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- DictionaryDis·place·ment/disˈplāsm(ə)nt/
noun
- 1. the moving of something from its place or position: "vertical displacement of the shoreline"
- 2. the occupation by a submerged body or part of a body of a volume which would otherwise be occupied by a fluid.
People also ask
What does displacement mean in physics?
What does displacement mean in geology?
What does displaced mean?
Displacement is the act or process of moving something from its original position or state, or the difference between the initial position and any later position. It can also refer to the volume or weight of a fluid displaced by a floating body, the redirection of an emotion or impulse, or the substitution of another form of behavior. See synonyms, examples, etymology, and more.
Displacement is the act of displacing, the state of being displaced, or the amount or degree to which something is displaced. It can also refer to the transfer of an emotion, the weight or volume of a fluid, the linear or angular distance between a body and a reference position, or the offset of rocks along a fault. See synonyms, origin, and usage examples.
Displacement is the situation in which people are forced to leave the place where they normally live, or the weight of liquid that is forced out of position by an object that is floating on or in it. See examples, synonyms, related words and phrases, and translations of displacement in different languages.
- Overview
- What does position mean?
- What does displacement mean?
- What do distance and distance traveled mean?
- What's confusing about displacement?
- Example 1: Displacement of four moving objects
- Example 2: Distance traveled of four moving objects
Analyzing motion can get complicated. Learning precise vocabulary will help.
What does position mean?
In physics, we love to precisely describe the motion of an object. Seriously, the first few chapters of basically every physics textbook are devoted to teaching people how to precisely describe motion since it is so important to everything else we do in physics.
But to describe an object's motion, we have to first be able to describe its position—where it is at any particular time. More precisely, we need to specify its position relative to a convenient reference frame. Earth is often used as a reference frame, and we often describe the position of an object as it relates to stationary objects in that reference frame. For example, a professor’s position could be described in terms of where she is in relation to the nearby white board (Figure 1). In other cases, we use reference frames that are not stationary but rather are in motion relative to Earth. To describe the position of a person in an airplane, for example, we use the airplane, not Earth, as the reference frame (Figure 2).
The variable x is often used to represent the horizontal position. The variable y is often used to represent the vertical position.
[What about z?]
In physics, we love to precisely describe the motion of an object. Seriously, the first few chapters of basically every physics textbook are devoted to teaching people how to precisely describe motion since it is so important to everything else we do in physics.
But to describe an object's motion, we have to first be able to describe its position—where it is at any particular time. More precisely, we need to specify its position relative to a convenient reference frame. Earth is often used as a reference frame, and we often describe the position of an object as it relates to stationary objects in that reference frame. For example, a professor’s position could be described in terms of where she is in relation to the nearby white board (Figure 1). In other cases, we use reference frames that are not stationary but rather are in motion relative to Earth. To describe the position of a person in an airplane, for example, we use the airplane, not Earth, as the reference frame (Figure 2).
The variable x is often used to represent the horizontal position. The variable y is often used to represent the vertical position.
[What about z?]
If an object moves relative to a reference frame—for example, if a professor moves to the right relative to a whiteboard, or a passenger moves toward the rear of an airplane—then the object’s position changes. This change in position is known as displacement. The word displacement implies that an object has moved, or has been displaced.
Displacement is defined to be the change in position of an object. It can be defined mathematically with the following equation:
Displacement=Δx=xf−x0
xf refers to the value of the final position.
x0 refers to the value of the initial position.
Δx is the symbol used to represent displacement.
We must be careful when using the word distance since there are two ways in which the term distance is used in physics. We can talk about the distance between two points, or we can talk about the distance traveled by an object.
Distance is defined to be the magnitude or size of displacement between two positions. Note that the distance between two positions is not the same as the distance traveled between them.
Distance traveled is the total length of the path traveled between two positions. Distance traveled is not a vector. It has no direction and, thus, no negative sign. For example, the distance the professor walks is 2.0 m . The distance the airplane passenger walks is 4.0 m .
It is important to note that the distance traveled does not have to equal the magnitude of the displacement (i.e., distance between the two points). Specifically, if an object changes direction in its journey, the total distance traveled will be greater than the magnitude of the displacement between those two points. See the solved examples below.
People often forget that the distance traveled can be greater than the magnitude of the displacement. By magnitude, we mean the size of the displacement without regard to its direction (i.e., just a number with a unit). For example, the professor could pace back and forth many times, perhaps walking a distance of 150 meters during a lecture, yet still end up only two meters to the right of her starting point. In this case her displacement would be +2 m , the magnitude of her displacement would be 2 m , but the distance she traveled would be 150 m . In kinematics we nearly always deal with displacement and magnitude of displacement and almost never with distance traveled. One way to think about this is to assume you marked the start of the motion and the end of the motion. The displacement is simply the difference in the position of the two marks and is independent of the path taken when traveling between the two marks. The distance traveled, however, is the total length of the path taken between the two marks.
People often forget to include a negative sign, if needed, in their answer for displacement. This sometimes occurs if they accidentally subtract the final position from the initial position rather than subtracting the initial position from the final position.
Four objects move according to the paths shown in the diagram below. Assume the units of the horizontal scale are given in meters. (Image credit: altered from Openstax College Physics)
What was the displacement of each object?
Object A had an initial position of 0 m and a final position of 7 m . The displacement of object A can be shown with this equation:
ΔxA=7 m−0 m=+7 m
Object B had an initial position of 12 m and a final position of 7 m . The displacement of object B can be shown with this equation:
ΔxB=7 m−12 m=−5 m
Four objects move according to the paths shown in the diagram below. Assume the units of the horizontal scale are given in meters. (Image credit: altered from Openstax College Physics)
What was the total distance traveled by each object?
Object A travels a total distance of 7 m .
Object B travels a total distance of 5 m .
Object C travels a total distance of 8 m+2 m+2 m=12 m .
Object D travels a total distance of 6 m+2 m=8 m .
4 days ago · Displacement is the removal, forcing, or transferring of something or someone from a place or position. It also has technical meanings in physics, chemistry, geology, and other fields.
Displacement is the act of taking the place of another, the condition of having been displaced, or the movement of a body or a fluid. It can also refer to a reaction in chemistry, a psychological defense mechanism, a geological feature, or an astronomical event. See different definitions from various sources and related terms.
Learn the meaning, pronunciation and usage of the word displacement in formal and physics contexts. See examples, synonyms and related words for displacement.
