Question

Maria is trying to meet her friends at the pool but construction is blocking her path from the parking lot directly to the pool. Because of this, she has to walk 20 ft. north, 35 ft. east, and then 20 ft. south to get to the pool. Find her distance and displacement.

Answer 1

The distance Maria walks is 75 ft and her displacement is 35 ft east.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find Maria's distance, we can add up the lengths of the three legs of her path.

She walks 20 ft. north, then 35 ft. east, and finally 20 ft. south.

The total distance is 20 + 35 + 20 = 75 ft.

To find Maria's displacement, we need to determine the net effect of her movements.

We can think of her movements as vectors. Walking north and then south cancels out, so the net north-south displacement is 0.

Walking east contributes a net east displacement of 35 ft.

Therefore, Maria's displacement is 35 ft. east.