Question

A car travels 12 kilometers due north and then 7. 8 kilometers due west going from town A to

town B. What is the magnitude of the displacement

Answer 1

14.3 km

Step-by-step explanation:

We motion of the car consists is split in two parts:

- A first motion 12 km north

- A second motion 7.8 km west

The two motions are in directions perpendicular to each other: this means that we can find the magnitude of the net displacement by using Pythagorean's theorem, therefore:

`d=√(d_1^2+d_2^2)`

where

`d_1 = 12 km`

`d_2 = 7.8 km`

Substituting, we find

`d=√(12^2+7.8^2)=14.3 km`