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Problem of the Week
Problem A
Park Paths

Arrowhead Provincial Park has various trails that people can follow between Ranger Station X and Ranger Station Y. There are trail markers at each intersection which are named after animals that may be seen in the park. The map below shows the trails and the distances between markers. The map is not to scale.

A description of the map follows.

Three hikers walked from Station X to Station Y along different paths:

  1. Path A: Station X \(\rightarrow\) rabbit \(\rightarrow\) deer \(\rightarrow\) Station Y

  2. Path B: Station X \(\rightarrow\) beaver \(\rightarrow\) chipmunk \(\rightarrow\) Station Y

  3. Path C: Station X \(\rightarrow\) rabbit \(\rightarrow\) moose \(\rightarrow\) raccoon \(\rightarrow\) deer \(\rightarrow\) Station Y

  1. Who walked the furthest? Justify your answer.

  2. Find a path that is shorter than any of the three paths the hikers took.

Challenge: What is the shortest path from Station X to Station Y?

Themes: Computational Thinking, Geometry & Measurement