Alex goes cruising on his dirt…

Alex’s displacement is zero, while the total distance he covered is 3600 m. This is illustrated in the attached diagram. Displacement refers to the shortest straight-line distance from the starting point to the ending point. If we consider the starting point as the origin, we trace Alex’s journey on his bike: first, he goes 700 m north (path AB), then 300 m east (path BC), and 400 m north (path CD). After reaching point D, where he is positioned at 1100 m north and 300 m east, he rides 600 m west (path DE) to point E, resulting in coordinates of 1100 m north and 300 m west. Then, he travels 1200 m south (path EF) to point F, which places him at 100 m south and 300 m west. Following this, he rides 300 m east (path FG), positioning him 100 m south of the starting point. Finally, he moves 100 m north, returning to his starting location. Consequently, since he returns to his initial point, the straight-line distance between the start and end is zero, resulting in a displacement of zero. Distance, being a scalar quantity, is calculated by summing all the individual segments regardless of their direction: distance = 700 m + 300 m + 400 m + 600 m + 1200 m + 300 m + 100 m = 3600 m. Therefore, the total distance Alex covers is 3600 m.