Position & Displacement

position

position of a point is a vector r, and applied at the origin of the coordinates and points towards that point

• scalar components of position are the coordinates

distance traveled

how far, dependent on the path taken

• scalar (no direction, only magnitude)

displacement

if an object moves, its displacement ∆r is a vector that points from the initial location to the final location

• the difference between final and initiation position, represented by the equation vector ∆r = vector r final - vector r initial

• describes a change occurred with time, regardless of the actual time taken for the change to occur

displacement always points towards the

new position and tells the average direction of motion