Answer:
- distance traveled: 30 m
- displacement: 21.4 m
Explanation:
You want the distance traveled and the displacement after walking 17 m south and 13 m east.
Distance
The distance traveled is the sum of the lengths of each leg of the trip:
17 m + 13 m = 30 m
You have traveled a distance of 30 m.
Displacement
The displacement is the distance from your final position to your starting position. If you draw a diagram of the journey, you see the displacement is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs 17 m and 13 m. The Pythagorean theorem can help you find this length:
h = √(a² +b²)
h = √(17² +13²) = √(289 +169) = √458 ≈ 21.401
At the end of your walking, you are 21.4 m from where you started.