Distinguish between displacement and distance

1 answer

Displacement and distance are two different concepts in physics.

Distance refers to how far an object has traveled, regardless of its initial and final position. It is a scalar quantity and is always positive. For example, if a person walks 5 kilometers, the distance traveled is 5 kilometers.

Displacement, on the other hand, refers to the change in position of an object. It is a vector quantity and includes both magnitude and direction. It is the shortest distance between the initial and final position of an object. For example, if a person walks 5 kilometers east and then 3 kilometers west, the displacement would be 2 kilometers west.

In summary, distance is the total length of the path traveled, while displacement is the change in position from the initial to the final point, taking into account the direction.