A car travels 6 miles north and then turns right and travels 8 miles east to reach the garage. What is the straight line distance between the starting point and the garage?
Isn't that just a straight-forward Pythagorean calculation?
Surely somebody who studies Calculus MUST know how to do that.
Let me know where your problem lies.
To find the straight line distance between the starting point and the garage, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem.
The Pythagorean Theorem states that in a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
In this case, the car has traveled 6 miles north and then 8 miles east, forming a right triangle. The distances traveled north and east represent the two sides of the triangle.
Using the Pythagorean Theorem, we can calculate the length of the hypotenuse (the straight line distance) as follows:
Distance^2 = (Distance Traveled North)^2 + (Distance Traveled East)^2
Distance^2 = (6 miles)^2 + (8 miles)^2
Distance^2 = 36 + 64
Distance^2 = 100
Taking the square root of both sides, we find:
Distance = 10 miles
Therefore, the straight line distance between the starting point and the garage is 10 miles.