Question

A machine part is diagrammed in the figure below with ]the dimensions given in inches. If the centers of the circles lie on the same line parallel to the bottom of the part, what is the distance, in inches, between the centers of the 2 holes in the machine part?

Answer 1

We can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the distance between the centers of the two holes. Let's call this distance d. We can see that the horizontal distance between the centers of the two holes is 3 inches (the distance between the centers of the two circles). We can also see that the vertical distances between the centers of each circle and the center of the hole is 1.5 inches. Therefore, we can write:

d^2 = 3^2 + (1.5 + 1.5)^2
d^2 = 9 + 9
d^2 = 18
d = sqrt(18) = 3sqrt(2)

Therefore, the distance between the centers of the two holes in the machine part is 3sqrt(2) inches.