Question

A man travels a distance if 1.5 m towards east ,then 2m towards south and 4.5 m towards east.

i) What is the total distance travelled
ii) what is the result in displacement

Answer 1

i) 8.0m

ii) 6.32m

Step-by-step explanation:

i) The total distance traveled will be the sum total of individual distances traveled by the man.

If the man travels a distance if 1.5 m towards east ,then 2m towards south and 4.5 m towards east, the total distance traveled will be expressed as; 1.5m+2m+4.5m

= 8.0m

ii) In order to get the man resultant displacement, we will use the Pythagoras theorem. Since the man travels a distance if 1.5 m and 4.5m towards east, the total distance taken towards east will be 6.0m and the distance traveled towards south is 2.0m. The resultant displacement of the man is expressed as;

R =
`\sqrt{x^(2)+y^(2) }`

Note that the eastward direction is the x-direction while the south direction is the y-direction.

x = 6.0m and y = 2.0m

`R = \sqrt{6^(2)+2^(2) } \\R = √(36+4)\\ R = √(40) \\R = 6.32m`

The displacement of the man is 6.32m