Final answer:
The displacement of the ant is 15 cm and the total distance covered is 21 cm.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the displacement of the ant, we can use the Pythagorean theorem. The ant travels 12 cm from point A to point B horizontally, and then 9 cm vertically at a right angle to AB. The displacement is the straight-line distance between the starting and ending points, which can be found using the formula:
Displacement = √(horizontal^2 + vertical^2) = √(12^2 + 9^2) = √(144 + 81) = √225 = 15 cm.
The total distance covered is the sum of the horizontal and vertical distances. In this case, it is 12 cm + 9 cm = 21 cm.