# Displacement

The straight-line change in position from start to finish, with a direction. It ignores the path you took.

Physics (university) · Part 01: Motion and vectors · Card 1 of 8 · Last updated 2026-10-19

## Analogy

Like a bird's-eye arrow from your front door to where you ended up.

## Example

**Walk, then turn**

East 3 m, north 4 m.
d = sqrt(3^2 + 4^2)
d = 5 m, north of east.

## In practice

Walk 3 m east, then 4 m north. You walked 7 m but your displacement is 5 m.

## Practice

### Flashcards

- **Can displacement be smaller than distance travelled?** Yes. Displacement is the straight line from start to end, distance is the path length.

## Questions people ask

### Is displacement a vector or a scalar?

Displacement is a vector. It has a size, such as 5 m, and a direction, such as north of east. Distance travelled is a scalar because it has size only. The two match only when you move in a straight line without turning back.

### Can displacement be zero if I walked a long way?

Yes. If you finish exactly where you started, your displacement is zero, even after a long walk. A full lap of a running track is a good example. You covered about 400 m of distance but your overall change in position is zero.

## Related concepts

- [Velocity](https://studyvisually.com/learn/science/physics-university/physics-university-part-1/physics-university-part-1-concept-2)
- [Acceleration](https://studyvisually.com/learn/science/physics-university/physics-university-part-1/physics-university-part-1-concept-3)
- [Constant-acceleration equations](https://studyvisually.com/learn/science/physics-university/physics-university-part-1/physics-university-part-1-concept-4)
- [Free fall](https://studyvisually.com/learn/science/physics-university/physics-university-part-1/physics-university-part-1-concept-5)

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