Kinematics


   
 
Displacement Vector
Displacement vector is a vector which gives the position of a point with reference to a point other than the origin of the coordinate system.
 
Let a particle at a point P at an instant of time t, move to another point Q at time tl. The position vectors of P and Q with reference to the origin 0, are  respectively.  The vector directed from P to Q, is the displacement vector corresponding to the motion of the particle from position P to Q.
 
 The displacement vector gives the position of Q with reference to P. So, it is a sort of position vector, with the difference that P, the position vector gives the position of a point with reference to the origin O, the displacement vector gives the position with reference to a point other than the origin. The displacement vector is independent of the choice of the origin.
 
 
We have,
 
 
Thus, displacement vector is the difference between two position vectors.
 
If (x1, y1) (x2, y2) are the coordinates of P and Q respectively, then,

 

 
 
 
Extending to three dimensions,
 
 
 
     
   
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Kinematics