Question

A hamster in a ball begins its journey feet to .the left of a refrigerator, travels 20feet to the right of the refrigerator, and ends its journey directly in front of the refrigerator...if negative vaules are assigned to positions to the left of its starting postiton and positon values are assigned to positions to the right of its starting postion, what is the displacement of the hamster?(1point).............5 feet.........-5............20feet..........0feet..

Answer 1

To determine the displacement of the hamster, we need to consider its starting position, the distance it traveled, and its ending position.

1. Starting Position: The hamster starts at a position that is a negative value relative to the refrigerator. Let's denote the starting position as -X feet (with X being some positive number).

2. Travel: The hamster travels 20 feet to the right. If it starts at -X, after moving 20 feet to the right, its position will be: \[ \text{Final Position} = -X + 20 \]

3. Ending Position: The information states that it ends up directly in front of the refrigerator. Assuming the refrigerator's position is 0 feet, we can set up the equation: \[ -X + 20 = 0 \] Solving for X: \[ -X = -20 \implies X = 20 \] This means the starting position of the hamster is -20 feet.

4. Displacement Calculation: Displacement is defined as the difference between the final position and the starting position. In this case: \[ \text{Displacement} = \text{Final Position} - \text{Starting Position} = 0 - (-20) = 20 \text{ feet} \]

Therefore, the correct answer for the displacement of the hamster is 20 feet.