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A man moves 6 metres east, stops, turns around, and moves 2 metres west. What is his final position? How far did he travel?

User Selma
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

The man's final position is 4 metres east and he traveled a distance of 8 metres.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the final position and distance traveled, we can use the concept of displacement. Displacement is a vector quantity that represents the change in position from the starting point to the final point. In this case, the man moves 6 metres east and then 2 metres west.

When he moves 6 metres east, we can represent this as a positive displacement of +6 metres. When he moves 2 metres west, we can represent this as a negative displacement of -2 metres.

To find the final position, we can add the displacements together. +6 metres + (-2 metres) = +4 metres. So, his final position is 4 metres east.

To find the distance traveled, we can add the magnitudes of the displacements. The magnitude of +6 metres is 6 metres and the magnitude of -2 metres is 2 metres. So, the distance traveled is 6 metres + 2 metres = 8 metres.

User Marcelo Camargo
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