Question

A caterpillar tries to climb straight up a wall a meter high, but for every 2 cm up it climbs, it slides down 1 cm. Eventually, it reaches the top. When it reaches the top, it does not pull itself over so it will slide down 1 cm. What is the total displacement traveled? (Include direction, whether up, down, or n/a.)

Answer 1

"Displacement" means the distance and direction from start to finish, regardless of what happened in between.

The caterpillar's displacement is 99 cm straight up.

Answer 2

Total displacement traveled = 298

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the given information, to actually climb for 1 cm, the caterpillar has to travel for 3 cm (2 cm upwards and 1 cm downwards).

So in order to climb straight up a one meter (100 cm) high wall, it needs to travel for 99 × 3 = 297 cm.

Then after a little it can travel up another cm to reach the top.

Therefore, the total displacement traveled = 297 + 1 = 298 cm