On her trip, how close does Pam get to Paris?

Question

Pam is taking a train from the town of Rome to the town of Florence. Rome is located 50 miles due west of the town of Paris. Florence is 45 miles east, and 75 miles north of Rome. i can get a a good picture but i do not know how to solve, i have paris as my (0,0) ect.

 

Answer 1

With Paris at (0,0), Rome is west or negative on the x-axis at (-50, 0). Florence is 45 miles closer (east) to Paris (x = -5), and 75 miles north on the y-axis (y = 75). So, Florence is at point (-5, 75). The distance between the two points (Florence and Paris) =

the square root of the sum of (x₂-x₁)² + (y₂-y₁)² or (-5-0)² + (75-0)² = sq. root of 25 + 5625 = sq. root of 5650 = 75.17 miles from Paris.