Question

Darla hikes due north for 6 km. She then turns due East and hikes 3 km. What is the direct distance between her starting point and stopping point, rounded to the nearest tenth of a kilometer?

Answer 1

6.7 km

Explanation:

Darla made a right-angle turn, so the distance of interest is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs 3 km and 6 km. The Pythagorean theorem tells you that distance is ...

d = √(3² +6²) = √45 ≈ 6.7 . . . km

The direct distance is about 6.7 km.