Velocity time graph

You are likely familiar with distance. It is how far it is.

How far is it from Newcastle to London? Around about 250 miles or 400 kilometres.

What is the distance in the diagram below to travel from the start to the finish.

Do some quick addition…

The distance is 38km

What is the displacement?

The displacement is 0km.

Displacement is the overall change of position which in the case above from start to finish is zero.

Displacement is a a vector quantity. It has size and direction.

Here is another example to illustrate this. A woman walks north for 7km and then walks south for 3km. What distance has she travelled. What is her displacement?

She has travelled 10km. Her displacement is 4km north. Like any vector quantity, the size and direction are needed.