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A postman walked 20 m straight from his office, turned right and walked 10 m. After turning left he walked 10 m and after turning right walked 20 m. He again turned right and walked 70 m. How far he is from his office?

This question was previously asked in
UGC NET 2016 Paper 2 Management Question Paper (22-Jan-2017)
The correct answer is

50 m.

To determine how far the postman is from his office, we need to break down his walking journey step-by-step, tracking each direction and distance he covers:

  1. The postman starts by walking 20 meters straight from his office.
  2. He then turns right and walks 10 meters. Assuming he initially headed north from his office, a right turn would mean heading east.
  3. After turning left, he walks another 10 meters. From his last position, a left turn from east means he is now facing north.
  4. He then turns right and walks 20 meters. A right turn from north indicates he is moving east again.
  5. Finally, he turns right and walks 70 meters. A right turn from east means he is facing south.

To find his distance from the office, we should consider his movements in terms of horizontal and vertical displacement:

  • Horizontal Movement:
    • He walked 10 meters east (first right turn).
    • He walked 20 meters east (third right turn).
    • Total eastward distance = 10 m + 20 m = 30 m to the east.
    • He walked 70 meters south (final right turn), which means moving back in the reverse horizontal plane, but we only count net distance covered east and west, in this process.
  • Vertical Movement:
    • He initially walked 20 meters north.
    • He walked another 10 meters north (turning left).
    • He moved 70 meters south (final right turn).
    • Total net vertical movement = 30 m north (20 m initial + 10 m after first left) - 70 m south = -40 m (40 meters south).

We can now calculate the straight-line distance (D) from the office using the Pythagorean theorem, where the horizontal (x) and vertical (y) displacements are as follows:

D = \sqrt{(30)^2 + (40)^2}

D = \sqrt{900 + 1600}

D = \sqrt{2500}

D = 50 \, \text{m}

The postman is 50 meters away from his office. Therefore, the correct answer is 50 m.

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Similar Questions

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  2. A lady while going to her college in a car drove 20 kms towards north and then 15 kms towards west. She then turned to the south and covered 10 kms. Further she turned to the east and moved 12 kms. Finally she turned right and drove 10 kms. How far and in which direction is the lady from her starting point ?

  3. A person walks 30 meters North, then turns right and walks 30 meters. He then turns right and walks 45 meters. Then he turns left and walks 15 meters. Again he turns left and walks 15 meters. In which direction and how far is the person from his starting point ?
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  5. A man started walking from his house towards south. After walking 6 km, he turned to his left and walked 5 km. Then he walked further 3 km after turning left. He then turned to his left and continued his walk for 9 km. How far is he away from his house?

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Important Questions from Direction and Distance

  1. What is the direction of U with respect to P?

  2. What is the shortest distance between R and T?

  3. If a person walks 3m towards the North from point V, takes a right turn and walks for another 15m, which of the following points would he reach?

  4. In which direction is Amit facing at point F?

  5. What is the distance between the starting point and the end point?

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