Question

do now #1: distance and displacement
you exit the school using the foyer doors and you immediately head west 300 meters.
you then walk north 100 m and then turn west and walk another 200 m onto the track.
finally, you turn north and walk another 300 meters. map your route on the graph
below and then calculate your distance and displacement.
distance =
displacement =
do now #1: distance and displacement
you exit the school using the foyer doors and you immediately head west 300 meters.
you then walk north 100 m and then turn west and walk another 200 m onto the track.
finally, you turn north and walk another 300 meters. map your route on the graph
below and then calculate your distance and displacement.
distance =
displacement =

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate the distance

Distance is the total length of the path.
$$300 + 100+200 + 300=900$$

Step2: Calculate the displacement

Displacement is the straight - line distance from the starting point to the ending point.
The west - east component: $300 + 200=500$ (west)
The north - south component: $100+300 = 400$ (north)
Using the Pythagorean theorem $d=\sqrt{x^{2}+y^{2}}$, where $x = 500$ and $y = 400$
$$d=\sqrt{500^{2}+400^{2}}=\sqrt{250000 + 160000}=\sqrt{410000}=100\sqrt{41}\approx640.3$$

Answer:

Distance = $900$ meters
Displacement $\approx640.3$ meters