Speed and Velocity

Distance and Displacement

The total length of the path covered by a body is the distance traveled by it. But the difference between the initial and final position vectors of a body is called its displacement. Basically, displacement is the shortest distance between the two positions and has a certain direction. Thus, the displacement is a vector quantity but distance is a scalar.

Speed & Velocity

The rate of change of distance with time is called speed but the rate of change of displacement is known as velocity. Unlike speed, velocity is a vector quantity.

For 1-D motion, the directional aspect of the vector is taken care of by putting + and – signs and you do not have to use vector notation for displacement, velocity and acceleration for motion in one dimension.