A student walks to school 3 blocks North. For lunch he walks to Mcdonald's 3 blocks North. After lunch he returns home 6 blocks South. The magnitude of his total displacement is now
looks like zero to me.
+3+3-6 = 0
hint: he returned home, where he started. Skipped school in the afternoon, I guess.
To find the magnitude of the student's total displacement, we need to calculate the distance between the starting point (home) and the ending point.
Let's break down the student's movement:
1. The student walks 3 blocks north to school.
2. After school, the student walks 3 blocks north to McDonald's.
3. After lunch, the student walks 6 blocks south to return home.
To calculate the total displacement, we need to add the distances traveled in each step. However, since we want to find the magnitude (which is always positive), we can ignore the direction (north or south) and consider only the magnitudes of the distances.
So, the total displacement can be calculated as follows:
Magnitude of displacement = |3 blocks north| + |3 blocks north| + |6 blocks south|
|3 blocks north| = 3 blocks (since distance and displacement are positive quantities)
|6 blocks south| = 6 blocks (since distance and displacement are positive quantities)
Now, we can substitute the values:
Magnitude of displacement = 3 blocks + 3 blocks + 6 blocks
Simplifying further:
Magnitude of displacement = 12 blocks
Therefore, the magnitude of the student's total displacement is 12 blocks.