Question

A hiker walked 2 blocks North, 1 block West, 3 blocks South, and 3 blocks East. What was the hiker's displacement and total distance?

Answer 1

Total distance hiked = 2+1+3+3 = 9 blocks.

He ends up 2 blocks south and 2 blocks east of where he started.

The magnitude (size) of his displacement is sqrt(2^2 + 2^2) = sqrt(8) = about 2.83 blocks.

The direction of his displacement is Southeast.