Question
Town A lies 20 km north of town B. Town C lies 13 km west of town A. A small plane flies directly from town B to town C. What is the displacement of the plane.
Please explain how you got the answer
Please explain how you got the answer
Answers
Henry
Draw AB perpendicular to AC. Therefore, we have a right angle. Draw BC the hyp. of the rt. triangle formed.
The displacement is the straight-line distance from the starting point to the final point which is the hyp.
Disp. = hyp. = BC = Sqrt((AB)^2+(AC)^2).
AB = 20km.
AC = 13km.
BC = 23.9km = Disp.
The displacement is the straight-line distance from the starting point to the final point which is the hyp.
Disp. = hyp. = BC = Sqrt((AB)^2+(AC)^2).
AB = 20km.
AC = 13km.
BC = 23.9km = Disp.