Question

a man walks 150 meters north then 100 meters south than 50 meters west. what is the magnitude of displacement in meters

Answer 1

Answer:

Displacement is a vector quantity so it has both magnitude and direction.

Taking south direction as +x-axis, north as -x axis, east as +y axis and west as -y axis directions.

First the man walks 150 m in the north direction, so its displacement is

then the man walks in south direction, its displacement vector is

and then he walks in west so its displacement vector is

Therefore, the resultant displacement of the masn is

The magnitude of the resulatant displacement vector R is R = [ (-50)2 + (-50)2 ]1/2 = 70.71 m