Final answer:
Using the Pythagorean theorem, Maria's straight-line distance from the office after walking 12 blocks south and 16 blocks east is determined to be 20 blocks.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question is about finding the straight-line distance from Maria's office after she walks a certain distance south and then east. This is a classic application of the Pythagorean theorem, which is used to determine the length of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle.
In Maria's case, walking 12 blocks south and then 16 blocks east forms a right-angled triangle where these two paths are the legs, and the straight-line distance to her office is the hypotenuse.
To calculate this, we will use the formula c = √(a^2 + b^2), where 'a' and 'b' are the lengths of the two legs, and 'c' is the length of the hypotenuse. Plugging in the values:
c = √(12^2 + 16^2)
c = √(144 + 256)
c = √400
c = 20
Therefore, the distance from Maria's office is 20 blocks, corresponding to answer choice 'b'.