Question

Think about your displacement at three different times throughout your day and compare it with the distance you traveled.

Answer 1

-- The first thing I do when I wake up is go STRAIGHT to the bathroom.   Up to that time, my displacement is equal to distance I traveled from my bed.

-- Once I'm relaxed and back in my room, dithering around and getting dressed, the distance I've traveled since I woke up is growing and growing, but my displacement is staying pretty steady, because I'm still hanging right around my bed.

-- I walk to school, walk between classes, maybe run around the track a couple times, walk to the lunchroom and back to classes, then walk home.  By dinner time, my distance traveled during the day might be 3 or 4 MILES, but my displacement is only one floor down from my bedroom to the kitchen.

-- After my homework is done, I slide back into my warm bed and turn out the light.  My displacement for the day is now zero !  The straight-line distance from the place I started to the place I finished is zero.