Suneeta moves a distance of 9 meters towards East. She then moves towards…

Concept: When a path consists of movements along two perpendicular directions (East-West is horizontal, North-South is vertical), the straight-line distance between the starting point and the final position is found using the Pythagorean theorem: distance = √((net horizontal displacement)² + (net vertical displacement)²).

Applying this to Suneeta's path:

1. Movement East (9 m) and West (6 m) are along the same horizontal axis but in opposite directions, so the net horizontal displacement = 9 − 6 = 3 m (net East).

2. The only movement along the vertical axis is the 4 m towards South, so the net vertical displacement = 4 m.

3. These two net displacements are perpendicular to each other, so the straight-line distance = √(3² + 4²) = √(9 + 16) = √25 = 5 m.

Cross-check: 3, 4, 5 is the well-known Pythagorean triple, confirming the straight-line distance is exactly 5 m.