A man walks 50 m north, then 60 m east, then 25 m south. How far is he from his starting point (in m)?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. 65
- Step 1: Calculate the net displacements along the orthogonal cardinal axes: along North-South, (North); along East-West, (East).
- Step 2: By the Pythagorean theorem, straight-line distance is .
- Step 3: Evaluate the square root: .
Answer
65.
Why not the others: 110 is the sum of initial north and east steps (); 70 is an arithmetic error; 25 is only the net vertical displacement.
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