Chester walked from his house to his friend's house which is 140 meters from his house to the right. They decide to go to a café for lunch which is down the street, left of Chester's house 50 meters. They walk to the café together and pass by Chester's house. Which of the following statements is true when they are at the café?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Step 1: Find Chester's distance traveled and displacement.
Chester first walked to his friend's house and then to the café. For total distance traveled we simply add these two distances.
Chester's distance traveled = distance to his friend's house + distance from friend's house to café
The distance to his friend's house is 140 meters
The distance between his friend's house to the café = 140 meters -  50 meters = 90 meters
Chester's distance traveled = 140 meters + 90 meters = 230 meters
Chester's displacement is the shortest distance between his starting point and his ending point. That is the distance between his house and the café which is 50 meters.
Step 2: Find Chester's friends displacement and distance traveled.
Chester's friends only traveled from his house to the café. That means his displacement and total distance traveled are both 90 meters.
Step 3: Compare
Chester's displacement: 50 meters
Chester's distance traveled: 230 meters
Friend's displacement: 90 meters
Friend's distance traveled: 90 meters
Chester's displacement is less than his friends but his total distance traveled is greater than his friends.

Chester Walked from His House to His Friend's House Which