Question

danielle drove 5.5 miles to pick up her friend for a beach day. she then drove 3.1 miles in the same direction to their favorite beach. it was crowded, so she drove 1.8 miles in the opposite direction to a smaller location. assume the direction danielle started driving is the positive direction. what was danielles displacement? miles

Explanation:

Step1: Add positive - direction distances

The distances in the positive direction are 5.5 miles and 3.1 miles. The sum of these distances is $5.5 + 3.1=8.6$ miles.

Step2: Subtract negative - direction distance

The distance in the opposite (negative) direction is 1.8 miles. So, we subtract this from the sum of positive - direction distances: $8.6-1.8$.
$8.6 - 1.8=6.8$ miles.

Answer:

6.8