Question

Contestants in a long distance race run 5 kilometers due south. The runners then turn right and head west towards the finish line. If the straight line distance from start to finish is 13 kilometers, what is the distance that the contestants traveled while heading west? 12 km 14 km 17 km

Answer 1

So this is basically a right triangle.


There is a picture better showing what it would look like
The equation to find one side is
`b= \sqrt{ c^(2) - a^(2)}`
b is one line next to the right angle(x)
a is the other line by it (5)
c is the hypotenuse (13)

Plug the numbers in

`x= \sqrt{ 13^(2) - 5^(2) }`

`x= √(169-25)`

`x= √(144)`
x=12km