Question

What is the total displacement of a man who walks 5 blocks east, 3 blocks north, 2 blocks west and 3 blocks south

Answer 1

Answer:

Its displacement will be zero

Because displacement means shortest distance between initial and final position

and in question that student came back to his initial position .

Answer 2

The correct answer to the question is 3 blocks.

Explanation:

Displacement is defined as the shortest distance traveled between the two points.

Here, it is given in the question, that a man starts from the starting point moves 5 blocks towards the east direction (RHS), then from here moves 3 blocks towards the north direction (that is in the upward direction), Again moves 2 blocks in the west and finally 3 blocks in the southward direction.

So, from here we need to calculate the displacement, that is the shortest distance between the initial and the final point, which will be =

5 blocks - 2 blocks = 3 blocks.

Hence the displacement is 3 blocks.

Please refer to the attachment for a better understanding.