Question

Clark Kent walks 3 miles west and then 4 miles north. How far is it for Superman to fly in a straight line back to his starting point? (It makes a right triangle.)

Question 16 options:

3 miles


5 miles


7 miles


9 miles

Answer 1

It would be 5 miles if the triangle was a right angle

Answer 2

You can use the pythagorean theorem a² + b² = c², where a and b are perpendicular sides of a triangle and c is the hypotenuse.

For this problem, a = 3, b = 4
c = √(3² + 4²) = √5² = 5