The total length of the path actually taken between two points is the:

1. Displacement measures only where you ended up relative to where you began. 2. The distance travelled, however, is the total length of the path taken between the two marks. 3. A cyclist who rides 3 km west then 2 km east travels 5 km but is displaced only 1 km. 4. So distance is never smaller than the magnitude of displacement. _Source: OpenStax College Physics for AP(R) Courses 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 'Kinematics', sections 2.1-2.8_