A taxicab moves five blocks due north, five blocks due east, and another two blocks due north. Assume all blocks are of equal size. What is the magnitude of the taxi's displacement, start to finish?

Question

Neil Hull

Physics

23 August, 01:50

A taxicab moves five blocks due north, five blocks due east, and another two blocks due north. Assume all blocks are of equal size. What is the magnitude of the taxi's displacement, start to finish?

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Dana Mcdonald · Answer 1

The total displacement north is 7 blocks. The total east is five blocks. What you're looking for is the hypotenuse length for a right triangle with sides of 5 and 7 blocks. Square 5, square 7, add the two results, then take the square root to get the length of the hypotenuse (the displacement) in "blocks". 25+49=74. Square root is between 8 & 9 blocks and that (you can make it exact) is the magnitude of the displacement of the taxi.