What is the difference between displacement and distance?

DISTANCE
-length of the path between two points
-doesn't have to be a straight path
-has no direction
DISPLACEMENT
-the length from the starting point to the ending point
-must be a straight path
-must have direction (north, south, east, west, up, down)
EXAMPLE-If you wanted to know the distance from your house to the park, you could say 'three blocks north and then two blocks west' but for displacement, you could just cut through houses and backyards to get to the destination.
Hope that makes some sense :)

Answered by Anonymous | 2024-06-10

Displacement is the difference between two points where as distance is just a signle point.

Answered by yungleah | 2024-06-10

Distance measures the total path length traveled and is a scalar quantity with no direction. Displacement measures the straight-line distance from the starting point to the endpoint and has both magnitude and direction, making it a vector. Thus, while distance is concerned with the journey taken, displacement focuses on the direct movement from one point to another.
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Answered by Anonymous | 2024-12-26