Here's a breakdown:
* Displacement: The shortest straight-line distance between an object's initial and final position. It's a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude (size) and direction.
* Resultant: The overall or net effect of multiple displacements.
Imagine this: You walk 5 meters east, then 3 meters north. Your total distance traveled is 8 meters, but your resultant displacement is the straight-line distance from your starting point to your final point, which is less than 8 meters.
Key points about resultant displacement:
* It doesn't account for the path taken, only the starting and ending points.
* It's a vector quantity, so its direction is crucial.
* It can be calculated using the Pythagorean theorem or vector addition.
In simpler terms: Resultant displacement is like finding the "as-the-crow-flies" distance between where you started and where you ended up, ignoring all the twists and turns you might have taken along the way.