Question

Which could describe the motion of an object?

distance = 1 meter and displacement = 10 meters
distance = 10 meters and displacement = 100 meters
distance = 0 and displacement = 10 meters
distance = 10 meters and displacement = 10 meters

Answer 1

Only the last one: distance = 10 m and displacement = 10 m.

Reason: distance (total path length) is always ≥ |displacement| (magnitude of the straight‑line change in position). So cases where distance < displacement (options 1 and 2) are impossible. Distance = 0 implies no motion, so displacement must be 0 (option 3 is impossible). Distance = displacement occurs when the motion is in a straight line without reversing direction (e.g., move 10 m east).