Question

You start driving north for 7 miles, turn right, and drive east for another 24 miles. At the end of driving, what is your straight line distance from your starting point?

Answer 1

`AC = 25\ miles`

Explanation:

Given:

Distance for north side = 7 miles.

Distance for east side = 24 miles.

We need to find the displacement.

Solution:

Figure shows Point A is starting point and AB = 7 miles is North side distance and BC = 24 miles is east side distance and AC is shown as displacement.

Using Pythagoras theorem to find displacement (AC).

`(AC)^(2)=(AB)^(2)+(BC)^(2)`

Substitute AB = 7 and BC = 24 in above equation.

`(AC)^(2)=(7)^(2)+(24)^(2)`

`(AC)^(2)=49+576`

`(AC)^(2)=625`

`AC = √(625)`

`AC = 25\ miles`

Therefore, displacement of the car
`AC = 25\ miles`