Distance travelled is the total length of the path followed by an object.
Distance answers: how much path length was covered?
It does not include direction and cannot be negative. If an object changes direction, total distance is found by adding each part of the journey.
Formula / representation
For a journey made of path segments:
If motion is in one direction only, distance travelled may be numerically equal to the magnitude of displacement. If the object changes direction, distance and displacement are usually different.
Units