Question

1. a student walks 25 meters north up the hallway. he notices he dropped his pencil and walks 5 meters south to pick it up. which of the following is true? the student’s total distance was 20 meters. the student’s displacement was 30 meters. the student’s total distance was 50 meters. the student’s displacement was 20 meters.

Explanation:

1. Total Distance: Distance is the total path length. The student walks 25 m North and 5 m South, so total distance = 25 + 5 = 30 m. So options about 20 m or 50 m total distance are wrong.
2. Displacement: Displacement is the straight - line distance from the start to the end point. Let's take North as positive. The student's final position is 25 - 5 = 20 m North from the start. So displacement is 20 m. The option saying displacement is 30 m is wrong.

Answer:

The student's displacement was 20 meters.