MP Board · Class 9 · Science · MotionDefine distance and displacement. State one main difference between them.

Distance is the total actual path length traveled by a moving object during a given time interval, regardless of direction. It is a scalar quantity and is always positive. On the other hand, displacement is the shortest straight-line distance measured from the initial position to the final position of the object, along with the specified direction. Displacement is a vector quantity and can be positive, negative, or zero. Both distance and displacement have the SI unit of meter (m).