They cruise ship travels 20 miles due north, then 35 miles due east. How far is the ship from where it started?
Think of a right triangle.
20 and 35 are the legs of the triangle. You are trying to find the hypotenuse.
(Hint: a^2 + b^2 = c^2)
To find the distance the ship is from where it started, we can use the Pythagorean theorem since the ship traveled in a right-angled triangle. The distance traveled north and east form the two perpendicular sides of the triangle.
Given that the ship traveled 20 miles due north and 35 miles due east, we can use these values as the lengths of the sides of the triangle. Let's call the distance the ship is from where it started "d".
Using the Pythagorean theorem, the equation becomes:
d^2 = (20^2) + (35^2)
Simplifying this equation:
d^2 = 400 + 1225
d^2 = 1625
Now, solving for "d", we can take the square root of both sides of the equation:
d = √1625
Calculating the square root of 1625 gives us:
d ≈ 40.31
So, the ship is approximately 40.31 miles from where it started.