Let's picture this scenario as right triangle where E-Burg is at the intersection of the horizontal(west-east) and vertical(north-south) axis. In this scenario, Raymond is 15 miles west of E-Burg, and we can consider this as the length of one leg of the triangle. Similarly, Addison is 29 miles north of E-Burg, and we can consider this as the length of the other leg of the triangle.
To find the shortest distance from Raymond to Addison, we actually need to calculate the hypotenuse of the right triangle. This is based on the right angle formed between the path from E-Burg to Raymond and the path from E-Burg to Addison.
We can achieve this by using the Pythagorean theorem, which is a formula used to find the length of a side in a right triangle: a² + b² = c², where a and b are the lengths of the legs of the triangle and c is the length of the hypotenuse.
Let's use this theorem with a = 15 (Raymond's distance from E-Burg) and b = 29 (Addison's distance from E-Burg).
a² = 15² = 225
b² = 29² = 841
We then sum these squares:
225 + 841 = 1066
Finally, to find c (the hypotenuse, or the shortest distance from Raymond to Addison), we need to take the square root of this sum, 1066.
√1066 = 32.65 (rounded to two decimal places)
Therefore, the shortest distance from Addison to Raymond is approximately 32.65 miles.