NEET Physics Question - Kinematics - Distance and Displacement

Which of the following statements is incorrect :

Path length is a scalar quantity whereas displacement is a vector quantity

The magnitude of displacement is always equal to the path length traversed by an object over a given time interval

The displacement depends only on the end points whereas path length depends on the actual path followed

The path length is always positive whereas displacement can be positive, negative and zero

Solution:

The statement is wrong because:

Displacement is the shortest straight-line distance between an object's initial and final positions, and it has both magnitude and direction.
Path length (or distance) is the total length of the path traveled by the object, regardless of direction.

Example:

If an object moves in a circular path and returns to its starting point, the displacement is 0 (since the initial and final positions are the same), but the path length is the total distance traveled around the circle.

Thus, displacement is not always equal to the path length

Rankers Physics

Solution:

Example:

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