Editing Displacement (geometry) (section)

{{short description|Vector relating the initial and the final positions of a moving point}}
{{Other uses|Displacement (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox physical quantity
| name = Displacement
| image = Distancedisplacement.svg
| caption = Displacement versus distance travelled along a path
| symbols = '''d''', '''''s''', ''' ∆s''' , ''' ∆x''' , ''' ∆y''', ''' ∆z'''''
| unit     = metre
| baseunits = m
| dimension =  '''L'''
}}
{{Classical mechanics}}

In [[geometry]] and [[mechanics]], a '''displacement''' is a [[Euclidean vector|vector]] whose length is the shortest [[distance]] from the initial to the final [[position (vector)|position]] of a point P undergoing [[motion]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L1c.cfm|title=Describing Motion with Words| author=Tom Henderson| work=The Physics Classroom|access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> It quantifies both the distance and [[direction (geometry)|direction]] of the net or total motion along a straight line from the initial position to the final position of the point [[trajectory]]. A displacement may be identified with the [[translation (geometry)|translation]] that maps the initial position to the final position. Displacement is the shift in location when an object in motion changes from one position to another.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moebs |first=William |last2=Ling |first2=Samuel J. |last3=Sanny |first3=Jeff |date=2016-09-19 |title=3.1 Position, Displacement, and Average Velocity - University Physics Volume 1 {{!}} OpenStax |url=https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/3-1-position-displacement-and-average-velocity |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=openstax.org |language=English}}</ref>
For motion over a given interval of time, the displacement divided by the length of the time interval defines the [[average velocity]] (a vector), whose magnitude is the [[average speed]] (a scalar quantity).