A boy leaves his house. He travels 6 km towards South, then travels 8 km towards West and further travels 9 km towards South. How far and in which direction is he from his house now?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → 17 km, South West
The two walks towards South add up, and with the walk West they form the two sides of a right triangle; the straight-line distance is its hypotenuse (Pythagoras’ theorem).
Total distance South \(=6+9=15\) km
Distance West \(=8\) km
Distance from the house \(=\sqrt{15^{2}+8^{2}}=\sqrt{225+64}=\sqrt{289}=17\) km
He is to the South and to the West of his house, so he is South West of it.
