Question

wesley walked 0.2 miles from the airport security checkpoint to the gate on his ticket. his gate got changed, so he walked 1.2 miles in the opposite direction to the new gate. he had some time before his plane boarded, so he walked 0.4 miles in the original direction to get some food. finally, he walked 0.4 miles back to his gate. assume the direction wesley started walking is the positive direction. what was wesleys displacement?

Explanation:

Step1: Define displacements

Let the first - walk be $d_1 = 0.2$ miles (positive direction), the second - walk be $d_2=- 1.2$ miles (negative direction), the third - walk be $d_3 = 0.4$ miles (positive direction), and the fourth - walk be $d_4=-0.4$ miles (negative direction).

Step2: Calculate total displacement

The total displacement $D$ is the sum of all displacements, $D=d_1 + d_2 + d_3 + d_4$.
Substitute the values: $D = 0.2+( - 1.2)+0.4+( - 0.4)$.
First, $0.2+( - 1.2)=0.2 - 1.2=-1$.
Then, $-1 + 0.4=-0.6$.
Finally, $-0.6+( - 0.4)=-0.6 - 0.4=-1$.

Answer:

$-1$