Question

Michael walks 10m north, 3m west, 5m south, 12m east, and then stops to catch his breath.

What is the magnitude of his displacement from his original point?
a. 11.30m
b. 1.11m
c. 10.30m
d. 20.45m
e. .32m

Answer 1

To find the magnitude of Michael's displacement, you can use the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the distances he walked in each direction.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the magnitude of Michael's displacement, we need to add up the distances he walked in each direction. We can use the Pythagorean theorem to calculate this.

First, let's calculate the distance he walked in the north-south direction. He walked 10m north and then 5m south, so the total distance in this direction is 10m + 5m = 15m.

Next, let's calculate the distance he walked in the east-west direction. He walked 3m west and then 12m east, so the total distance in this direction is 3m + 12m = 15m.

Now we have the distances in the two directions, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the magnitude of his displacement. The displacement is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with sides of 15m and 15m, so the magnitude of his displacement is √(15m)^2 + (15m)^2 = √450m^2 = √450m ≈ 21.21m.