Distance, in simplest terms, can be defined as the measure of difference in location of two points. When we say, I walked 10 m or ran a 100 m race, what we really mean is we traveled a distance of 10 m or 100 m, respectively (assuming motion in longitudinal direction only). In geometry, points are represented by the x and y (and z) coordinates. If the position (or location) of the two points A and B is given as (x1, y1) and (x2, y2), then the distance between them can be calculated as:
`AB = sqrt((x_2-x_1)^2 + (y_2-y_1)^2)`
For example, in the cases earlier stated (walking 10 m or running 100 m race), there is no y-component and hence the distance is only the difference between the longitudinal components (x2 and x1).
Distance is used to determine speed of an object, as the ratio of distance traveled and time taken. Distance has units of meter or m.
Hope this helps.
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