Question

Deborah hikes due south for 3 miles. She then turns due west and hikes 4 miles. What is the shortest distance between the starting point and the ending point? 1 mile 2 miles 5 miles 6 miles

Answer 1

5 miles

Explanation:

The two legs of Deborah's hike form the right-angle legs of a right triangle. The shortest distance is then the hypotenuse of that triangle, found using the Pythagorean theorem.

d^2 = 3^2 + 4^2 = 9 +16 = 25

d = √25 = 5

Deborah ends 5 miles from her start.