137k views
0 votes
A duck waddles 3 meters East and then 4 meters North. What is the magnitude and direction of his displacement?

1 Answer

1 vote
east is our x axis
north is out y axis N
|
|
W _____|_______E
|
|
|
S
so he moves 3 m to the right and then 4 upwards

imagine what that looks like.......... a right angle triangle

therefore we can use Pythagorean theorem
let the unknown side be x, which is the hypotenuse in this case

x^2 = 3^2 + 4^2
x^2 = 9 + 16
x^2 = 25
take the square root
x = 5

5 is your magnitude and the direction is NE( North East) or positive direction
User Maximas
by
8.1k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.