If Jack's house is 7.1 miles due north of the Senior Citizen Center and Belinda's house is 6.3 miles due west of it, then to the nearest tenth,what is the shortest distance between their houses?

Answer 1

You're looking for the hypotenuse of a right triangle.

Pythagorean Theorem:

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

7.1^2 + 6.3^2 = c^2

50.41 + 39.69 = c^2

90.1 = c^2

9.5 = c