Fighter Jet Displacement Calculation

How to calculate the displacement of a fighter jet?

A fighter jet travels 10km at an angle of 30 degrees. He then turns sharply and flies 25 km at an angle of 75 degrees. What is the fighter jet's displacement?

Answer:

The fighter jet's displacement is 24.4 km.

To calculate the fighter jet's displacement, we need to consider the individual displacements of the jet in vector form. The first displacement d' = 10 km at an angle of 30° can be represented as 8.66i + 5j. The second displacement d'' = 25 km at an angle of 75° can be represented as -17.68i + 17.68j.

The net displacement is calculated by adding the two individual displacements: d = d' + d''. This results in a net displacement of -9.02i + 22.68j.

The magnitude of the displacement, which is the distance between the starting point and the ending point, is determined using the formula: d = sqrt(9.02^2 + 22.68^2). This yields a displacement of 24.4 km for the fighter jet.