Question

Please Help Meeeeee, Amanda's house is due west of Stamford and due south of Newport. Stamford is 12 kilometers from Amanda's house and 13 kilometers from Newport. How far is Newport from Amanda's house, measured in a straight line? kilometers

Answer 1

5 km

Explanation:

It helps to draw a diagram.

The triangle between Stamford, Newport, and Amanda's house is a right triangle with one leg of length 12 and hypotenuse 13. The Pythagorean theorem can be used to find the remaining leg:

13² = 12² + (distance to Newport)²

169 -144 = (distance to Newport)²

√25 = 5 = distance to Newport

Newport is 5 km from Amanda's house.

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It can be useful to remember this right triangle. 5-12-13 right triangles show up in a number of algebra and geometry problems.