Motion in a Plane — Physics STD 11 Science — Question
Maharashtra BoardEnglish MediumSTD 11 SciencePhysicsMotion in a Plane4 Marks
Question
Explain the term: Path length.
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Answer
$1.$Path length is the actual distance travelled by the particle during its motion.
$2.$It is a scalar quantity.
$3.$Dimensions of path length are equal to that of length i.e..$[L^1M^0T^0]$
$4.$ Example:
If an object travels along the $X-$axis from $x = 3$ m to $x = 6$ m then the distance travelled is $3 m.$ In this case the displacement is also $3 m$ and its direction is along the positive $X-$axis.
However, if the object now comes back to $x 5,$ then the distance through which the object has moved increases to $3 + I = 4 m.$ Its initial position was $x 3$ m and the final position is now $x = 5$ m and thus, its displacement is $\triangle x = 5 – 3 = 2 m$, i.e., the magnitude of the displacement is $2 m$ and its direction is along the positive $X-$axis.
If the object now moves to $x =1,$ then the distance travelled, i.e., the path length increases to $4 + 4 = 8$ m while the magnitude of displacement becomes $3 – 1 = 2 m$ and its direction is along the negative $X-$axis.
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