Faizal is standing at point A facing North. He walks 15 meters to his left and…

2025

Faizal is standing at point A facing North. He walks 15 meters to his left and then takes an about-turn and walks 30 meters. How far and in which direction is he from the starting point?

  1. A.

    15 meters, West

  2. B.

    15 meters, East

  3. C.

    45 meters, East

  4. D.

    45 meters, West

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B

Concept: In a direction-sense problem, track movement along two perpendicular axes (East-West and North-South). Movements along the same axis in opposite directions must be subtracted, not added — the net displacement is the difference between the two distances, and the side a person ends up on is decided by whichever distance is larger.

Applying it here:

  1. Faizal starts at point A facing North.

  2. Turning to his left while facing North points him West, so the first 15 meter walk takes him 15 meters West of A.

  3. The about-turn (a 180° turn) changes his facing from West to East.

  4. Walking 30 meters East from a point 15 meters West of A is a movement along the same East-West line but in the opposite direction to the first leg, so the net displacement is 30 − 15 = 15 meters, on the East side of A, since the second, longer walk overtakes the first.

Cross-check: Taking West as the negative direction and East as the positive direction on a number line with A at 0: the first move is −15, the second move is +30, giving a net position of −15 + 30 = +15, i.e., 15 units in the positive (East) direction — consistent with the step-by-step result above.

Faizal ends up 15 meters to the East of the starting point A.

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