Question

A man drove 16 mi directly east from his home, made a left turn at an intersection, and then traveled 5 mi north to his place of work. If a road was made directly from his home to his place of work, what would its distance be to the nearest tenth of a mile?

Answer 1

Use the Pythagorean theorem.

Distance = sqrt(16^2 + 5^2)

Distance = sqrt(256 + 25)

Distance = sqrt(281)

Distance = 16.763

Rounded to the nearest tenth = 16.8 miles