A thief is running on a circular track of radius 5 m at 1.5 m / s . A ...
Given Information:
- Radius of the circular track = 5 m
- Speed of the thief = 1.5 m/s
- Speed of the policeman = 2 * speed of the thief = 3 m/s
- The policeman arrives at the starting point of the track 4 seconds after the thief.
Approach:
To find the minimum distance covered by the thief after the policeman starts chasing him, we need to consider two scenarios:
1. The policeman runs along the circular track in the direction of the thief.
2. The policeman goes to the center and then goes to any point on the circle from the center.
Scenario 1: Policeman runs along the circular track
When the policeman runs along the circular track, he covers a distance equal to the circumference of the circle, which is 2π * radius = 2π * 5 = 10π m.
Since the thief is running at a speed of 1.5 m/s, in the 4 seconds it takes for the policeman to arrive at the starting point, the thief covers a distance of 1.5 * 4 = 6 m.
Therefore, in this scenario, the minimum distance covered by the thief is 6 m.
Scenario 2: Policeman goes to the center and then to any point on the circle
In this scenario, the policeman takes the shortest path to reach any point on the circle from the center. This path is a straight line of length equal to the radius of the circle, which is 5 m.
Since the policeman's speed is 3 m/s, it takes him 5/3 seconds to reach any point on the circle from the center.
During this time, the thief continues running along the circular track. In 5/3 seconds, the thief covers a distance of 1.5 * (5/3) = 7.5 m.
Therefore, in this scenario, the minimum distance covered by the thief is 7.5 m.
Conclusion:
Comparing the distances covered by the thief in both scenarios, we can see that the minimum distance covered by the thief is 6 m in the first scenario where the policeman runs along the circular track.
Therefore, the correct answer is option 'C' - 5 meters.