Question

For which of the following situations will the path length equal the magnitude of the displacement? A train travels 5 miles east; and then it stops and travel 2 miles west. A jogger is running around a circular path. A ball is rolling down an inclined plane. A ball is thrown vertically upward. It rises upward and falls downward.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The train travels 5 miles in the east and then 2 miles in the west . Total path length is equal to 5 + 2 = 7 miles . But the displacement is (5 - 2 ) = 3 miles . So displacement ≠ path length

The jogger is running around a circular path . In moving one round on a circular path , path length is equal to the circumference of the circle but the displacement is zero because the starting point and finish point is same.

For the ball rolling down an inclined plane , path length is length of inclined path traveled and displacement is also the same . so in this case path length equals displacement.

For a ball thrown upwards and going downwards , total path length is equal to the total of path gone up and down or twice the height but the displacement is nil if the ball comes back again in the hand.