Question

Hello,

I'm not sure how to go about this question.

To get to work on the first day, Jose has the following directions.

Travel 15 miles due East.

Turn right and travel 12 miles due south.

Turn right again and travel 10 miles due West.

If Jose could travel in a straight line from his house to work, how many miles would he travel?

Answer 1

You end up with a right triangle with the two legs being 12 miles and 5 miles.

Use the Pythagorean theorem, with c representing the hypotenuse.

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

12^2 + 5^2 = c^2

144 + 25 = c^2
169 = c^2
13 = c

Answer 2

Ok, thanks. But how did you get 12 and 5?

Answer 3

He traveled 15 miles east and then 10 miles west.

15 - 10 = 5

He traveled 12 miles south.

That gives us a triangle.

He started at point A. Went to point B, and then to point C. He ended at point D. You need to find the distance betwen point A and point D.

B_______<___15____<______A (start)
|
v
|
12
|
v
|___>____10__>___D
C