Two automobiles leave an intersection at the same time. One of them travels west and the other travels south. When the vehicle going south has traveled 24 miles, the distance between the cars was four miles more than 3 times the distance traveled by the vehicle traveling west. Find the distance between the two automobiles at that time.

Answer 1

If the westbound car has gone a distance w, then

w^2 + 24^2 = (3w+4)^2