Verified answer

DISTANCE vs DISPLACEMENT

Some students might be confused about the difference between distance and displacement. Other may equate distance to displacement but the truth is distance is different from displacement, and here is how.

When we talk about distance, it refers to the total distance travelled by the body. In simple words, this can be obtain by simply adding all distances travelled by the body. On the other hand, the displacement measures how far does the body travelled from its reference point. This means that the displacement of a body can be obtained by getting the distance between the final position of the body and its reference point. There are some techniques used to get the displacement such as the Pythagorean theorem.

There are times that the distance travelled is equal to the displacement but not all times they are equal. The distance travelled by the body may be equal to 100 kilometers and still have a zero displacement. Zero displacement only happens when the reference point of the body is equal to its current position after its motion.

In order for us to understand the concept more clearly, let us try answering this word problem:

Liza travelled 10.0 km north, 12.0 km east, then 10.0 km north and 15.0 km east. What is her total distance travelled? What is her total displacement?

Obtaining the total distance travelled, we just add all the distances that she travelled.

distance = 10 + 12 + 10 + 15

distance = 47 km

Therefore, Liza's total distance travelled is 47 km.

In order to solve for the displacement, we need to illustrate Liza's direction and distances. Since Liza only travelled northwards and eastwards, we could create a right triangle with an altitude equivalent to the total distance that Liza travelled northwards, and a base which is equivalent to the total distance that Liza travelled eastwards.

For the north direction, we have 10 km and 10 km which sums up to 20 km. This means that the altitude of the triangle is 20 km.

For the east direction, we have 12 km and 15 km which sums up to27 km. This means that the base of the right triangle is 27 km.

The hypotenuse of this triangle is equivalent to Liza's displacement.

Using the Pythagorean theorem:

where c is the hypotenuse of the right triangle while a and b are the legs of the triangle.

By direct substitution:

So, approximately the length of hypotenuse is equal to 33.60 km.

Therefore, Liza's displacement is 33.60 km.

The definition of distance and displacement can be read here: brainly.ph/question/106226

#BRAINLYFAST