Which of the following is the best description of the term resultant displacement?
A. The scalar that joins all the points along the path.
B. The average of all the displacement vectors.
C. The total distance traveled.
O D. The shortest distance from the beginning point to the end point.

D

Explanation:

Displacement refers to the shortest, or straight-line path from one point to another. It is a vector, thus A is incorrect. It is not the average, but rather the sum of all displacement vectors, so B is incorrect. It is not the distance traveled, as some paths have longer distances than others, while leading to the same destination, hence same displacement. (i.e. running around in circles yields positive distance traveled but zero displacement.)

Explanation: D

Displacement is a vector. It has direction and it has magnitude. But we are asked for the resultant displacement. You have to use pythagorean theorem. This makes our answer always positive. That essentially means distance, since you did just do the distance formula.

A is wrong because that tells you perimeter

B is wrong because that tells you the midpoint

C is wrong because displacement and distance are two different things. We dont want the distance of the two vectors

D is correct, this perfectly explains the distance formula

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