Question

The river is 30 meters wide . On the day of the test, sam begins on one bank and tries to swim directly across the river to the point on the opposite bank where his counselor is waiting . Because the river has a slight current, sam ends up 35 meters downstream from his counselor ,how far did Sam actually swim?

Answer 1

Sam actually swim 46.1 m.

Explanation:

See the attached diagram.

Sam starts from point A and wishes to reach point B but due to current in the river, he reaches point C.

So, Δ ABC is a right triangle with AB = 30 m and BC = 35 m

So, applying Pythagoras Theorem,

AC² = AB² + BC² = 30² + 35² = 2125

⇒ AC = 46.1 m (Approx.)

Therefore, Sam actually swim 46.1 m. (Answer)