Position, Distance, and Displacement Quick Check

Question

1 of 51 of 5 Items
Question
Which answer best describes displacement? (1 point)
Responses

Displacement is a vector quality showing total length of an area traveled by a particular object.
Displacement is a vector quality showing total length of an area traveled by a particular object.

Displacement is neither a vector nor scalar quantity, which accounts for how far away an object is after a period of time has elapsed from its initial starting point.
Displacement is neither a vector nor scalar quantity, which accounts for how far away an object is after a period of time has elapsed from its initial starting point.

Displacement is a scalar quantity which accounts for how far away an object is after a period of time has elapsed from its initial starting point.
Displacement is a scalar quantity which accounts for how far away an object is after a period of time has elapsed from its initial starting point.

Displacement is a scalar quality showing total length of an area traveled by a particular object.

Answer 1

The best answer that describes displacement is:

Displacement is neither a vector nor scalar quantity, which accounts for how far away an object is after a period of time has elapsed from its initial starting point.

However, note that this statement is incorrect because displacement is a vector quantity that measures the change in position of an object, taking into account both the distance and the direction from the initial to the final position.

For a more accurate description of displacement, it should be framed as:

Displacement is a vector quantity that shows the shortest straight-line distance from the initial position to the final position of an object, along with the direction.

If this option was among your choices, it would be the correct answer. If you have to choose only from what you provided, the first option is closer but still incorrect since displacement is a vector quantity.