KINEMATICS (Motion)-Distance , Displacement

DISTANCE AND DISPLACEMENT

Distance and displacement are two quantities that may seem to mean the same thing yet have distinctly different definitions and meanings.
Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to “how much ground an object has covered” during its motion.
Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to “how far out of place an object is”; it is the object’s overall change in position.

Units of Distance & Displacement:meter is the S.I. units of distance & displacement. 
    
In the figure:1, The distance is indicated by dotted lines from A to B. That is entire path travelled by the body to reach the destination ‘B’. That total path travelled by the body is called Distance. And if a straight line drawn from point A to Point B, then that is the possible way to reach point B in shortest path. That shortest path is called as Displacement.


 Some more examples: