what is the difference among position, distance traveled and display, as used by physicist to describe where an object is located and the motion it has undergone @Precalculus Pre-A…

Question

what is the difference among position, distance traveled and display, as used by physicist to describe where an object is located and the motion it has undergone   @Precalculus Pre-A…

agreene · Answer

are you asking for a definition of displacement?

agreene · Answer

displacement is a vector that shows how much something has moved, in respect to three directions (in 3D or 3space). The distance traveled is what determines the displacement, and not it's location.

anonymous · Answer

Since it's posted in pre-calculus... Distance is basically how far something has travelled total, whereas displacement is how far away something is from its original position.

For example, if you walk 50m North and then 30m South, the distance you've travelled is 80m, but your displacement relative to your original position is 20m.