Question

A person walks 3km towards north,then turns right and walk another 4km find its displacement (Both magnitude and direction) Also find its total distance travelled?

Answer 1

Displacement is the smallest distance between the initial and final points.
Distance travelled is the path taken from the initial to the final point.

So,

let the initial position be O, the body moves 3km towards north to point D. From D, it takes a right and walks 4km to C.

So the total distance travelled = (3+4)km = 7km

Now, the displacement is the shortest distance between the initial point (O) and the final point (C).

⇒ displacement = OC
We can find the displacement (OC) by applying pythagoreas theorem to the triangle ODC,
OC^2 = OD^2 + CD^2
OC = √{3^2 + 4^2}
OC = √{9+16}
OC = √25
OC = 5km