Distance vs. Displacement

Distance traveled

0units

Total length of the journey

0units

Straight-line length from start to finish

Traveled pathDisplacement

Drag to orbit · Scroll / pinch to zoom · Two fingers to pan

Try “Return to start”: can you travel without ending up somewhere new?

Each example starts a new journey.

Directions follow the labeled axes, even when you rotate the view.

Ready to explore

Δr = ⟨0, 0, 0⟩ units

Displacement is the change in position from start to finish. Its vector includes direction.

Show calculation

Start = (0, 0, 0). Every completed move adds one unit of distance. Undo removes a move; Clear journey erases the experiment.