pythagorean theorem

Question

Three ballet dancers are positioned on stage. Shawn is straight behind Travis and directly left of Andy. If Travis and Shawn are 8 feet apart, and Andy and Travis are 9 feet apart, what is the distance between Shawn and Andy? If necessary, round to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

Solution:

Travis and Shawn form the vertical leg of a right angle triangle of length = 8 ft. Andy and Travis form the hypotenuse of the right angle triangle of length = 9 ft.

Using the Pythagorean theorem to find the distance between Shawn and Andy which is the length of the horizontal leg of the right angle triangle; let that length be x. Then:

9² = 8² + x² , x² = 9² - 8² = 81 - 64 = 17 , and x = √ 17 = 4.13 ft