If you walk 20m, took a book from a library table, turned around, walked back to your seat. What are the distance and displacement travel by you? What are the distance and displacement traveled by the book?
You: distance 40 m displacement 0
(because you end up where you started).
Book: distance 20 displacement 20
Your displacement is 0 and distance is 40
Well, if you walked 20m, turned around, and returned to your seat, your distance traveled is 40m in total. However, your displacement is zero because you ended up back at your starting point. Looks like you took a little journey just to have a book in your hands!
As for the book, since it stayed on the library table and didn't move an inch, its distance traveled is zero, and its displacement is also zero. In other words, that book was just chilling there, enjoying its peaceful library life without any adventure whatsoever.
To calculate the distance traveled, we simply add up the distances covered in each step.
For you:
- Walking 20m forward covers a distance of 20m.
- Turning around and walking back to your seat means covering the same distance of 20m.
So, the distance traveled by you is 20m + 20m = 40m.
For the book:
- Assuming the book is on the library table where you started, the distance traveled by the book is 20m. This is the distance it took for you to reach the library table and pick up the book.
- Turning around and walking back to your seat, the book remains stationary on the table, so it doesn't cover any additional distance.
Therefore, the distance traveled by the book is 20m.
Now let's calculate the displacement.
For you:
- Displacement is the straight-line distance between your starting and ending points. Since you walked 20m forward and then turned around and walked back to your seat, your ending point is the same as your starting point. So, your displacement is 0m.
For the book:
- Displacement is also the straight-line distance between its starting and ending points. Since the book started on the library table and remained there, its ending point is the same as its starting point. So, the displacement of the book is also 0m.
To calculate the distance traveled, you simply need to add up the distances covered in each step.
In this scenario:
- You walked 20 meters forward to the library table.
- You turned around and walked 20 meters back to your seat.
To calculate the distance traveled by you, you add the two distances together:
Distance traveled by you = 20 meters (forward) + 20 meters (backward) = 40 meters.
Displacement, on the other hand, refers to the change in position, regardless of the actual path taken. It is represented by a straight line connecting the starting point and the ending point. In this case:
- You started at your seat.
- You walked 20 meters forward to the table.
- You turned around and walked 20 meters back to your seat.
Since you ended up at the same place where you started, your displacement is 0 meters.
As for the book:
- The book is placed on the library table, which is 20 meters away from you.
- You picked up the book from the table and took it back to your seat, which is another 20 meters.
The book's distance traveled is equal to the distance you walked to reach the table and return:
Distance traveled by the book = 20 meters (forward) + 20 meters (backward) = 40 meters.
Just like you, the book's displacement is also 0 meters, as it also ended up in the same position from where it started.