Mission KC2 Distance and Displacement
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For any given motion, the distance is ____.

Definition of Distance:
The distance traveled by a moving object is simply the amount of ground which is covered during the motion.

Distance is a scalar quantity which is ignorant of the direction of travel and any changes in direction. Suppose that a person walks 12 meters, east and then 4 meters, west. The distance traveled is 16 meters. The fact that there was a direction change is irrelevant to any measurement of the distance. The numerical value for the individual distances of each leg of the trip are simply added together as numbers.