Question

Every March, the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, California after their winter in the south. If the swallows fly due north and cover 200 km on the first day, 300 km on the second day, and 250 km on the third day, draw a vector diagram of their trip and find their total displacement for the three-day journey.

Answer 1

Because the swallows continue to fly in the same direction throughout the entire trip, these vectors simply add together. This can be shown by placing the displacement vectors head to tail.