Reasoning question from Panchayat Secretary (VLW) exam, 2025 by JKSSB
Rajesh walked 3 Kms in the west direction. Then he took a right turn and walked for 12 Kms. Again he took a left turn and walked for 2 Kms. How far is he from the starting point?
Last updated Jun 13, 2026
Correct Answer:
Option D —
13 Kms
Mapping Rajesh's Path
Start: Imagine Rajesh starts at a specific point.
Step 1: He walks 3 kilometers West.
Step 2: He turns right (which means he is now facing North) and walks 12 kilometers.
Step 3: He turns left (which means he is facing West again) and walks 2 kilometers.
Finding the Direct Distance
To find the shortest straight-line distance from his starting point to his final position, we can visualize his total movement in terms of a single large right-angled triangle.
Total Westward Distance (The Base): He initially went 3 kilometers West, and later went another 2 kilometers West.
Total West distance is 3 plus 2, which equals 5 kilometers.
Total Northward Distance (The Height): He walked 12 kilometers North.
Now, we have a right-angled triangle where the base is 5 kilometers and the height is 12 kilometers. The direct distance from the start to the end is the hypotenuse of this triangle.
According to the Pythagorean theorem, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides:
5 squared is 25
12 squared is 144
25 plus 144 equals 169
The square root of 169 is 13.
Answer verified by Quintessence Classes faculty — Karan Nagar, Srinagar.
