How to Calculate Total Displacement of a Jogger?

What is the total displacement of a jogger who runs 129 m east and then 42 m west?

Calculate the total displacement of the jogger considering their travel distances.

Answer:

The jogger's total displacement, considering their travel 129 m east and 42 m west, is 87 m east of their starting point.

Displacement refers to the overall change in position of an object. In this scenario, the jogger first moves 129 meters to the east and then 42 meters to the west. To calculate the total displacement, we need to consider the direction and magnitude of each movement.

Given that east is considered as positive direction and west as negative direction, we assign positive sign (+) to 129 m east and negative sign (-) to 42 m west. By subtracting the westward movement from the eastward movement, we find that the jogger's total displacement is 87 meters to the east of their starting point.

It is crucial to include the direction (in this case, [E] for East) in the displacement calculation as displacement is a vector quantity that involves both magnitude and direction. This means the jogger is 87 meters east of their initial position after completing the given distances.