Question

If a soccer player chases his opponent 52 m North, steals the ball, then turns around and runs 15 m South, what is his displacement? *

Answer 1

The displacement of the soccer player is calculated by subtracting the distance he moved south from the distance he moved north, resulting in a net displacement of 37 meters north.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks us to calculate the displacement of a soccer player who moves 52 m North, then steals the ball and runs 15 m South. Displacement, being a vector quantity, takes into account the direction of movement. So to find the resultant displacement, one must consider the change in position from the starting point to the final point.

In this case, the player moves 52 m North and then goes 15 m back towards the South. The net displacement is therefore the difference between these two movements. By subtracting the southward journey from the northward journey, we have:

52 m North - 15 m South = 37 m North.

This is the player's displacement, indicating that they ended up 37 meters north from where they started.