The school, park and movie theater form a right triangle when shown on a map. The longest distance is between the school and the
park. If there are 3.4 miles between the school and the movie theater and 5 miles between the park and the movie theater, how far is the school from the park?
When the question says "the longest distance is between the school and the park", that distance must be the hypotenuse since the hypotenuse is always longer than the legs. Therefore, the legs must be 3.4 and 5. Using the Pythagorean theorem to solve:
a² + b² = c²
(3.4)² + (5)² = c²
11.56 + 25 = c²
36.56 = c²
√36.56 = √c²
6.05 = c
Therefore, the distance from the school to the park is 6.05 miles.
