Question

While John is traveling along a straight interstate highway, he notices that the mile marker reads 260. John travels until he reaches the 150-mile marker and then retraces his path to the 175-mile marker. What is John's displacement from the 260-mile marker?

Answer 1

Displacement will be 85 miles from the marker that reads 260 miles.

Answer 2

Answer:

John's displacement from the 260-mile marker is 85 miles.

Explanation:

To find :  John's displacement from the 260-mile marker.

We should first understand what is displacement.

Displacement is a vector quantity. Vector has both direction and magnitude.  Displacement is the distance between the starting point and the ending points. There can be many paths between two points. The shortest path among them is displacement.

In a one-dimensional motion depending on the direction of the motion displacement can be positive or negative.

John's displacement is the distance between the starting point and the ending points.

The ending point/position of John is given as 175 miles.

Starting point/ initial position of John is 260 miles.

Therefore,  Displacement ( D ) = (175 -260) miles.

                                                   = -85 miles

In the above answer, the negative sign indicates that John's direction is towards the starting point/ initial position.