Question

A man goes 24 m due west and then 10 m due north. How far is he from the starting point?

Options

• 34 m

• 17 m

• 26 m

• 28 m

Answer 1

26 m

Explanation:

The straight-line displacement is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs 24 m and 10 m.

By Pythagoras: 24² + 10² = 576 + 100 = 676 and `sqrt(676)` = 26 m.