In Lakeside, the library is due south of the courthouse and due west of the community swimming pool. If the distance between the library and the courthouse is 16 miles and the distance between the courthouse and the city pool is 20 miles, how far is the library from the community pool?
To find the distance between the library and the community pool, we can use the Pythagorean theorem:
Let x be the distance between the library and the city pool.
From the information given, we have a right triangle with sides of 16 miles (courthouse to library) and 20 miles (courthouse to city pool), and x as the hypotenuse (library to city pool).
Using the Pythagorean theorem:
x² = 16² + 20²
x² = 256 + 400
x² = 656
x = √656
x ≈ 25.6
Therefore, the distance between the library and the community pool is approximately 25.6 miles.