Final answer:
Distance is a scalar quantity that represents the total length of the path traveled, while displacement is a vector quantity that represents the straight-line shortest path between the starting and ending points.
Step-by-step explanation:
Distance is a scalar quantity that represents the total length of the path traveled, while displacement is a vector quantity that represents the straight-line shortest path between the starting and ending points.
A scalar quantity only has magnitude, while a vector quantity has both magnitude and direction. Displacement is a vector because it includes information about both the distance and the direction of travel.
For example, if you walk 5 kilometers to the east and then return 5 kilometers to the west, your total distance traveled is 10 kilometers, but your displacement is 0 because you ended up at the same position you started.