What is the term for an object's change of position from its starting point?

• A. Effort
• B. Displacement
• C. DOMS
• D. Composition

Answer: (B)

Displacement describes the change in an object's position from where it started to where it ends, using a straight-line distance in a specific direction. It’s a vector, so it has both magnitude and direction, and it depends only on the starting and ending points—not on the path taken. For example, finishing 5 meters to the east from the start means a displacement of 5 meters east, even if you zigzagged along the way. If you end up back at the starting point, the displacement is zero. This differs from distance, which sums all the movement along the path. The other terms don’t describe position change: effort relates to force or energy, DOMS is muscle soreness, and composition refers to body makeup.