Which term denotes the change in position from the starting point, including direction?

• A. Displacement
• B. Speed
• C. Gravity
• D. Free Fall

Answer: (A)

Displacement is the change in position from the starting point, and it includes direction. It’s a vector quantity, so it has both how far you ended up and which way you ended up relative to where you started. It depends on the initial and final positions, not on the route you took. For example, walking 3 meters east and then 4 meters north puts you 5 meters away from the start in a northeast direction. This differs from distance, which only counts how far you traveled, and from speed, which is about how fast you move. Gravity and free fall describe forces and motion under those forces, not the straight-line change in position with direction. So the correct term is displacement.