Question

Tran is using a coordinate plane to design a treasure hunt for his students. The hunt begins at the flagpole at the origin. The first clue is hidden 5 units north of the flagpole. The second clue is located 6 units east of the flagpole. The final clue is located 5 units south of the flagpole. Plot the locations of the flagpole and the 3 clues on the coordinate plane and show the path students will follow from the flagpole to all three clues. . Each unit represents 50 feet. What is the shortest combined distance along the path from the flagpole to Clue 1 to Clue 2 and to Clue 3?

Answer 1

The shortest combined distance along the path from the flagpole to Clue 1 to Clue 2 and to Clue 3 is approximately 1,031.025 feet

Explanation:

The given coordinates of the clues for the treasure hunt are

The location of the first clue = 5 units north of the flag pole

The coordinates is (0, 5)

The location of the second clue = 6 units east of the flag pole

The coordinates is (6, 0)

The location of the final clue = 5 units south of the flag pole

The coordinates is (0, -5)

The flagpole is at the origin

The coordinates of the flagpole is (0, 0)

Each unit on the graph = 50 feet

From the drawing of the treasure hunt created with Microsoft Excel, the shortest distances between the clues are as follows;

The shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line

Therefore

The shortest length from the flagpole to Clue 1 = 5 - 0 = 5 units

The actual distance from the flagpole to Clue 1 = 5 units × 50 feet/unit = 250 feet

The length from Clue 1 to Clue 2= √(6² + 5²) = √(61) units

The actual distance from Clue 1 to Clue 2 = √(61) units × 50 feet/unit = 50·√61 feet

By similarity, the actual distance from Clue 2 to Clue 3 = 50·√61

The combined shortest distance along the path from the flagpole to Clue 1 to Clue 2 and to Clue 3 = (250 + 50·√61 + 50·√61) feet ≈ 1,031.025 feet