Question

Pythagorean Theorem Word

Problems
You start driving north for 32 miles, turn
right, and drive east for another 24 miles,
At the end of driving, what is your straight
line distance from your starting point?​

Answer 1

40 miles

Explanation:

In the attached diagram, Point A is the starting point and C is the end point. We want to determine the distance from A to C.

The path driven forms a right triangle in which AC is the hypotenuse.

We therefore use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve for the AC.

Pythagorean Theorem:
`Hypotenuse^2=Opposite^2+Adjacent^2`

`|AC|^2=32^2+24^2\\|AC|^2=1600\\|AC|=√(1600)\\ |AC|=40$ miles`

The straight line distance from the starting point is 40 miles.