An ant carries a morsel of food 4.26 meters along a straight path to his nest. He then turns around and follows the path back to the source of the food. What is his displacement when he arrives back at the food source?

0.00 meters
2.13 meters
4.26 meters
8.52 meters

Question

An ant carries a morsel of food 4.26 meters along a straight path to his nest. He then turns around and follows the path back to the source of the food. What is his displacement when he arrives back at the food source?

0.00 meters
2.13 meters
4.26 meters
8.52 meters

academicgurusinc · Answer

Answer:  0.00 meters


Solution:  


Step 1: Define displacement

DISPLACEMENT = a vector quantity that describes "linear or angular distance in a given direction between a body or point and a reference position."


Step 2:  Understand the question

Assumption 1: Assume that when the ant moves 4.25 meters from its origin to its nest, it is moving in a positive direction (on a graph you would draw a line along the x-axis from its origin to +4.25).


Assumption 2:  Assume that when the ant "turns around...back to the source of food", it is moving back in the negative direction (towards the origin).


Step 3: Analyze the question


What is the distance between where the ant originally started and where it ended its journey?


The ant started and ended its journey in the same place.  While it traveled a distance of 8.52 meters (2 * 4.26 = 8.52), it's displacement is actually 0.00 meters (4.26 + (-4.26) = 0.00)

Therefore, the answer is 0.00 meters

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