Question

Caleb’s school is five blocks due north of his home, and the library is two blocks due west of his home. If each city block is a square with sides measuring 275 feet, which of the following is the closest to the straight-line distance from Caleb’s school to the library?

Answer 1

The closest straight-line distance from Caleb's school to the library is:

• 1480.92 feet

Explanation:

Imagine a triangle, where five blocks are a side and two blocks another side, to obtain the closest straight-line distance from Caleb's school to the library you can use the Pythagoras theorem, where the hypotenuse is the closest straight-line:

• 
  `perpendicular^(2) +base^(2) =hypotenuse^(2)`

Clearing the hypotenuse is:

• 
  `\sqrt{perpendicular^(2)+base^(2)}= hypotenuse`

Now, you only need to identify the distance in each case:

Five blocks = 275 feet * 5 = 1375 feet.

Two blocks = 275 feet * 2 = 550 feet.

At last, you must replace the distances found in the equation cleared:

• 
  `\sqrt{1375 feet^(2)+550 feet^(2)}= hypotenuse`

• Hypotenuse or closest straight-line = 1480.92 feet.

Identifying this, the closest straight-line distance from Caleb's school to the library is 1480.92 feet.