Let’s consider each case graphically to narrow down our choices. Recall that vectors

are half the magnitude of vector

By drawing out

we can see that the displacement is somewhat large:

All three vectors have the same magnitude here. By drawing out

, we can see that displacement is not large, but could be closer to zero:

Between the remaining two, it becomes hard to discern visually which has the least displacement:


In analyzing

let’s pick 10 for the magnitude of each vector, and resolve all the vectors into the x and y direction. In a 45 − 45 − 90 triangle, remember that the sides are in a proportion of 1 : 1 : √2 so with the hypotenuse as 10 units, the x and y components are 5√2, units. In the x-direction, the x component vectors

overlap and add up to 10 √2, which is opposed by vector

, with, vector, on top, with a magnitude of 10.

In the y-direction, the y-component of vectors

cancel each other out. The resultant vector points in the negative y-direction with an approximate magnitude of 4 since √2, is approximately equal to 1.4.

In analyzing

let’s pick 10 for the magnitude of vectors

and 5 for the magnitude of vector

resolve all the vectors into the x and y components. Vector

resolves into an x and y components with magnitudes of 5√2 units:

The resultant x-component is 2 in the negative-x direction, and the resultant y-component is 3 in the negative-y direction. To find our displacement, use the Pythagorean theorem to obtain √13 which is less than 4.
