A phone line runs east along a field of 1.8 miles and then north along the edge of the same field for 2.75 miles.

Question

A phone line runs east along a field of 1.8 miles and then north along the edge of the same field for 2.75 miles. If the phone line cost $ 3500 per mile to install, how much could have been saved if the phone line had been installed diagonally across the field?

$_____

 

Does anyone know how to help me answer this question? I don't even know what formula or how to start it! Thank you for anyones help! 

Answer 1

per description, this is a right triangle, a triangle with a vertical angle.

let L to be the length of diagonal line, so L^2 = 1.8^2 + 2.75^2 =>3.29

so the saving is (1.8+2.75-3.29)*3500=4410