| English | Displacement |
|---|---|
| Bahasa Melayu | Sesaran |
| 中文 | 位移 |
Definition
The distance moved in a stated direction from a starting point; a vector quantity measured in metres (m).
In exam terms
Displacement is the distance moved in a stated direction from a starting point. It is a vector quantity, with symbol s and SI unit the metre (m), so a complete answer must give both a magnitude and a direction.
For example, if a car travels from a junction to a point 3 km due east, its displacement is s = 3 km east, even if the road it followed was longer and curved. Displacement is the straight-line gap from the start to the end point, together with the direction pointing from one to the other.
Do not confuse it with distance
Do not confuse displacement with distance. Distance is a scalar (the total length of the path travelled, magnitude only); displacement is a vector (the straight-line change in position with direction).
An athlete who runs one full lap of a track covers a large distance but has zero displacement, because the finish point is the start point.
In Paper 2 you may be asked to define displacement or to calculate the displacement of an object from a graph, so always state the direction where one is involved.
Source: DSKP KSSM Physics Form 4 and 5 (Versi English) (Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum (BPK), KPM)