Question

A boy starts from his house and travels $5\mathrm{km}$ to reach his school. On finding it closed, he returns to his house. What is,

(a) the distance travelled by the boy (b) the final displacement of the boy.

Answer 1

1. A boy starts from his house and travels $5\mathrm{km}$ to reach his school and returns back.
2. So, the total distance travelled by the boy will be twice the distance travelled from the house to the school.
3. Therefore, the total distance travelled by the boy will be$10\mathrm{km}$.
4. Now, displacement is defined as the shortest path between the initial and final positions.
5. As the boy returns to his initial position, the displacement will be zero.
6. Therefore, the final displacement of the boy will be zero.

Hence the distance travelled by the boy is $10\mathrm{km}$ and displacement is zero.