Distance facts for kids
Distance is a way to measure how far apart two things are. It tells you the amount of space between them. You can measure distance along any path. For example, if you walk in a circle, you've traveled a distance, even if you end up back where you started!
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What is Distance?
Distance is a number that shows how much space is between two points or objects. Imagine you are going from your house to a friend's house. The path you take, and how long that path is, tells you the distance you traveled.
Distance in Math
In geometry, which is a part of mathematics about shapes and spaces, distance is very important. When we talk about the distance between two points, like point A and point B, we sometimes write it as 
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One famous math rule used to find distances, especially in right triangles, is the Pythagorean theorem. It helps you figure out the distance across a space, like the length of a diagonal line.
Distance vs. Displacement
It's important to know that distance is different from something called displacement.
- Distance is a scalar. This means it only tells you "how much" or "how far." It doesn't care about direction. If you walk 5 kilometers, your distance is 5 kilometers, no matter which way you walked.
- Displacement is a vector. This means it tells you both "how much" (the distance) AND "in what direction." Displacement measures the shortest straight-line distance from where you started to where you ended up. So, if you walk 5 kilometers in a circle and end up back at your starting point, your total distance traveled is 5 kilometers, but your displacement is zero!
Examples of Distance
- Imagine you have two balls. If one ball is 5 feet away from the other, then the distance between them is 5 feet.
- If you walk at a speed of 6 kilometres every hour, and you walk for one hour, you have traveled a distance of 6 kilometres.
- Think about a circle. A circle is a curved line. Every single point on the circle is the exact same distance from the very center of the circle. This distance is called the radius.
Related pages
Images for kids
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A board showing distances near Visakhapatnam
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A robot, which might use distance calculations to move around.
