David runs out of gas so he gets out of his car and walks 26 yards north and 20 blocks yards east. How far is he from his car if he walked back in a straight line? Round your answer to the nearest tenth

1 answer

To find out how far David is from his car after walking 26 yards north and 20 yards east, we can use the Pythagorean theorem.

David's movements form a right triangle where:

  • The distance he walked north (26 yards) represents one leg of the triangle.
  • The distance he walked east (20 yards) represents the other leg of the triangle.

We can denote the distance from his car as \( d \). According to the Pythagorean theorem:

\[ d^2 = (26)^2 + (20)^2 \]

Calculating each term:

\[ (26)^2 = 676 \] \[ (20)^2 = 400 \]

Adding these together:

\[ d^2 = 676 + 400 = 1076 \]

Now, taking the square root to find \( d \):

\[ d = \sqrt{1076} \approx 32.8 \]

Rounding to the nearest tenth, David is approximately 32.8 yards away from his car.