How is displacement different from distance

Answer 1

Hello,

Displacement and distance are similar and are often used together in many cases.

Imagine a case in which a person drives along a very windy road, from point A to point B. Distance is the actual length of the pathway the person travels. Displacement is merely the straight-line distance between point A and point B ignoring the actual pathway.

In another instance, if a person were to walk one lap around a track and end up in the same spot where they started, the Displacement is actually 0, because the start and finish are the same. But the distance is the actual length along the track,

Hope this helps.