Final answer:
The hypotenuse of the triangle is 10.3 blocks, considerably shorter than the 14 blocks you walked.
Step-by-step explanation:
The hypotenuse of the triangle is the straight-line path, and so in this case its length in units of city blocks is √(9 blocks)² + (5 blocks)² = 10.3 blocks, considerably shorter than the 14 blocks you walked. (Note that we are using three significant figures in the answer.
Although it appears that “9” and “5” have only one significant digit, they are discrete numbers. In this case '9 blocks' is the same as '9.0 or 9.00 blocks.' We have decided to use three significant figures in the answer in order to show the result more precisely.)