Distance vs Displacement

Build a journey of up to three legs. The total path length is the distance; the straight line from start to finish is the displacement.

1Leg 1

Length 30 m

Direction 0°

2Leg 2

Length 40 m

Direction 90°

3Leg 3

Length 0 m

Direction 0°

Distance

70.0 m

Displacement

50.0 m

Direction (from E)

53°

Distance ÷ |s|

1.40

Path = distance Displacement

Ratio = distance ÷ |displacement|. It reads 1.00 for a straight, one-way path and shows “—” when the displacement is zero (a round trip back to the start).