Sam drives her scooter 7 kilometres north. She stops for lunch and then drives 5 kilometres east. What distance did she cover? What was her displacement?

1. Distance travelled = 12 km.

2. Displacement = 8.6 km

Explanation:

From the question given above, the following data were obtained:

Distance 1 (d₁) = 7 km

Distance 2 (d₂) = 5 km

Total distance =?

Displacement =?

1. Determination of the distance travelled.

Distance 1 (d₁) = 7 km

Distance 2 (d₂) = 5 km

Total distance (dₜ) =?

dₜ = d₁ + d₂

dₜ = 7 + 5

dₜ = 12 km

2. Determination of the displacement.

In the attached photo, R is the displacement.

We can obtain the value of R by using the pythagoras theory as illustrated below:

R² = 7² + 5²

R² = 49 + 25

R² = 74

Take the square root of both side

R = √74

R = 8.6 km

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