How Do You Calculate the Resultant Displacement in a Football Pass Scenario?

AI Thread Summary
To calculate the resultant displacement in the football pass scenario, the quarterback's movements create a right triangle with sides measuring 15 yards and 55 yards. However, the quarterback also runs backward for 10.5 yards, which affects the overall displacement. The correct approach involves using the Pythagorean theorem to account for all movements, including the backward run. The resultant displacement should be calculated by combining the distances properly, leading to a final magnitude that reflects the total movement. Understanding the vector components is crucial for accurate displacement calculations.
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In a game of American football, a quarterback takes the ball from the line of scrimmage, runs backward for 10.5 yards, and then runs sideways parallel to the line of scrimmage for 15.0 yards. At this point, he throws a forward pass 55.0 yards straight downfield perpendicular to the line of scrimmage. What is the magnitude of the football's resultant displacement?

From my drawing I get a right triangle with one side being 15 yd and the other side being 55 yds. In my attempt I do magnitude = , but 57.01 is not the right answer. What am I doing wrong?
 
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You are forgetting the part where he runs back 10 yards.
 
Oh I got it thanks!
 

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