Question

A small plane is 20 miles due north of the airport. a jet at the same altitude as the plane is 64.5 miles west of the airport. to the nearest tenth, what is the distance between the small plane and the jet? enter your answer as a decimal in the box.

Answer 1

Answer: Distance between the small plane and the jet is 67.52 miles.

Explanation:

Since we have given that

Distance traveled by the small plane to the north of the airport = 20 miles

Distance traveled by the jet to the west of the airport = 64.5 miles

We need to find the distance between the small plane and the jet.

Since it forms "Right angled triangle " as shown in the figure.

`H^2=B^2+P^2\\\\H^2=20^2+64.5^2\\\\H^2=4560.25\\\\H=√(4560.25)\\\\H=67.52\ miles`

Hence, Distance between the small plane and the jet is 67.52 miles.

Answer 2

It must be realized that the distance traveled by the small plane, distance traveled by jet, and the distance between them makes a right triangle. Using Pythagorean theorem and allowing x be the distance between them,
x² = (20 miles)² + (64.5 miles)²
x = 67.53 miles
Thus, the distance between the two entities in nearest tenth is approximately 67.5 miles.