Rajesh walked 25 metres towards South. Then he turned to his left and walked 20 metres. He then turned to his left and walked 25 metres. He again turned to his right and walked 15 metres. At what distance is he from the starting point and in which direction?
Show Hint
Plot Rajesh's path on a simple direction grid, tracking which way he faces after each turn.
The same problem can be solved by separately tallying the North-South and East-West components of the walk, without plotting coordinates.
Track facing direction through each turn: Starts facing South. A left turn from South faces East. A left turn from East faces North. A right turn from North faces East. So the four legs are walked facing South, East, North, East respectively, covering 25 m, 20 m, 25 m and 15 m.
Tally the North-South component: 25 m South and 25 m North cancel out exactly, leaving a net North-South displacement of 0 m.
Tally the East-West component: 20 m East and 15 m East add up, leaving a net East-West displacement of 35 m East (there is no westward leg to subtract).
With zero North-South displacement and 35 m East-West displacement, Rajesh's straight-line distance from the start is 35 m, due East. This confirms option B. \[ \boxed{\text{35 m, East}} \]
