Traveling Without Moving - Displacement
Scott, since he lost his licence, has to walk every where. He travels 6 miles North, 3 miles East, 6 miles South, and 3 miles West. How far has Scott travelled?
Answer: 0 miles.
WHAT??? If he went all that distance, how come he hasn't really gone that far?
Well, you are thinking about distance, not displacement.With displacement, you must choose a reference point.Any thing left or below this point is considered negative. Anything right or above this point is considered positive.
If we call Scott's starting point our reference point, he moves +6 miles, +3 miles, -6 miles and -3 miles. When we add these together we get 0 miles.
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