Unit of Distance

Introduction

In our daily life, there are many different things around us that can be measured. These things can be of any shape and size, that is, they can be as small as an atom for us or can be as huge as a planet. Various units are used to measure different objects around us. Thus, distance tells us how far apart material or objects are in a numerical measurement.

However, the direction in which the body moves does not influence distance because the distance would remain equal when the object moves from its primary to the last position or from its last to primary position. In the SI or International system of units, the unit of distance is meter (m). In the case of the CGS system, the unit of measurement is referred to as a centimetre (cm). When we use the term distance, we refer to the scalar quantity that measures the entire path travelled by an object.

Explain the unit of distance

When the object travels, distance is measured from the entire path that it covers throughout its motion. If the rate at which the object moves increases or rises and also if the object is travelling for more periods then the distance covered by that object also rises or increases.

Thus, the two factors that affect distance are time and speed. So, the formula for calculating the distance covered by an object is; Distance = speed × time. The International System of units defines the meter as the SI unit (more like a standard unit) of the distance covered by an object.

In the CGS system of units; the centimetre, gram, and seconds are used to measure distance, whereas in the MKS system of units; the meter, kilogram, and seconds are used to measure the distance. Metre/second is the SI unit for measuring speed and the second SI unit for time.

Therefore, (metre/second)× second= metre.

The biggest and smallest units of distance are parsec and Planck length, respectively.

What is the metric unit of distance?

It is a system through which we can measure different things. Metric system is therefore used in research and calculation all over the world. For example, the unit of weight is the gram whereas the unit of measuring length and distance is the meter. Likewise, for measuring a unit of volume, a millilitre is used. The unit systems that are being used to measure distance in metric units are CGS and MKS. The list of metric units of distance is given below:

• The first unit is a kilometre, symbolically represented as a km
• The second unit is metre, symbolically represented as m
• The third unit is a centimetre, symbolically represented as a cm
• The fourth unit is a millimetre, symbolically represented as mm

Define distance and displacement

Distance and displacement are two different things. Distance means the amount that is covered by an object whether it has a starting or ending point or not. Therefore, it is a scalar quantity as there is no directional component involved in the distance measurement and it does not depend upon the direction but rather on the magnitude.

The shortest distance between two points is called displacement. This is only concerned with the starting and ending point of an object, no matter what kind of route was taken by the object. Displacement depends upon the magnitude and direction which is why it is a vector quantity. Distance is represented with the help of the symbol ∆s (italic) whereas displacement is represented with the help of the symbol ∆s (boldface).

The formula for distance and displacement is; distance= speed × time and displacement= velocity× time.

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