Question

Preston goes on a camel safari in Africa. He travels 5km north, then 3km south and then 1km north again. What distance did he cover? What was his displacement?

Answer 1

Answer:

Distance: 9 km

Displacement: 3 km

Explanation:

Distance takes into account the entire path that, in this case, Preston walked, while displacement, considers only the difference between the initial and final point.

In the picture, the different paths represent as a whole the distance he covered (5+3+1), whereas, the start and final point represent displacement (3-0)