Question

John starts at the point (2,3) and moves 6 units towards the east. If he then moves 5 units towards the north and 6 units towards west, find the difference between the total distance covered and the shortest distance between the start and end points.

• A. 12 units
• B. 13 units
• C. 14 units
• D. 15 units

Answer 1

The correct option is A 12 units

Tracing John's path on a graph b y taking the start point as S and the end point as E, we find:


Hence,

Total distance = 6 + 5 + 6 = 17 units

Shortest distance = 5 units

So, the difference between the total distance and the shortest distance is:

17 units - 5 units = 12 units