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devilmirror
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DS: Find the location on earth 10 Feb 2007, 20:44
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I edited the question to make it more logical. :wink:

An astronaut is standing somewhere on the round planet in a universe. He goes one mile south, one mile east, and one mile north and He is back where He started. Where must He be?
(1) He is not standing on the equator.
(2) He is standing somewhere on the upper half of the planet.



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DS: Find the location on earth 11 Feb 2007, 09:30
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I like this question. :-D

Below is the hint in white font.

Hint: walking on circumference.
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DS: Find the location on earth 11 Feb 2007, 14:32
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I get E. He could be at the north pole. Alternatively, he could be anywhere in the northern hemisphere, walk one mile south to a latitude at which going one mile east would bring him back to the same spot he was when he began walking east, then return north to the same spot he started from. It wouldn't be much of a planet, though, and Pluto would surely object to its status
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DS: Find the location on earth 11 Feb 2007, 18:32
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I get E. He could be at the north pole. Alternatively, he could be anywhere in the northern hemisphere, walk one mile south to a latitude at which going one mile east would bring him back to the same spot he was when he began walking east, then return north to the same spot he started from. It wouldn't be much of a planet, though, and Pluto would surely object to its status
Show more


there is no such "alternative spot" in the northern hemisphere of a round planet.
if the latitude is such that the circumference is 1 mile, it must be such latitude that is very close to the "north pole". by very close, i mean, less than one mile. because of that, there is no such spot where you can go SOUTH one mile and get to this latitude. wherever you are if you go 1 mile south you get to the south of this latitude.

there is however such spot in the southern hemisphere (very close to the south pole), so anywhere 1 mile north to that would be a good place to start the journey.... however it will be in the southern hemisphere.

hence the answer should be B....
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DS: Find the location on earth 11 Feb 2007, 23:18
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I get E. He could be at the north pole. Alternatively, he could be anywhere in the northern hemisphere, walk one mile south to a latitude at which going one mile east would bring him back to the same spot he was when he began walking east, then return north to the same spot he started from. It wouldn't be much of a planet, though, and Pluto would surely object to its status

there is no such "alternative spot" in the northern hemisphere of a round planet.
if the latitude is such that the circumference is 1 mile, it must be such latitude that is very close to the "north pole". by very close, i mean, less than one mile. because of that, there is no such spot where you can go SOUTH one mile and get to this latitude. wherever you are if you go 1 mile south you get to the south of this latitude.

there is however such spot in the southern hemisphere (very close to the south pole), so anywhere 1 mile north to that would be a good place to start the journey.... however it will be in the southern hemisphere.

hence the answer should be B....
Show more

What if the planet was very small? COuld this magic latitude be in the southern hemisphere?
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DS: Find the location on earth 12 Feb 2007, 02:36
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I get E. He could be at the north pole. Alternatively, he could be anywhere in the northern hemisphere, walk one mile south to a latitude at which going one mile east would bring him back to the same spot he was when he began walking east, then return north to the same spot he started from. It wouldn't be much of a planet, though, and Pluto would surely object to its status

there is no such "alternative spot" in the northern hemisphere of a round planet.
if the latitude is such that the circumference is 1 mile, it must be such latitude that is very close to the "north pole". by very close, i mean, less than one mile. because of that, there is no such spot where you can go SOUTH one mile and get to this latitude. wherever you are if you go 1 mile south you get to the south of this latitude.

there is however such spot in the southern hemisphere (very close to the south pole), so anywhere 1 mile north to that would be a good place to start the journey.... however it will be in the southern hemisphere.

hence the answer should be B....
What if the planet was very small? COuld this magic latitude be in the southern hemisphere?
Show more


you are right.... i made some calculations....
for a perfectly round planet of radius between 0.65 and 0.74 miles, it is possible to stand on its northern hemisphere, going south 1 miles and arive exactly to the southern latitude in which the circumference is 1 mile.

so considering tiny planet, the answer should be E.... but given the title of the post, i think the question refers to bigger planets, so for them - the answer should be B.
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DS: Find the location on earth 12 Feb 2007, 02:51
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The answer of this question intended to be B.

However, no info about a radius was given. Answer becomes E.

The original place of this question is our earth not a planet

Sorry about that.
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DS: Find the location on earth 12 Feb 2007, 03:29
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Great Question!

It is a Microsoft Interview question, rephrased in a different format. The Answer is B.

in the southern hemisphere you can find unlimited points which satisfies the given data.

Hint: any point on the globe which is 1 mile above the latititude that has a length of 1 mile.

However, in the nothern hemisphere there is only one point. The North Pole!

Great Question! The expln with a diagram is described in the book called - How to move Mt Fuji!
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DS: Find the location on earth 12 Feb 2007, 03:34
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[quote="kevincan"]I get E. He could be at the north pole. Alternatively, he could be anywhere in the northern hemisphere, walk one mile south to a latitude at which going one mile east would bring him back to the same spot he was when he began walking east, then return north to the same spot he started from. It wouldn't be much of a planet, though, and Pluto would surely object to its status

there is no such "alternative spot" in the northern hemisphere of a round planet.
if the latitude is such that the circumference is 1 mile, it must be such latitude that is very close to the "north pole". by very close, i mean, less than one mile. because of that, there is no such spot where you can go SOUTH one mile and get to this latitude. wherever you are if you go 1 mile south you get to the south of this latitude.

there is however such spot in the southern hemisphere (very close to the south pole), so anywhere 1 mile north to that would be a good place to start the journey.... however it will be in the southern hemisphere.

hence the answer should be B....
What if the planet was very small? COuld this magic latitude be in the southern hemisphere?

you are right.... i made some calculations....
for a perfectly round planet of radius between 0.65 and 0.74 miles, it is possible to stand on its northern hemisphere, going south 1 miles and arive exactly to the southern latitude in which the circumference is 1 mile.

so considering tiny planet, the answer should be E.... but given the title of the post, i think the question refers to bigger planets, so for them - the answer should be B.[/quote]

Sometimes I read too much into questions: I think it's safe to assume that a planet has a radius of thousands of miles! I didn't know how to calculate your solution in less than 2 minutes, but I suspected it existed. I guess I wouldn't get a job at Microsoft! I can always stick to training people for the GMAT...



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