Question

An ant walks 15 m east, then 40 m north, and finally 20 m west. What is the total displacement from the starting point

Answer 1

Answer: 40.311 m

Explanation:

Given

Ant walks 15 m east

then 40 m North and finally 20 m west

from the figure, ant is 40 m North and 5 m west

Using Pythagoras, we can write

$\Rightarrow d=\sqrt{40^2+5^2}\\\Rightarrow d=\sqrt{1625}=40.311\ m$