The Difference Between Displacement and Distance in Motion

When we talk about motion in science, especially in kinematics, there are two important ideas: distance and displacement. They both describe how things move, but they mean different things.

1. Distance:

   • What It Is: Distance is all about how far an object travels. It looks at the whole path taken, no matter which way it goes.
   • Key Points:
     • We measure distance in meters (m).
     • Distance can never be negative: It's always zero or more (d ≥ 0).
     • Example: If an object goes 5 meters north and then 3 meters south, the total distance it has traveled is 5 + 3 = 8 meters.

2. Displacement:

   • What It Is: Displacement tells us how far an object has moved from its starting point and in which direction. It looks at the change in position.
   • Key Points:
     • Like distance, we also measure displacement in meters (m).
     • Displacement can be positive, negative, or even zero. We find it by taking the final position and subtracting the starting position (final position - starting position).
     • Example: Using the same situation, if the object starts at a point and moves 5 meters up then 3 meters down, its displacement would be 5 - 3 = 2 meters north.

In Summary:

• Distance tells us how much ground an object covers in total.
• Displacement shows us how far an object has moved from where it started and includes which way it went.

Knowing the difference between these two ideas is really important when we study motion in physics!