Question

Rakesh is standing at a point. He walks 20 m towards east and further 10 m towards south. He then walks 35 m towards west and further 5 m towards north. Again he walks 15 m towards east. What is the shortest distance in meters between his starting point and the point where he is now?

• A. 5 m
• B. Cannot be determined
• C. 10 m
• D. 1 m

Answer 1

Answer:

A. 5 m

1. Visualize the Movements

It's helpful to visualize Rakesh's movements on a coordinate plane. Let's assume his starting point is (0, 0).

• East: Movement to the right (positive x-axis)

• West: Movement to the left (negative x-axis)

• North: Movement upwards (positive y-axis)

• South: Movement downwards (negative y-axis)

2. Track the Net Movements

• East/West:

  • 20 m East + 35 m West + 15 m East = 20 + (-35) + 15 = 0 m

  • Net change in East/West direction = 0 m

• North/South:

  • 10 m South + 5 m North = -10 + 5 = -5 m

  • Net change in North/South direction = -5 m (which means 5 m South)

3. Determine the Final Position

• Rakesh's net movement is 0 meters in the East/West direction and 5 meters in the South direction.

• So, his final position is 5 meters South of his starting point.

4. Calculate the Shortest Distance

• Since there's no East/West movement, the shortest distance is simply the net movement in the North/South direction.

• Shortest distance = 5 meters