Source: Extra Practice
A body moves towards east and then towards north. Finally, it climbs a vertical pole of height . The magnitude of the total displacement of the body is:
Options
Option A is correct
Option B
Option C
Option D
Explanation
Let the east direction be along the positive x-axis (), north be along the positive y-axis (), and vertically upward be along the positive z-axis (). The displacement vector of the body is . The magnitude of this displacement vector is . The option is the simple distance path length (), which is incorrect for displacement. only considers the horizontal displacement (), neglecting the height. Thus, is the correct total displacement magnitude.