A man walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right again and walks 5 km. How far is he from his starting point, and in which direction?

3 km eastCorrect answerYour answer3 km westCorrect answerYour answer8 km eastCorrect answerYour answer13 km northCorrect answerYour answer

Show the answer and explanation

CorrectNot quiteAnswer A

Correct answer: A

Facing north and turning right means he now faces east, so the second leg is 3 km east.
Turning right again from east means he faces south, so the third leg is 5 km south.
The 5 km north and the 5 km south cancel exactly, leaving only the 3 km east.
He is 3 km east of where he began.

Worth noting

A rough sketch settles this faster than tracking the turns in your head. The path is three sides of a rectangle, and the missing fourth side is the answer.

Concept: Net displacement after turns
Typical timeTypical: 70 s
Your timeYours: —

The rule this testsDistance and final position

Practise this chapter →

Ten questions from Direction Sense, at your own pace.

A man walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right again and walks 5 km. How far is he from his starting point, and in which direction?

Explanation