Ram walks 20 metres towards the north from his starting point. Then he turns towards the east and walks another 5 metres. After that, he turns towards his right and covers 20 metres. How far is he from the starting point now, measured in a straight line?

Introduction / Context:
This question is another example of direction and distance reasoning, where the path forms an almost rectangular pattern. The candidate must track Ram's steps north, then east, then a final direction determined by a right turn, and finally compute the net displacement from the starting point. It checks whether the student understands relative turns and can translate the movement into simple geometry to find the shortest distance between the initial and final points.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Ram starts from a fixed point.
• He goes 20 metres towards the north.
• He then turns towards the east and walks 5 metres.
• After that he turns towards his right and covers 20 metres.
• All turns are at right angles.
• We must find the straight line distance from his starting point to his final position.

Concept / Approach:
As usual, we set up a coordinate system. Take Ram's starting point as (0, 0), with north as positive y and east as positive x. Each leg of the journey moves him along one coordinate axis. A right turn changes the facing direction by 90 degrees clockwise. After all movements, we find the difference between final and initial coordinates and then use Pythagoras: distance = square root of (x^2 + y^2). Because the path contains symmetric vertical movements, displacement may be small compared to total distance walked.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Start at (0, 0). Walking 20 metres north moves Ram to (0, 20). Step 2: From facing north, turning towards the east means he now faces east. Walking 5 metres east moves him to (5, 20). Step 3: From facing east, a right turn is a turn towards the south. Walking 20 metres south reduces the y coordinate by 20, bringing him to (5, 0). Step 4: So the final position is (5, 0), that is 5 metres east of the starting point with no net north-south displacement. Step 5: The straight line distance between (0, 0) and (5, 0) is simply 5 metres.

Verification / Alternative check:
Without coordinates, we may reason in terms of net vertical and horizontal movement. Vertically, Ram walks 20 metres north and later 20 metres south. These movements cancel each other perfectly, leaving zero net vertical displacement. Horizontally, he only walks 5 metres east and no westward segments. Hence the net displacement is a simple 5 metres east. This matches the coordinate based method exactly and confirms that the answer is 5 metres.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Option A, 3 metres, and Option B, 4 metres, represent smaller lengths with no basis in the geometry of this path.
• Option D, 6 metres, may arise from adding an extra metre due to an arithmetic mistake.
• Option E, 10 metres, might be chosen by those who confuse total distance and displacement or roughly estimate the diagonal without correct calculation.

Common Pitfalls:
Some students forget that equal distances north and south cancel each other, leading them to treat the 20 metre legs as contributing to net displacement. Others misinterpret the right turn from east as west instead of south. Drawing a quick figure or diagram with arrows for each movement is an efficient way to avoid these confusions. Always distinguish carefully between total path length and the straight line distance from start to finish.

Final Answer:
Ram is now 5 metres away from his starting point, so the required distance is 5 metres.