Can Displacement Be Calculated Without Drawing a Scale Diagram?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the displacement of an orienteer who runs a specific path consisting of movements in different directions. The subject area pertains to kinematics and vector analysis.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster questions whether a scale drawing is necessary for calculating displacement, given the non-triangular path. Some participants discuss their own attempts at calculating displacement and average velocity, while others provide partial calculations.

Discussion Status

The discussion includes various attempts to calculate displacement, with some participants providing numerical values and others engaging in dialogue about the necessity of visual aids. There is no explicit consensus on the best approach to take.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating the constraints of the problem, including the requirement to find displacement and velocity, and the original poster's uncertainty about the need for a scale drawing.

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Homework Statement


An orienteer runs 5km east, 4 km south and 1km west. If she completed the course in exactly 1 hour, calculate her displacement from the start.

Homework Equations


There were questions before it I've already answered but I am not sure if I can do this question through calculation, do I need to do a scale drawing because it isn't a triangle?


The Attempt at a Solution


I've drawn the sketch in my book and found distance to be 10km and average speed to be 10km/h.

It also asks for velocity but i can find that once i find displacement. Mind Blank.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Did you find the displacement?
average velocity = displacement/total time
 
Yeh I just drew it. 5.7km/h
 
displacement is sqrt(32)
 

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