Study the information given below carefully, and answer the question that…
2024
Study the information given below carefully, and answer the question that follow:
On a stage, D, N, A, K and P are standing as described below facing North.
1) N is 2.5 m to the west of A.
2) K is 4 m to the right of A.
3) D is 6 m to the south of K.
4) P is 9 m to the north of D.
If a boy walks from N, meets A followed by K, D and then P, how many metres has he walked if he has travelled the straight distance all through?
- A.
21.5 m
- B.
18 m
- C.
15 m
- D.
22.5 m
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept: In a distance-and-direction problem, when a question asks for the total distance actually walked (not the straight-line resultant distance between the start and end points), plot each point from the given cardinal-direction clues and add the length of every individual straight leg of the path, in the order it is walked.
Application:
Fix A as the reference point. N is 2.5 m to the west of A, so N and A lie on the same east-west line.
K is 4 m to the right of (i.e., east of) A, so A, N and K all lie on one east-west line, with N and K on opposite sides of A.
D is 6 m to the south of K, and P is 9 m to the north of D, so K, D and P all lie on one north-south line through K, with D and P on opposite sides of K.
Sum the straight length of each leg the boy actually walks: N to A = 2.5 m, A to K = 4 m, K to D = 6 m, D to P = 9 m.
Total distance walked = 2.5 + 4 + 6 + 9 = 21.5 m.
Cross-check: D and P sit on opposite sides of K along the same north-south line, so the D-to-P distance can be verified independently as K-to-D plus K-to-P = 6 m + 3 m = 9 m, matching the value used above.
Hence, the boy has walked 21.5 m in total.