Question

Antonio drove 26 miles north and then drove west. At the end of his trip, he was 50 miles from his starting point. How far did he drive west?

(a) 24 miles
(b) 26 miles
(c) 34 miles
(d) 50 miles

Answer 1

Antonio drove approximately 36 miles west.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find how far Antonio drove west, we can picture his trip as a right triangle. The distance he drove north is one side of the triangle, and the distance he drove west is the other side. The hypotenuse of the triangle represents the distance from his starting point to his final position. We know that the hypotenuse is 50 miles and the distance he drove north is 26 miles. Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can find the distance he drove west:

Distance driven west = √(hypotenuse^2 - distance driven north^2)

Distance driven west = √(50^2 - 26^2)

Distance driven west ≈ 36 miles