Question

differentiate between distance and displacement

Answer 1

distance

• The complete length of the path between any two points is called distance.

• Distance is a scalar quantity as it only depends upon the magnitude and not the direction.

• Distance can only have positive values.

displacement

• Displacement is the direct length between any two points when measured along the minimum path between them.
• Displacement is a vector quantity as it depends upon both magnitude and direction.
• Displacement can be positive, negative and even zero.

Answer 2

displacement is the shortest distance

distance is the whole path that is covered by the object