MP Board · Class 9 · Science · MotionDifferentiate between distance and displacement covered by a body in motion.

Distance is the actual total path length traveled by a moving body irrespective of its direction, whereas displacement is the shortest straight-line distance measured from the initial position to the final position of the body along with direction. Distance is a scalar quantity containing only magnitude, while displacement is a vector quantity having both magnitude and direction. Distance covered by a moving body can never be zero or negative, but displacement can be positive, negative, or zero depending on the initial and final positions.