Final answer:
The distance from the oak tree to the spot where digging occurs is approximately 36 paces.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the distance from the oak tree to the spot where digging occurs, we need to determine the displacement from the oak tree to the iron pin and then from the iron pin to the spot where digging occurs.
According to the map, the treasure is located by proceeding 24 paces north from the oak tree and then 40 paces northwest. So, the displacement from the oak tree to the iron pin can be represented as a vector A with magnitude 24 and an angle of 45 degrees.
From the iron pin, we walk 14 paces south, which can be represented as a vector B with magnitude 14 and an angle of 270 degrees. To find the overall displacement, we need to add vectors A and B.
Using trigonometry and vector addition, we can find that the distance from the oak tree to the spot where digging occurs is approximately 36 paces.