Question

John leaves his home. He travels 5 blocks south and three blocks west. As the crow flies, how far is John from his home?

Answer 1

5.83 blocks away from his home

Explanation:

If he travels 5 blocks south and 3 blocks west, the distance from his house considered along with the distances travelled gives a right angled triangle whose opposite side and adjacent sides are the distances travelled north and west.

The distance from his house after moving 3 blocks west is the hypotenuse side. As such, the distance may be computed using Pythagoras' theorem. Let the distance from his house be G

G^2 = 5^2 + 3^2

G^2 = 25 + 9

= 34

G = √34

=5.83

John is 5.83 blocks away from his home