Question

John travels 250 miles North, but then 105 miles South to pick up a friend. What is his total distance and displacement? 355 miles total distance and 355 miles South displacement 145 miles total distance and 355 miles North displacement 145 miles total distance and 145 miles South displacement 355 miles total distance and 145 miles North displacement

Answer 1

The displacement is 145 m in the north direction and the distance is 355 miles.

Step-by-step explanation:

The distance traveled by a mobile is the length of its trajectory and it is a scalar quantity. In other words, distance refers to the space traveled by an object during its movement. It is calculated as the sum of all the distances traveled. In this case:

250 miles + 105 miles= 355 miles

On the other hand, displacement refers to the distance from a start position to an end position regardless of the travel. That is, like distance, displacement is a measure of length. Instead, the displacement is a vector quantity that depends on the direction, so it is described from the magnitude and the direction.

Mathematically, the displacement d is calculated as:

d = df - di

where df is the final position and di is the initial position of the object.

In this case:

displacement= 250 miles - 105 miles= 145 miles

Since the north distance is greater than the south distance, then the displacement is 145 m in the north direction and the distance is 355 miles.