Question

A student walks 3 blocks south 4 blocks west and 3 blocks north what is the displacement

Answer 1

Answer: The displacement of the student is 4 blocks.

Explanation:

Displacement is defined the shortest distance traveled by an object.

We are given:

A student is walking 3 blocks to the south, then he is moving 4 blocks to the west and finally he is moving 3 blocks to the north.

The displacement will be the distance of OC which is 4 blocks.

Block diagram of the movement of student is shown below.

Hence, the displacement of the student is 4 blocks.

Answer 2

4 blocks west

Explanation:

In (North, East) coordinates, the sum of the distances is ...

... (-3, 0) +(0, -4) +(3, 0) = (-3+0+3, 0-4+0) = (0, -4)

The net displacement is 4 blocks west.