Quick check from College Physics, 2.1 Displacement

Displacement: quick check

A cyclist rides 3 km west and then turns around and rides 2 km east. (a) What is her displacement? (b) What distance does she ride? (c) What is the magnitude of her displacement?

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Answer

Figure 2.5

(a) The rider’s displacement is $Δ x = x_{f} - x_{0} = −1 km$ . (The displacement is negative because we take east to be positive and west to be negative.)

(b) The distance traveled is $3 km + 2 km = 5 km$ .

(c) The magnitude of the displacement is $1 km$ .

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