a)What is the difference between 'distance travelled' by a body and its 'displacement'? Explain with the help of a diagram.b) An ant travels a distance of 8cm from p to q and then moves a distance of 6cm at right angles to PQ. Find its resultant displacement.

Distance is the length between two points. It is always a positive quantity. It is the total length traveled. For example, in the following figure if a person traveled from P to R through Q then the total distance traveled by the person is 8 + 6 = 14 units

Displacement is the smallest distance between two points. For example, in the following figure if a person traveled from P to R through Q then the displacement is the length between P and R, which is 10 units.

b) It is same like the above example, the displacement = $\sqrt{6^{2} +\ 8^{2}} \ =\ \sqrt{100} \ =\ \sqrt{10^{2}} \ =\ 10\ cm.$

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Updated on: 10-Oct-2022

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