Question

A man walked $3\text{km}$ towards North then $8\text{km}$ towards South. What is his final position with respect to his initial position?​

• A. $5\text{km}$ towards South​
• B. $5\text{km}$ towards East​
• C. $8\text{km}$ towards North​
• D. $3\text{km}$ towards South

Answer 1

The correct option is A $5\text{km}$ towards South​

The north direction can be taken as positive and south as negative.

Then, walking $3\text{km}$ towards North $=+3\text{km}$ ​
Walking $8\text{km}$ towards South $=-8\text{km}$
The final position $=+3-8=-5\text{km}$
Here, the ‘$-$' sign shows that he is in south direction with respect to his initial position. ​
Hence, the man's final position is $5\text{km}$ to the south with respect to his initial position. ​