A man was lost in the woods. He wanders 3 km north, then 7 km east, then 7 km south, then 4 km west. What is the magnitude and direction of his resultant displacement?

1 answer

south 7-3 = 4
east 7-4 = 3

d = sqrt (9+16) = 5km
tan theta = 3/4 where theta is angle east of south
theta = 36.9 deg east of south
or 180 -36.9 = 143.1 on your compass clockwise from north