Question

Rachel is sitting in a tree 15 feet above the ground. A minute ago, she spotted a skunk 40 feet from the base of the tree walking closer to her. Now, the skunk is 20 feet from the base of the tree. The diagonal line from Rachel to the skunk is the distance between them. How much closer is the skunk to Rachel now than it was a minute ago?

Answer 1

Given :

Rachel is sitting in a tree 15 feet above the ground.

A minute ago, she spotted a skunk 40 feet from the base of the tree walking closer to her. Now, the skunk is 20 feet from the base of the tree.

The diagonal line from Rachel to the skunk is the distance between them.

To Find :

How much closer is the skunk to Rachel now than it was a minute ago.

Solution :

Initial distance,

$d_i=\sqrt{15^2+40^2}\\\\d_i=42.72\ feet$

Final distance,

$d_f=\sqrt{15^2+20^2}\\\\d_f=25\ feet$

Therefore, skunk is ( 42.72 - 25 ) = 17.72  feet closer to Rachel now than it was a minute ago.

Hence, this is the required solution.