Question

A car travels 12 kilometers due north and then 7. 8 kilometers due west going from town A to
town B. What is the magnitude of the displacement

Answer 1

Answer:

14.3 km

Explanation:

We motion of the car consists is split in two parts:

- A first motion 12 km north

- A second motion 7.8 km west

The two motions are in directions perpendicular to each other: this means that we can find the magnitude of the net displacement by using Pythagorean's theorem, therefore:

$d=\sqrt{d_1^2+d_2^2}$

where

$d_1 = 12 km$

$d_2 = 7.8 km$

Substituting, we find

$d=\sqrt{12^2+7.8^2}=14.3 km$