Final answer:
The phrase "20 m, west" does describe a displacement for a motion because it includes both magnitude and direction, making it a vector quantity. The displacements of two individuals following different paths but ending up at the same location relative to the start point will be the same.
Step-by-step explanation:
The phrase "20 m, west" indeed describes a displacement for a motion since it provides both a magnitude (20 m) and a direction (west). Displacement is a vector quantity that represents the shortest distance between the initial and final position of an object, along with the direction of that straight line. Therefore, the statement that the phrase "20 m, west" describes the displacement for a motion is true.
Considering the true or false question provided, where one person walks 2 blocks east and 5 blocks north and another walks 5 blocks north and then 2 blocks east, the displacements of both individuals would be the same, because they end up at the same final position relative to the start. Hence, the correct answer would be false, the displacement of the first person is not more than the displacement of the second person.
When calculating displacement, the direction is crucial as it is a vector quantity. On the other hand, when calculating distance, the direction does not matter as distance is a scalar quantity reflecting the total path covered.