not.
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• Distance: total path length covered (scalar). Displacement: shortest straight-line distance with direction (vector).
• Speed = Distance/Time (scalar). Velocity = Displacement/Time (vector).
• Displacement can be zero even if distance travelled is large (e.g., a round trip).
• A car completing a circular loop has zero displacement but non-zero distance travelled.