SOLUTION: Aram lives 5 miles from Brian's house. Simran lives 8.5 miles from Brian's house. How far is Aram's house from Simran's house? A. 3.5 miles B. 5 miles C. 11 miles D. 13.5 Mile

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Question 1183942: Aram lives 5 miles from Brian's house. Simran lives 8.5 miles from Brian's house. How far is Aram's house from Simran's house?
A. 3.5 miles
B. 5 miles
C. 11 miles
D. 13.5 Miles
E. Cannot be determined from the information given
The correct answer was E but I don't know how. Can you explain.
Found 2 solutions by greenestamps, Edwin McCravy:
Answer by greenestamps(13203)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!


From just the given information, you could only determine the answer if you knew that the three houses were in the same straight line, and if you knew whether Brian's house or Aram's house is the one in the middle.
Answer by Edwin McCravy(20060)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!


Suppose that Brian lives at B. Suppose Simran lives at S.  All we are told about
Aram is that he lives 5 miles from Brian.  So Aram could live anywhere on the
circle.  

If Aram lives at A1, then Aram's house is 15.5 miles from Simran's house.
That's the maximum distance.

If Aram lives at A2, then Aram's house is 3.5 miles from Simran's house.
That's the minimum distance.

If Aram lives at A3 or A3, then Aram's house is 9.9 miles from Simran's house, 
(the green lines show this distance.)  

That's why the distance cannot be determined from the information given

Edwin
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