question_answer

A drunkard walking in a narrow lane takes 5 steps forward and 3 steps backward each step of 1 m long, per second and so on. Determine how long the drunkard takes to fall in a pit 15 m away from the start.

Answer:

                The effective distance travelled by drunkard in 8 steps = 5 - 3 = 2 m. Therefore, he takes 40 steps to move 10 metres. Now he will have to cover 5 metres more to reach the pit, for which he has to take only 5 forward steps. Therefore, he will have to take = 40 + 5 = 45 steps to move 15 metres. Thus he will fall into the pit after taking 45 steps, i.e., after 45 seconds from the start.