Finding the distance using distance Formula

Question

You and your friend are standing back-to-back. Your friend runs 20 feet forward and then 15 feet to the right. At the same time, you run 12 feet forward and then 9 feet right. You stop and throw a baseball to your friend, who catches it. How far did you throw the baseball?

Answer 1

Solution:

Assume that your friend heads 20 ft east and then 15 ft south, and you head 12 ft west and 9 ft north.

The movement of your friend forms a right angle triangle with base of 20 ft and height of 15 ft

your movement forms a right angle triangle with base of 12 ft and height of 9 ft

The distance that the baseball is thrown is the sum of the hypotenuses of the right angle triangles formed

D = [ √(12² + 9²) + √(20² + 15²)] = 15 + 25 = 40 ft