Question

Finn started at point A and walked 10 m south, 60 m west and a

further 30 m south to arrive at point B. Molly started at point A
and walked in a straight line to point B.
How much further did Finn walk than Molly?
Give your answer in metres (m) to 1 d.p.

Answer 1

Finn walked a total of 40m south and 60m west, so we can make a right angle triangle with sides 40m and 60m and the hypotenuse being unknown.

40 + 60 = 100, so Finn walked 100m.

We can find the hypotenuse, or how far Molly walked by using the Pythagorean Theorem:

`a^2+b^2=c^2`, with c being the hypotenuse and a and b being the other sides.

`40^2 + 60^2 = c^2\\1600 + 3600 = c^2\\c = 72.1110255m`

Now we're finding how much further Finn walked, so:

100 - 72.1110255 = 27.8889745

Rounded to one decimal point is 27.9m