Question

Read the scenario.

An acorn starts at a position of 0 m. A squirrel picks it up and moves it to a position of 4 m west. Then, a second squirrel steals it and brings it to a final position of 2 m west.



Which option represents a vector quantity from the scenario?



velocity = 6 m/s west


distance = 6 m


displacement = 2 m west


displacement = 6 m

Answer 1

displacement = 2 m west

Step-by-step explanation:

The displacement of an object is a vector connecting the final point of the motion of the object to the initial point, and its magnitude is equal to the length of the vector. So the magnitude of the displacement is basically the distance (measured in a straight line) between the final point and the starting point.

In this problem, we have:

- initial position of the acorn: 0 m

- final position of the acorn: 2 m west

So, the displacement has a magnitude of

d = 2 m - 0 m = 2 m

And the direction is west, since the final position is west compared to the initial position.