An airplane flies northwest for 250 mi and then west for 150 mi. what is the resultant displacement of the plane after this time?

371.564 mi

Explanation:

Given

Airplane flies northwest for 250 mi and then travels west 150 mi

That is first it travels 250cos45 in - ve x direction and simultaneously 250sin45 in y direction

after that it travels 150 mi in -ve x direction

So its position vector is given by

so magnitude of displacement is

|r|=371.564 mi

the independent variable, the one that is intentionally manipulated, is whether or not the car hits the barrier.

the dependent variable, the one that you measure the response in, is the distance that the washers travel.