Question

maria drove to the store, did some shopping, and then came home. during maria’s trip, when was her displacement equal to zero?
a 0 hours
b it was never zero.
c at 0 hours and 2 hours
d from 75 to 125 hours
(chart: travel by car, with time (hours) on y - axis and distance (km) on x - axis, showing marias travel path)

Explanation:

Step1: Understand Displacement

Displacement is the straight - line distance from the starting point. When Maria is at home (start and end), her displacement is zero. At the start (0 hours), she is at home (displacement = 0). After shopping, when she gets back home (at 2 hours, looking at the graph's end - point which should correspond to her returning home), her displacement is also zero.

Step2: Analyze the Options

• Option A: Only considers 0 hours, but she also has zero displacement at 2 hours.
• Option B: Says displacement was never zero, which is wrong as we know it's zero at start and end.
• Option C: States at 0 hours and 2 hours, which matches our analysis of displacement (at home at start (0h) and end (2h)).
• Option D: The time range 0.75 to 1.25 hours is when she is shopping (distance is constant, so she is at the store, displacement from home is non - zero).

Answer:

C. at 0 hours and 2 hours