Question

a hiker walks 12 miles north. then she walks 9 miles west. What is the shortest distance the hiker can travel to return tonher starting point

Answer 1

If we were to draw the distance walked, it would be the "legs" of a right triangle. So, to determine the return distance we calculate the hypotenuse which equals:
hypotenuse^2 = 12^2 + 9^2 = 225 return distance = 15 miles.