Anita hikes 7 miles east and then 3 miles north. Rounded to the nearest mile, what is the shortest distance from the starting point to the ending point?

Using the Pythagorean theorem, the shortest distance from the starting point to the ending point can be calculated as follows:

7^2 + 3^2 = c^2
49 + 9 = c^2
58 = c^2
c ≈ √58
c ≈ 7.6

Rounded to the nearest mile, the shortest distance is 8 miles.