Question

GEOMETRY

Noam walks home from school by walking 8 blocks north and then 6 blocks east. How much shorter would his walk be if there were a direct path from the school to his house? Assume that the blocks are squares.

Answer 1

He would walk 4 blocks less if there were a straight path

Explanation:

You need to use pitagoras in this one.

Noam goes north and east, forming a right angle. A direct path would close the other paths forming a right triangle. Knowing this, you can do:

8^2 + 6^2 = X^2

64 + 36 = X^2

100 = X^2

X = 10 blocks

You know that he walks 14 blocks (8+6) to school normally, so a direct path would be 4 blocks shorter