The difference between starting and ending
positions is
distance
displacement

displacement

Explanation:

Motion can be defined as a change in the location (position) of a physical object or body with respect to a reference point.

This ultimately implies that, motion would occur as a result of a change in location (position) of an object with respect to a reference point or frame of reference i.e where it was standing before the effect of an external force.

A reference point refers to a location or physical object from which the motion (movement) of another physical object or body can be determined.

Mathematically, the motion of an object is described in terms of acceleration, time, distance, speed, velocity, position, displacement, etc.

Displacement can be defined as the change in the position of a body or an object. It is a vector quantity because it has both magnitude and direction.

This ultimately implies that, the difference between the starting and ending positions of a physical object is generally referred to as displacement