Diagonal distance

Question

an empty cardboard box of dimensions breadth = 3 m, length = 4 m, and height = 2 m. An ant and a fly are sitting at one of the 8 corners inside the box and wish to go get some food at the corner diagonally across (the farthest point in the box for them). What is the minimum distance the fly must travel before it gets to the food? How about the ant? 

Answer 1

Flatten out the box.

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|              |            4              |            |

|              |                           |              |

|3            |                           |              |

|              |                           |              |

|              |                           |       2      |

 

Fly travels from one corner to the opposite corner.

Use Pythagoras to calculate distance.