South, then two left turns — Aptitude Question
South, then two left turns: A man walks 5 km south, turns left and walks 3 km, then turns left and walks 5 km. Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Direction Sense
- Section: Logical Reasoning
- Difficulty: Medium
- Time target: 60 seconds
Question
A man walks 5 km south, turns left and walks 3 km, then turns left and walks 5 km. How far is he from the start and in which direction?
Options
- 3 km east
- 3 km west
- 5 km east
- 8 km east
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: A. 3 km east
Worked solution
- South 5 km, then left (east) 3 km, then left (north) 5 km.
- The southward and northward 5 km cancel.
- He is 3 km east of the start.
Answer: 3 km east.
The idea
Track the north–south and east–west totals separately. Opposite legs of equal length cancel entirely.
Shortcut. Two left turns face him the opposite way, so the second 5 km undoes the first; only the 3 km leg remains, and left of south is east.
Common trap. "3 km west" — taking a left turn from south as west; facing south, the left hand points east.