Angular Displacement

Key Stage 5

Meaning

Angular displacement is the angle through which an object in circular motion has turned in a given time.

About Angular Displacement

• Measured in radians (rad).
• Represents the change in position of an object along a circular path.
• As the quantity has direction it may be positive or negative, but once decided that clockwise or anti-clockwise is positive the other should be negative.
• Angular displacement can be calculated using the arc length divided by the radius.
• It is a vector quantity, having both magnitude and direction.
• Angular displacement is an essential parameter in rotational kinematics.
• Angular displacement is used in calculating other rotational quantities like angular velocity.

Examples

• The hands of a clock show angular displacement as they move.
• Earth’s rotation involves angular displacement of 2π radians in 24 hours.