Displacement and arc length problems

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the distinction between displacement and arc length in physics equations. It clarifies that in the equation v = s/t, "s" should represent arc length rather than displacement, leading to the conclusion that v is speed rather than mean velocity. The relationship between speed and angular velocity is explored, emphasizing that speed can be expressed as the product of radius and angular velocity when treated as scalars. The conversation also touches on the potential for more advanced treatments of angular velocity as a vector. The thread concludes with a brief mention of a ship's weight based on water displacement.
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1. v=s/t where s represents the displacement
2. s=rθ where s represents the arc length

v=rθ /t

Why can substitute here?
I guess that is not same things.

An arc length is not a straight line but displacement is which is shortest distance between initial and final point.
 
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Not quite sure I've grasped your difficulty, but for the reasoning to be valid, s in equation (1) must represent not a displacement but the arc length s. Thus v is not mean velocity over s, but speed.
 
Philip Wood said:
Not quite sure I've grasped your difficulty, but for the reasoning to be valid, s in equation (1) must represent not a displacement but the arc length s. Thus v is not mean velocity over s, but speed.

Thanks. I understand now.
The equation of (1) is not velocity=displacement/time, but speed=distance/time, right?
 
Right!
 
But I have some problems about it.
v=rθ /t

θ /t = angular velocity
Why speed = radius x angular velocity?
I think velocity = radius x angular velocity is suitable for it.
 
I assume you are not treating radius and angular velocity as vectors. If you're treating them as scalars, as in most introductory courses, then the multiplication yields a scalar, which is better called speed than velocity.

In more advanced work it is possible to assign a direction to angular velocity (making it a pseudo vector), and it is clearly possible to treat instantaneous radius as a vector. By assigning a special meaning to multiplication we can produce the instantaneous velocity vector.
 
what is the weight of a ship that displaces 500,000 kg of water?
 
500 tonnes, more or less.
 
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