Question

A family is driving from Phoenix to San Francisco. On a map grid, Phoenix is located at (–12, –16), and San Francisco is located at (–36, 5). Along the trip, the family stops in Blythe, located at (–20, –9), and Los Angeles, located at (–33, –4) on the map. Find the total distance of the trip.

Answer 1

The answer is 34.05

The total distance (D) is the sum of three distances (d1, d2, and d3).

The distance formula is $d = \sqrt{(x2-x1)^{2} +(y2-y1)^{2}}$

Distance 1: Phoenix (–12, –16) to Blythe (–20, –9):
$d1 = \sqrt{(-20-(-12))^{2} +(-9-(-16))^{2}} =\sqrt{(-20+12)^{2} +(-9+16)^{2}} \\ =\sqrt{(-8)^{2} +(7)^{2}}= \sqrt{64+49} = \sqrt{113}= 10.63$

Distance 2: Blythe (–20, –9) to Los Angeles (–33, –4):
$d2 = \sqrt{(-33-(-20))^{2} +(-4-(-9))^{2}} =\sqrt{(-33+20)^{2} +(-4+9)^{2}} \\ =\sqrt{(-13)^{2} +(5)^{2}}= \sqrt{169+25} = \sqrt{194}= 13.93$

Distance 3: Los Angeles (–33, –4) to San Francisco (–36, 5)
$d3 = \sqrt{(-36-(-33))^{2} +(5-(-4))^{2}} =\sqrt{(-36+33)^{2} +(5+4)^{2}} \\ =\sqrt{(-3)^{2} +(9)^{2}}= \sqrt{9+81} = \sqrt{90}= 9.49$

D = d1 + d2 + d3 = 10.63 + 13.93 + 9.49 = 34.05