csatmedium
Location of B is north of A and location of C is east of A. The distances AB and AC are 5 km and 12 km respectively. The shortest distance (in km) between the locations B and C is
- A.60
- B.13
- C.17
- D.7
▶ Answer & Explanation
Correct answer: D. 7
The problem describes a right-angled triangle where point A is the vertex. Point B is 5 km north of A, and point C is 12 km east of A. These two directions (north and east) are perpendicular. The distance between B and C is the hypotenuse of this right-angled triangle. Using the Pythagorean theorem (a² + b² = c²), the distance is calculated as the square root of (5² + 12²), which is the square root of (25 + 144) = square root of 169 = 13 km.
Source: UPSC csat 2014