Question

A ball is rolled uphill a distance of 12 meters before it slows, stops, and begins to roll back. The ball rolls downhill 18 meters before coming to rest against a tree. What is the magnitude of the ball’s displacement?

Answer 1

Displacement = the straight-line distance between the start point and the end point.

The ball comes to rest 6 meters downhill from where it started. During the whole story, its displacement is 6 meters down.