This page discusses the concepts of position, distance, and displacement in stock car racing, where cars circle a track covering long distances but have minimal final displacement. It highlights the d...This page discusses the concepts of position, distance, and displacement in stock car racing, where cars circle a track covering long distances but have minimal final displacement. It highlights the distinction between displacement, a vector that includes direction, and distance, a scalar that only measures length. Understanding both the starting point and direction is crucial for accurately determining displacement.
The displacement must include a direction because the final position may be either in the positive or negative direction along the number line from the initial position. The displacement is a vector q...The displacement must include a direction because the final position may be either in the positive or negative direction along the number line from the initial position. The displacement is a vector quantity and vectors are discussed in the section "Vectors". This tells us that the displacement of an object is a vector (a quantity that has both magnitude and direction), rather than a scalar (a quantity that has only magnitude).
