A man has strayed from his path while on his way to the park. He moves 100 km…
2023
A man has strayed from his path while on his way to the park. He moves 100 km towards south, then another 40km towards west. He then travels 70 km towards north and reaches the park. What is the distance of the shortest possible route?
- A.
50km
- B.
40km
- C.
60km
- D.
30km
Attempted by 3 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Answer: 50 km
Explanation:
Compute the net north–south displacement: 100 km south then 70 km north gives 100 − 70 = 30 km south.
Compute the east–west displacement: 40 km west.
The shortest route is the straight-line distance (use Pythagoras): sqrt((40 km)^2 + (30 km)^2) = sqrt(1600 + 900) = sqrt(2500) = 50 km.
Therefore the shortest possible route is 50 km.