Elvira Walks 4 miles to the west from school and stops at the store. She then walks 3 miles south. What is the Distance and the displacement?

distance = 7 miles

displacement = 5 miles

Explanation:

Distance is a scalar quantity as it takes account of magnitude traveled but not the direction traveled from starting point.

The distance traveled is the sum total of distances moved

distance = 4 + 3 = 7 miles

Displacement however, is a vector and measure the shortest possible distance traveled in a given direction from the starting point.

The path of Elvis' walking forms a right-angle triangle with the hypotenuse being the displacement and the other two sides being the distance traveled west and south.

Using Pythagoras' theorem; c² = a² + b²

where c = hypotenuse and a and b are the other two sides

c² = 4² + 3²

c² = 16 + 9 = 25

√c² = √25

c = 5

Therefore, displacement = 5 miles