Asked by Anonymous

John was visiting three cities that lie on a coordinate grid at (-4, 5), (4, 5), and (-3, -4). If he visited all the cities and ended up where he started, what is the distance he traveled? Round your answer to the nearest tenth. (like 3.2 or 5.7)
Answered by Steve
did he have to follow the grid, or could he take diagonal shortcuts?
Answered by billy
no
Answered by Reiny
mmmh, diagonals in a triangle ?

Label your given points A, B, and C in the corresponding order.
Clearly AB is a horizontal line, thus AB = 8
AC = √(1^2 + 9^2) = √82
BC = √(7^2 + 9^2) = √130

perimeter = 8 + √82 + √130 = appr 28.5
Answered by Steve
billy: "no" to which question?

If you mean "no, he does not have to follow the grid (that is, travel only horizontally or vertically)," then Reiny's comments (Thanks for stepping up, Reiny) solve the problem

If you mean "no, he cannot travel diagonally" then the distance traveled is the perimeter of an 8x9 rectangle.
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