# Question #2d895

Jun 13, 2017

Distance is the actual distance covered during a journey, while displacement is how far you end up from the starting point.

For a commuter, the displacement at the end of the day is $0$, because he ends up back at home.

#### Explanation:

Distance is a measure of how far you have travelled during a specific time period, while displacement is how far you end up from the starting place.

For example, for a businessman, the distance travelled in a day could include the distance to the office, then a trip to the airport, a flight to another city for a meeting, a flight and trip back to the office and finally a ride home.

When he finally gets into bed that night his displacement for the day is $0$, because he ended up right back where he started that morning
The distance travelled could be several hundred miles or km, taking all the distances into consideration.

In the same way, on an athletic track for the $800 m$ race, an athlete will run a distance of $800 m$, but the displacement at the end of the race is $0 m$, because he ends up back at the starting line.