Question

If Mr. Martin walks 5 steps from his desk to the right, walks 3 steps to the back of the room, walks back up 3 steps toward the front of the room, and lastly walks 7 steps toward the left side of the classroom.

What is Mr. Martins displacement?

Answer 1

Mr. Martin's displacement can be found by calculating the net result of his movements. To do this, we can visualize his movements on a coordinate plane.

He walks 5 steps to the right (+5 on the x-axis), then 3 steps back (-3 on the y-axis), followed by 3 steps up (+3 on the y-axis), and finally 7 steps to the left (-7 on the x-axis).

His total displacement would be the net result of these movements, which would be 5 steps to the left (-2 on the x-axis) and 0 steps in the vertical direction (no net movement on the y-axis).

Therefore, Mr. Martin's displacement is 2 steps to the left.

Answer 2

2 steps to the left of his desk