Are distance and displacement always equal?

Distance and displacement are hardly ever equal.
Remember that 'displacement' is the straight-line distance between the start-point and the end-point, regardless of what path you followed on the way.
So they're equal ONLY when the trip from start to finish was completely in a straight line.

Answered by AL2006 | 2024-06-10

Distance and displacement are generally not equal, as distance is the total path traveled while displacement is the straight-line distance from start to finish. They are only equal when the movement occurs in a straight line. In most scenarios, the distance traveled will be greater than the displacement.
;

Answered by AL2006 | 2025-06-13