Question

A man walks 3km towards West; takes a right turn and walks 4km. He then walks 1km towards the starting point and reached the destination. How far is he from the starting position?

Answer 1

Answer:

Let the starting point be A, the point reached after travelling 3 km west be B and the point reached after travelling 4 km north be C; such that,

AB = 3 km, BC = 4 km,

and we need to find AC (shortest distance between initial and final point),

since the triangle ABC is right angled at B, we can use pythagorean theorem,

AB^2 + BC^2 = AC^2

3^2 + 4^2 = AC^2

on solving we get

AC = 5 km.

Thank you.