Distance Measurement

Question

Two people are standing at the same intersection . One walks directly east at 3 mph. The other walks north at 4 mph. How far apart will they be from each other after half an hour?

Answer 1

Use the distance formula to find the distance between them after 0.5 hrs.

 

The person walking east ends up at 

 

x₁ = 3(0.5) mi = ? mi

y₁ = 0

 

The person walking north ends up at

 

x₂ = 0

y₂ = 4(0.5) mi = ? mi

 

Distance between them:

 

d = √[(x₂ - x₁)² + (y₂ - y₁)²] = ? mi

 

Plug in the numbers and finish from here.