Question

If an object moves 40 m north, 40 m west, 40 m south, and 40 m east, what's the total displacement?

A. 40 m
B. 0 m
C. 80 m
D. 160 m

Answer 1

hey i just took the PF test. the correct answer is B: 0 m.

Answer 2

B. 0 m

Explanation:

We are given the movement of an object and are required to find the total displacement.

Now, as we know that 'displacement' refers to the length of the shortest path between two points.

i.e. We are required to find the shortest path the object covers.

Now, we can see from the figure below that the given movement,

40 m north → 40 m west → 40 m south → 40 m east,

will bring the object back to the original position ' O '.

Hence, the total displacement will be 0 m.