Question

You run to your home to a friend's home that is 8 miles away. You then walk home. What was your displacement ? Remember to include the correct units .

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

0!!!!!! There was no displacement. That was the point of the question.

You run 8 miles in one direction. You walk - 8 miles on the return to home. You have not moved in terms of displacement. Displacement is distance that has direction.

The distance that you have travelled during the day is 8 + 8 = 16 miles. Distance does not account for direction. That's why your car has gone a distance of more than 0 miles. If the car measured displacement it would always read 0 when you returned home -- kind of a useless piece of information. You would never know when to get an oil change.