two cars started at the same place. one car going north traveled 10 mph for 4 hours. the other car traveled east at 15 mph for 2 hours. how far apart are the cars?

Answer 1

It's usually helpful to draw a picture.

After 4 hours, one car is 40 miles north of the starting point.

After 2 hours, the other car is 30 miles east of the starting point.

A diagram of the situation would be a right triangle. The right angle would be the starting point, the legs would be 40 and 30 miles and the hypotenuse would be the distance between the cars.

You can now use the Pythagorean Formula, a² + b² = c² to calculate the distance.

OR BETTER YET!

Learn to recognize a Pythagorean Triple when you're looking at one.

I CAN PROMISE YOU YOU'LL SEE ONE WHEN YOU TAKE THE TEST!!!

This is a multiple of the 3-4-5 triangle.

The cars are 50 miles apart.