Rasik walked 20 m towards the north. He then turned right and walked 30 m. He…
2024
Rasik walked 20 m towards the north. He then turned right and walked 30 m. He then turned right again and walked 35 m. He then turned left and walked 15 m. Finally, he turned left again and walked 15 m. In which direction and how far is he from the starting position?
- A.
15 m West
- B.
30 m East
- C.
30 m West
- D.
45 m East
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
In a direction-sense (displacement) problem, track the walker's facing direction at each turn: a right turn rotates the facing direction 90° clockwise, and a left turn rotates it 90° counter-clockwise. Resolve every straight-line leg onto the North–South and East–West axes, then sum each axis separately to get the net displacement from the start.
Starting position A, facing north: walks 20 m north.
Turns right (north → east): walks 30 m east.
Turns right again (east → south): walks 35 m south.
Turns left (south → east): walks 15 m east.
Turns left again (east → north): walks 15 m north.
Net north–south displacement = 20 − 35 + 15 = 0 m. Net east–west displacement = 30 + 15 = 45 m east.
Since the net north–south displacement is zero, the straight-line distance from the start lies entirely along the east–west axis — confirming the final position is 45 m east of the starting point, with no further vector combination needed.