Question

George walks to a friend’s house. He walks 750 meters North, then realizes he walked too far. He turns around and walks 250 meters South. The entire walk takes him 13 seconds.(hint: draw a picture to find his displacement using your notepad and calculator. keep in mind where he starts and where he ends)

What was George's velocity in meters per second?
A) 38.5 m/s South
B) 38.5 m/s West
C) 38.5 m/s East
D) 38.5 m/s North

Answer 1

George's displacement is 500 meters North, and the walk took 13 seconds. By dividing the displacement by the time, his velocity is found to be approximately 38.5 m/s North.

Step-by-step explanation:

First, we must realize that velocity is defined as the displacement divided by the time taken. Displacement is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction. We need to calculate George's displacement and then divide by the time to find his velocity.

George walked 750 meters North and then turned around to walk 250 meters South. The displacement is the difference between these two distances in a straight line, which is 750 m - 250 m = 500 m North. Since the total walk took 13 seconds, we calculate velocity (v) using the formula:

v = displacement / time

v = 500 m North / 13 s = 38.46 m/s North

Therefore, George's velocity is approximately 38.5 m/s North, which makes the correct answer D) 38.5 m/s North.