Today's question has to do with maps. The following 4 maps are ordered according to a criterion arising out of political maps. The first map can be considered one of a kind (which has a special name too! Bonus points for identifying the name) or a special case of the other 3 maps. In the latter understanding, each map has a characteristic D associated with it.
For the first map below, D= 0.
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For the second map below, D= 9.
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For the third map below, D= 39.
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For the fourth map below, D= 40.
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Obviously this list is ordered. But it is not exhaustive. The question is to identify D. Zooming and Panning the embedded maps is kosher.
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6 comments:
Something to do with international boundaries. Looks D is the distance (miles/Km) that would make a 4-way national boundary point and the first is the only true 4-way boundary point with D being 0.
Something to do with number of Disputed districts/territories close to the international boundries?
We are looking at those cases where the national boundaries of four different nations meet within a small distance of each other. The special case is when the four boundaries meet at the same point (first map, D = 0). More generally, three nations will meet at a single point, and a fourth nation will meet two of the first three a short distance away, and D is a measure of this distance in kilometers (as the crow flies, I guess). The ordering is by increasing values of D, and I am assuming that you are treating Western Sahara as a valid country in the fourth map with D = 40.
I have no idea what the special case is called.
All maps have multiple international borders meeting very close to each other. So I'm guessing D = straight-line distance in kms between 4 countries.
D is the minimum distance to be traveled to get to a country that doesn't share a border with the starting country.
Before we get to the answer, a tripoint is defined as a point where 3 boundaries meet, which is very common even internationally. A quadripoint is a point where 4 boundaries meet, which only occurs at one place internationally. A quadripoint can also be considered the amalgamation of 2 tripoints when the distance between them, D=0.
So, D in the question was the distance between two international tripoints.
Sailesh nailed the answer. Kiran, Nikhil and Dev came close, in that order. It is not just the minimum distance to be travelled to reach a country that doesn't share a border because if that were the case, the Wakhan corridor in Afghanistan should figure in the list.
Thanks all for playing!!
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