Ram travels 5 km towards the east from his original position, then takes a left turn and travels 10 km, then takes a right turn and travels another 5 km, and finally takes another right turn and covers 10 km. After this complete route, how far is he from his original starting position, measured as the straight line distance?

Introduction / Context:
The problem describes Ram walking in a sequence that forms a kind of rectangular path, with multiple left and right turns. The task is to find how far he is from his starting point after completing the entire journey. This is a displacement question, not a total distance question, and it requires tracking his position step by step in terms of coordinates.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Ram starts from a point and travels 5 km towards the east.
• He then takes a left turn and travels 10 km.
• Next, he takes a right turn and travels another 5 km.
• Finally, he takes another right turn and travels 10 km.
• Left and right turns are of 90 degrees and are relative to the current direction of motion.
• The terrain is flat and straight line paths are followed.

Concept / Approach:
We choose a coordinate system where east west movement affects the horizontal axis and north south movement affects the vertical axis. Each leg of the journey updates Ram coordinates. At the end we compute the displacement between the final and initial coordinates. In this particular case, the path effectively forms a rectangular loop that does not fully close, so only one coordinate ends up non zero.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Set the starting point as (0, 0). After Ram travels 5 km east, his position is (5, 0). Step 2: From facing east, a left turn makes him face north. He now travels 10 km north, reaching (5, 10). Step 3: From facing north, a right turn makes him face east. He travels 5 km east to (10, 10). Step 4: From facing east, another right turn makes him face south. He travels 10 km south to (10, 0). Step 5: The final position is (10, 0) and the starting position is (0, 0). Therefore, he is 10 km east of his starting point.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can also observe that his total northward movement of 10 km is exactly balanced by his total southward movement of 10 km, so there is no net north south displacement. In the east west direction, he goes 5 km east and later another 5 km east, with no westward movement. So the net horizontal displacement is 10 km east. This gives the same result as the coordinate method.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The options 20 km, 15 km, and 25 km are incorrect because they come from adding lengths of different legs without respecting direction and cancellation. The motion does not place Ram 20 km or 25 km away from the origin, since there is only a net eastward displacement of 10 km and no vertical offset. Therefore, these alternatives do not match the true displacement.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to think that walking 5 + 10 + 5 + 10 km means he must be 30 km away, which confuses path length with displacement. Another error is misinterpreting left and right turns, especially after more than one change in direction. Using a quick sketch with arrows for each leg helps clarify the correct final position.

Final Answer:
Ram is 10 km away from his original position, directly towards the east.