- #1
supernova88
- 13
- 1
I know the difference between distance and displacement, and speed and velocity, but I'm struggling how to explain the usefulness of displacement and velocity in the real world? For instance, our cars count the distances they travel, not displacement as one might see on a map, while airplanes plot their paths according to the distances they cover flying over the Earth's surface, not the displacement from one city to the next as if you drew a straight line through the crust. Similarly, if I told someone how fast I travel from one city to the next (whether driving or flying or whatever) based on velocity rather than speed, my answer may seem ridiculously slow or wildly fast depending on how much displacement I cover in some time versus the actual distance of my route. What's an easy way to explain, then, the reason we bother having displacement and velocity in the first place and some good examples where they make sense?