A map of three public schools was created using a coordinate plane where the origin represents the center of the town. Euclid Elementary School is graphed at (−2, 6), Math Middle School is graphed at (6, 6), and Hypotenuse High School is graphed at (−2, −4). Each unit on the graph represents 1 mile.

Part A: Find the shortest distance, in miles, from Euclid Elementary School to Math Middle School. Show every step of your work. (2 points)

Part B: Find the shortest distance, in miles, from Euclid Elementary School to Hypotenuse High School. Show every step of your work. (2 points)

Part C: Find the shortest distance, in miles, from Math Middle School to Hypotenuse High School. Show every step of your work. (4 points)

Part D: Shay traveled from Hypotenuse High to Euclid Elementary and then to Math Middle. Zion traveled from Hypotenuse High to Math Middle along a straight path. Who went the shortest distance? Explain.

1 answer

To find the shortest distances between the schools, we can use the distance formula. The distance \( d \) between two points \( (x_1, y_1) \) and \( (x_2, y_2) \) in a coordinate plane is given by:

\[ d = \sqrt{(x_2 - x_1)^2 + (y_2 - y_1)^2} \]

Part A: Shortest distance from Euclid Elementary School to Math Middle School

Coordinates:

  • Euclid Elementary School: \( (-2, 6) \)
  • Math Middle School: \( (6, 6) \)

Distance Calculation:

\[ d = \sqrt{(6 - (-2))^2 + (6 - 6)^2} \] \[ d = \sqrt{(6 + 2)^2 + (0)^2} \] \[ d = \sqrt{(8)^2} \] \[ d = \sqrt{64} \] \[ d = 8 \]

Answer for Part A: The shortest distance from Euclid Elementary School to Math Middle School is 8 miles.


Part B: Shortest distance from Euclid Elementary School to Hypotenuse High School

Coordinates:

  • Euclid Elementary School: \( (-2, 6) \)
  • Hypotenuse High School: \( (-2, -4) \)

Distance Calculation:

\[ d = \sqrt{(-2 - (-2))^2 + (-4 - 6)^2} \] \[ d = \sqrt{(0)^2 + (-4 - 6)^2} \] \[ d = \sqrt{0 + (-10)^2} \] \[ d = \sqrt{100} \] \[ d = 10 \]

Answer for Part B: The shortest distance from Euclid Elementary School to Hypotenuse High School is 10 miles.


Part C: Shortest distance from Math Middle School to Hypotenuse High School

Coordinates:

  • Math Middle School: \( (6, 6) \)
  • Hypotenuse High School: \( (-2, -4) \)

Distance Calculation:

\[ d = \sqrt{(-2 - 6)^2 + (-4 - 6)^2} \] \[ d = \sqrt{(-8)^2 + (-10)^2} \] \[ d = \sqrt{64 + 100} \] \[ d = \sqrt{164} \] \[ d \approx 12.81 \]

Answer for Part C: The shortest distance from Math Middle School to Hypotenuse High School is approximately 12.81 miles.


Part D: Compare distances traveled by Shay and Zion

Shay's Route:

  1. Distance from Hypotenuse High to Euclid Elementary: 10 miles (from Part B).
  2. Distance from Euclid Elementary to Math Middle School: 8 miles (from Part A).

Total distance for Shay: \[ d_{Shay} = 10 + 8 = 18 \text{ miles} \]

Zion's Route:

  • Direct distance from Hypotenuse High to Math Middle:
    • We calculated this in Part C to be approximately \(12.81 \text{ miles}\).

Comparison:

  • Shay traveled 18 miles.
  • Zion traveled approximately 12.81 miles.

Conclusion: Zion went the shortest distance because approximately 12.81 miles is less than 18 miles.