Question

Mrs. Maxwell is teaching a 5th grade class. She is standing 9 meters in front of Bruce. Ruth is sitting to Bruce's right. If Ruth and Mrs. Maxwell are 15 meters apart, how far apart are Bruce and Ruth?

Answer 1

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Answer:

12 m

Explanation:

The distances of interest are the sides of a right triangle whose right angle is at Bruce. The hypotenuse of the triangle is the Teacher-Ruth distance. The unknown side (x) can be found using the Pythagorean theorem:

x² + 9² = 15²

x² = 225 -81 = 144

x = √144 = 12

Bruce and Ruth are 12 meters apart.