What is Diplacement?

Displacement measures the 'net' distance that a moving object covers during some period of time. It's just the short, straight distance from the starting point to the end-point, regardless of the path the object followed or how much total distance it had to go to get there. Example: If you walk a mile straight along the shoulder of a straight road, the distance is 1 mile AND the displacement is also 1 mile. If you kept crossing the road, back and forth, to stay in the shade of the trees on each side, the displacement at the end of your walk would still be 1 mile, but the distance would be a lot more. If you jump into the shallow end of the pool, do 50 laps, and climb out again at the shallow end, the distance you swam is 50 laps, but the displacement is just about zero ... you ended almost exactly where you started. Drop a hard rubber ball from 6-ft off the floor. Maybe it bounces a hundred times, down-up-down-up-down, before it finally stops bouncing and just lays there. The displacement is 6 feet ... the short straight distance from the start-point to the end-point.