Displacement

When a body moves from one position to another, the shortest distance between the initial and final position is said to be the magnitude of displacement and it is directed from initial to final position.

It is a vector quantity. It may be positive, negative or zero.

When a body travels along a straight line in the same direction, then the distance it travels is equal to its displacement.

There are various situations when a body has travelled a certain distance yet it has zero displacement.

For example - If we take a round trip and come back to the starting point then, although we have travelled some distance, our net displacement will be zero because, the initial and final position are same.

Some important points
1. It is the shortest distance (straight distance) measured between the initial and the final position of a moving body in a particular direction.

2. It is a vector quantity.

3. It may be positive, negative or zero.

4. It is independent of the path followed by the moving object.

05. Its magnitude is always less than or equal to the distance travelled.