The distance the ships traveled are like the legs of a triangle and the question wants to know the hypotenuse. To find the hypotenuse, use the pythagorean theorem. this is a^2 + b^2 = c^2, with a and b being the legs and c being the <span>hypotenuse. </span>Plug in known values: 84^2 + 62^2 = c^2 Solve: 84^2 = 7056 62^2 = 3844 7056 + 3844 = c^2 7056 + 3844 = 10900 10900 = c^2 Now you just need to isolate c by finding the square root of both sides. √10900 = 104.403 √c^2 = c
So c = 104.403, or just 104.40 when rounded to the nearest tenth. And if c is 104.40, then that means the hypotenuse is 104.40. And all of that basically means that the distance between the ships is 104.40 miles.
