Question

A boat sails 20 miles wast of the port and then 15 miles south to an island how far is the boat from the port if you measure thr distance in a straight line ?

Answer 1

25 miles

Explanation:

Given: A boat sail 20 miles west of the port and then 15 miles south to an island.

Picture attached.

The distance from port to island could be measured in a straight line. It will form a hypotenous.

∴ we can use Pythogorean theorem to find the distance.

`h^(2) = a^(2) +b^(2)`

Where, "a" is adjacent= 20 miles and "b" is opposite= 15 miles.

`h^(2) = 20^(2) +15^(2)`

⇒
`h^(2) = 400+225= 625`

⇒
`h^(2) = 625`

⇒
`h= √(625)= \sqrt{25^(2) }`

We know
`\sqrt{x^(2) } = x`.

∴
`h= 25\ miles`

∴ Distance of Port from the Island is 25 miles.