Reyna's house is 12 blocks due west of the school. Shaquille's house is 5 blocks due north of the school. Shaquille walks to Reyna's house every morning and then they walk to school together. What is the shortest distance Shaquille could walk on his way to school when he walks with Reyna?
distance of houses from school
13 blocks
17 blocks
25 blocks
29 blocks
25 blocks
25 if he can walk directly to the other house.
But if he walks along the streets, then it's 5+12+12=29 blocks
To find the shortest distance Shaquille could walk on his way to school when he walks with Reyna, we can use the Pythagorean theorem.
First, draw a diagram to visualize the situation. Place the school in the center, and draw a line 12 blocks due west for Reyna's house and a line 5 blocks due north for Shaquille's house.
Next, draw a line connecting Reyna's house to the school, and another line connecting Shaquille's house to the school. These lines represent the paths they would take to walk to school together.
Since Shaquille walks to Reyna's house before going to school, the path from Shaquille's house to the school would be the hypotenuse of a right triangle, with one side measuring 12 blocks and the other side measuring 5 blocks.
Applying the Pythagorean theorem, which states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (c) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides (a and b), we can find the length of the hypotenuse.
c² = a² + b²
In this case, a = 12 (blocks) and b = 5 (blocks), so:
c² = 12² + 5²
c² = 144 + 25
c² = 169
Taking the square root of both sides yields:
c = √169
c = 13
Therefore, the shortest distance Shaquille could walk on his way to school when he walks with Reyna is 13 blocks.