I've tried to find the answer but am completely confused. Are they the same or different?
2006-10-09 13:47:31 · 4 answers · asked by Kalia 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Position is where something is now. Displacement is the difference between where it was previously and where it is now.
Simple example is "you are now at your computer desk." That is your position. But "you went there from the kitchen by the refrigerator." That was your old position. If you moved 20 feet to go from the fridge to the desk your displacement is 20 feet. That is because that's how far apart the two positions are. Of course if you go back to the fridge your displacement will be -20 feet since you went back to the old position.
2006-10-09 13:53:44 · answer #1 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Displacement is how far something has been displaced. So if a ball starts at position=0 and ends up at position=5, it was displaced by 5 (displacement =5). If the ball starts at position=3 and ends up at position=6, it was displaced by 3 (displacement =3). So you might say x=3 or x= 6 to describe position. Displacement would be subtracting the starting position from the finishing position - i.e. a change in position.
2006-10-09 20:58:24 · answer #2 · answered by WildOtter 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Displacement is a distance away from a reference point. Position is a vector that describes the location of a point. So a mathematical way of saying the difference is that the displacement is the magnitude of position (assuming the same reference point).
2006-10-09 20:51:03 · answer #3 · answered by aedesign 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Displacement is total distance traveled, whether positive or negative. Position is just the location of a point, or length of a vector for that matter (positive only).
2006-10-09 20:50:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋