Question

Benjamina started her walk from the front door of her ground floor apartment. She walked 6 meters to the corner of the building and then turned the corner and walked 10 meters to her friend’s apartment. Identify the difference between the distance she walked and her displacement.

Answer 1

Answer:

The change in her position (from beginning to end), along with the direction, is considered her displacement. This value is a measurement and a direction. The total distance along the path from her starting point to her end point is considered her distance. This value is a measurement only.

Explanation:

Answer 2

The distance is the total distance she walked which is 16 meters adding the 6 meters to the corner and 10 meters to her friend's apartment. Her displacement is the distance from her original starting point so you set up a triangle with side lengths of 6 and 10 and solve for the hypotenuse which gives you a displacement of 11.66 meters.