--Distance is the measure of the length of the path covered by an object.
It has
only magnitude therefore it is a
scalar quantity.
--Displacement is the shortest distance possible between the initial position and
the final position of an object.
Displacement is different from distance as displacement is a vector quantity
while distance is a scalar quantity.
--Consider the following situation:-
You travelled from your home to the station(5km), then from
the station to the market(2km) and
from the market you came back home(3km). In this case, the
distance covered is 10km, but since
your initial position is same as the final position, your
displacement would be 0km.
--An object is said to be in uniform motion if it covers equal distances over equal
units of time. Non uniform motion
is when an object covers unequal distances in equal intervals of time.
--For the convenience of comparing speeds of different objects, we use a concept
called average speed. The average
speed of an object is the total distance covered by the object divided by the
total time taken.
-- Speed is a scalar quantity. This means that speed has only magnitude and no
direction.
--Velocity on the other hand is a vector quantity. It has both magnitude and
direction. The average velocity is
calculated by adding up the initial velocity(u) and the final velocity(v) and
then dividing them by 2.
Average velocity = (u+v)/2
--The change in velocity of an object can be measured using a new concept called
acceleration. The acceleration
of an object is the measure of the change of velocity it undergoes within a
particular amount of time. The SI
unit of acceleration is m/s^2.
-- An object is said to be accelerating uniformly when the change in velocity is
equal for equal intervals of time and
the object is moving in a straight line.
Acceleration = (v-u)/t
-- Uniform circular motion refers to the motion of an object in a circular path
with a constant speed. An important
thing to remember is that in uniform circular motion the speed of an object is
constant but the velocity is constantly
changing. This is because an object in uniform circular motion changes its
direction an infinite number of times.
--The speed of an object in uniform circular motion is given by the equation
(2*pi*r)/t
--Since the velocity of the object is changing, the object can be said to be in
acceleration even when its speed is fixed.
The object moving in circular motion exerts a force on the rope holding it to
the centre. This force is called the
centripetal force. The acceleration is also in the direction of this force, i.e.
towards the centre.
--If the object moving in uniform circular motion is left, it continues moving in
the direction of the tangent at the
point of release. This means that if the centripetal force of an object in
uniform circular motion is somehow broken
then the object will move towards the direction of the tangent at the point of
release.
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