76.9k views
1 vote
An automobile travels 30 km west, then 19 km south. What is the displacement of the car?

User Ravers
by
7.8k points

1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

The displacement of the car is approximately 36.4 km.

Step-by-step explanation:

The displacement of the car can be found by determining the change in position from the starting point to the ending point. In this case, the car traveled 30 km west and then 19 km south.

To find the displacement, we can use the Pythagorean theorem. The westward travel can be considered as the x-component and the southward travel as the y-component.

The displacement is the hypotenuse of the right triangle formed by the x and y components. Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can calculate the displacement:

Displacement = sqrt((30^2) + (19^2)) = sqrt(961 + 361) = sqrt(1322) ≈ 36.4 km

User Npup
by
8.4k points