Final answer:
To find the magnitude of John's total displacement, use the Pythagorean theorem with the east and north distances as the sides of a right triangle.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the magnitude of John's total displacement, we can use the Pythagorean theorem.
The east and north directions form a right triangle, with the east distance as one side and the north distance as the other side.
Using the Pythagorean theorem (c^2 = a^2 + b^2), where 'c' is the hypotenuse (total displacement), 'a' is the east distance, and 'b' is the north distance, we can calculate the magnitude of the total displacement.
In this case, a = 3 meters and b = 4 meters.
Plugging these values into the equation, we get c^2 = 3^2 + 4^2 = 9 + 16 = 25.
Taking the square root of both sides, we find that the magnitude of John's total displacement is 5 meters.
Therefore, the answer is A. 5 meters.