In a straight line, how far is it from the zoo to Don's home?

Question

Don drove home from the zoo. He drove 24 miles east, 27 miles south, and then another 12 miles east to his home. In a straight line, how far is it from the zoo to Don's home?

Answer 1

Try this:

 

Don travels a total of 36 miles east, and 27 miles south, making a right triangle from which you need to find the

hypotenuse using the Pythagorean Theorem:

 

let a=distance travelled east

 

let b=distance travelled south

 

c²=a²+b²

 

or

 

c=√(a²+b²)

 

Hope this helps