You walk 4 steps north. You turn and then walk 3 steps east. Every step is the same length. What is the shortest distance from where you started to where you ended?

The shortest distance from where you started to where you ended is 5 steps.

To find this, you can visualize your movements as forming a right triangle. You walked 4 steps north and 3 steps east. The distance you end up from your starting point is the hypotenuse of this triangle. You can calculate it using the Pythagorean theorem:

[

text{Distance} = sqrt{(4^2 + 3^2)} = sqrt{(16 + 9)} = sqrt{25} = 5 text{ steps}

]

So the answer is 5 steps. If you need further assistance, feel free to explore our extended services.