Question

anis walks 1 km north and then turns west and walks 2 km. That is the distance
and displacement in km? In m?

Answer 1

Answer:

d = 3 Km =3,000 m

x=2.236 Km = 2,236 m

Explanation:

Distance and Displacement

When an object moves, it describes a certain path from the staring to the ending point. The sum of all the individual path lengths is called distance.

The length of the path measured from the start to the endpoint regardless of the individual paths taken is called displacement.

Anis walked 1 Km north and then 2 Km west. The total distance traveled is:

d=1 Km + 2 Km = 3 Km

d = 3 Km

We can express it in meters, recalling 1 Km = 1,000 m:

d = 3,000 m

The displacement is computed as the length of the segment from the origin to the point located at 1 Km north, 2 Km west. These movements describe a right triangle whose legs are 1 Km and 2 Km. The required displacement is the hypotenuse of the triangle:

$x=\sqrt{1^2+2^2}=\sqrt{5}\approx 2.236\ Km$

x=2.236 Km

Converting to meters:

x=2,236 m