Question

On his fishing trip Justin rides in a boat 12 km south. The fish aren't biting so they go 4 km west. They then follow a school of fish 1 km north. What distance did they cover? What was their displacement? (With diagram)(no unnecessary answer please)

Answer 1

Justin covered a total distance of 17 km on his fishing trip. His overall displacement, however, was 11.7 km in a south-west direction.

Step-by-step explanation:

The total distance Justin covered on his fishing trip is simply the sum of the distances he traveled in each direction: 12 km south, 4 km west, and 1 km north. That is, 12 km + 4 km + 1 km = 17 km

Displacement, however, is the shortest distance from the starting point to the final point. Since Justin traveled 12 km south and 1 km back north, his total north-south displacement was 11 km (south). He also traveled 4 km west, so his overall displacement forms a right triangle. The hypotenuse of this triangle, calculated with the Pythagorean theorem (a² + b² = c²), is the total displacement.

Thus, displacement = √[(11 km)² + (4 km)²] = √(121 + 16) = sqrt(137) = 11.7 km

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