Question

2. Anthony walks to the pizza place for lunch. He walks 5 meters East, then 5 meters South, 5 meters West and then 5 meters North back to his starting point. What distance did he cover? What was his displacement?​

Answer 1

Given :

• Anthony walks to the pizza place for lunch. He walks 5 meters East, then 5 meters South, 5 meters West and then 5 meters North back to his starting point.

To calculate :

• What distance did he cover?

• What was his displacement?

Calculation :

• Distance covered by him :

As we know that,

• Distance is the length of the total path covered by a body irrespective of the direction in which it travels. So,

→ Distance covered (s) = ( 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 ) m

→ Distance covered (s) = 20 m

Therefore, distance covered by Anthony is 20 m.

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• Calculating his displacement :

Here, his displacement is 0. This is because Anthony came back to his starting point or position.

→ Displacement = Final position – Initial position

→ s = 0 ( Since, he came back to his starting point after covering certain distance)

Therefore, displacement of Anthony is 0.

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About Distance :

1. Distance is the length of the total path covered by a body irrespective of the direction in which it travels.
2. It is a scalar quantity i.e, it has only magnitude.
3. Its SI unit is m (Metre).
4. Distance is denoted by "s".

About Displacement :

1. Displacement is the shortest path between the final and the initial position of the body.
2. It is a vector quantity i.e it has both magnitude and direction.
3. Its SI unit is m (Metre).
4. Displacement is also denoted by "s".

Points to remember :

• When the body comes again to its starting point or inital position after covering certain distance, then its displacement is 0.