Define displacement in terms of mechanics.

Displacement is the distance and direction of an object's change in position from its initial position.

In mechanics, displacement refers to the change in position of an object from its initial position to its final position. It is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude (the distance travelled) and direction (the direction of the change in position). Displacement is often represented by the symbol Δx, where Δ represents the change in position and x represents the position.

Displacement can be calculated using the following formula:

Δx = xf - xi

Where xf is the final position and xi is the initial position. For example, if an object starts at position 2m and moves to position 6m, its displacement would be:

Δx = 6m - 2m = 4m

Displacement can also be calculated using the Pythagorean theorem if the object has moved in both the x and y directions. In this case, the displacement would be the square root of the sum of the squares of the changes in position in each direction:

Δx = √(Δx² + Δy²)

Where Δx is the change in position in the x direction and Δy is the change in position in the y direction.

Displacement is an important concept in mechanics as it is used to calculate other quantities such as velocity and acceleration.