Question

In a potato race, a bucket is placed at the starting point, which is 5 m from the first potato. The other potatoes are arranged 3 m apart in a straight line, with a total of 10 potatoes.

(i) What is the distance covered to pick up the first potato and drop it in the bucket?

Hint:

Always remember to double the distance for each run because the competitor must return to the bucket to drop off each potato.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The competitor starts from the bucket, runs to the first potato which is $5\text{ m}$ away, picks it up, and runs back to drop it in the bucket.
We need to calculate this total distance.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
The distance covered for any potato is twice the distance of that potato from the bucket (to-and-fro path):
\[ \text{Distance} = 2 \times \text{Distance from bucket} \]

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:

• 1. Distance of the first potato from the bucket $= 5\text{ m}$.

• 2. Since the runner must run to the potato and return to the bucket:
\[ \text{Distance Covered} = 2 \times 5 = 10\text{ m} \]


Step 4: Final Answer:
The distance covered to pick up the first potato and drop it in the bucket is $10\text{ m}$.