A hiker walked 2 blocks North, 1 block West, 3 blocks South, and 3 blocks East. What was the hiker's displacement and total distance?

Question

Cloe Noble

Physics

19 November, 17:37

A hiker walked 2 blocks North, 1 block West, 3 blocks South, and 3 blocks East. What was the hiker's displacement and total distance?

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Answers (1)

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Nikolai Robinson · Answer 1

Total distance hiked = 2+1+3+3 = 9 blocks.

He ends up 2 blocks south and 2 blocks east of where he started.

The magnitude (size) of his displacement is sqrt (2^2 + 2^2) = sqrt (8) = about 2.83 blocks.

The direction of his displacement is Southeast.