Question

Alice climbs 100 meters directly up the face of a cliff to reach the summit. Her friend Peter hikes the long way around taking a 3 km trail to meet her at the top of the cliff. Compare the distance and displacement of the two friends.

Answer 1

Alice Distance = 100 meters

Peter's Distance = 3 km

Alice Displacement and Peter's displacement are both 100 meters upwards.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this question, we have to first define distance and displacement.

Distance is simply the measurement of the sum of all paths travelled from one point to another while displacement is measurement of the shortest distance from initial point to final point.

Now, Alice and Peter are moving from the same point.

Alice distance travelled is 100 meters.

Also, her displacement will be 100 meters because it is the shortest distance to the summit of the cliff.

Now, for Peter, he decides to take a longer route which is 3 km in distance.

However, the shortest path which is the displacement is still 100 meters.

Thus, Peter's displacement is 100 meters.