Walking to Make Triangle

Nigel walks x miles due west, turns 150° to his left and walks 3 miles in the new direction. If he finishes at a point 2 miles from his starting point, then x is:

1. 13/10
2. 39/10
3. 1.5√3
4. not uniquely determined by the given information.

Show/Hide Solution

At this point, Nigel is 2 miles from his starting point.

Ack! There are two possible starting points, look:

So, we can’t tell. It’s (d).