Question

What is displacement? Write a detailed note on it.

Answer 1

A displacement is a vector whose length is the shortest distance from the initial to the final position of a point P.[1] It quantifies both the distance and direction of an imaginary motion along a straight line from the initial position to the final position of the point. A displacement may be identified with the translation that maps the initial position to the final position.

A displacement may be also described as a 'relative position': the final position of a point (xf) relative to its initial position (xi), and a displacement vector can be mathematically defined as the difference between the final and initial positions.

Answer 2

• The shortest distance between two points is known as displacement.
• Displacement has both magnitude and direction so, it is a vector quantity.  
• The SI unit of displacement is meter.  
• If a body starts from point A and after covering much distance came back to point A. Then, the total displacement will be zero.
• If we take derivative of displacement with respect to time, it will become velocity. If we take double derivative of displacement with respect to time, it will become acceleration.