Question

Dylan makes 4 laps around the track and returns to his starting point. Compare his distance versus his displacement.

Answer 1

The distance covered by Dylan is equal to four times the track distance (four laps).

The displacement of Dylan is equal to zero.

Why?

We must remember that distance and displacement are different things.

The displacement refers to the distance between the starting point and the final point, while the distance refers to how much space being covered by an object in motion (in units of distance), no matter if the final point is equal to the initial point.

So,

The distance for this problem is equal to the total distance covered by running/walking four times around the track, or four laps.

The displacement for this problem, is equal to zero since Dylan returned to his starting or initial point.

Have a nice day!