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Distance and displacement - problems and solutions

1. A car travels along a straight road 100 m east then 50 m west. Find distance and
displacement of the car.

Solution
Distance is 100 meters + 50 meters = 150 meters
Displacement is 100 meters – 50 meters = 50 meters, to the east.

2. A person walks 4 meters east, then walks 3 meters north. Determine distance and
displacement.
Solution

3. A runner travels around rectangle track with length = 50 meters and width = 20
meters. After travels around rectangle track two times, runner back to starting point.
Determine distance and displacement.
Solution
Circumference of rectangle = 2(50 meters) + 2(20 meters) = 100 meters + 40 meters =
140 meters.
Travels around rectangle 2 times = 2(140 meters) = 280 meters.
Distance = 280 m.
Displacement = 0 m. (the runner return to the starting point)

4. Car's speedometer reads 10,500 km at the start of a trip and 10,700 km at the end.
Determine distance and displacement.
Solution
Distance = 10,700 km – 10,500 km = 200 km.
Displacement = 0 km. (car return to the starting point)