document.write( "Question 203559: If two planes leave the same airport at 1:00 PM, how many miles apart will they be at 3:00 PM if one travels directly north at 150 mph and the other travels directly west at 200 mph? \n" ); document.write( "

Algebra.Com's Answer #153569 by Earlsdon(6294) $\"\"$ $\"About$

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The two lines of travel can be represented by the two legs of a right triangle.
\n" ); document.write( "Let's find the distance each plane will travel between 1:00pm and 3:00 pm.
\n" ); document.write( "This is 2 hours of travel, so the plane traveling north at 150 mph will have gone 300 miles in 2 hours (150mph X 2hrs = 300 mi.) while the plane traveling westward will have gone 400 miles in 2 hours (200mph X 2hrs = 400 mi.)
\n" ); document.write( "Their distance apart after 2 hours can be represented by the hypotenuse (c) of the right triangle and this distance can be found using the Pythagorean theorem: $\"c%5E2+=+a%5E2%2Bb%5E2\"$ .
\n" ); document.write( " $\"c%5E2+=+%28300%29%5E2%2B%28400%29%5E2\"$
\n" ); document.write( " $\"c%5E2+=+90000%2B160000\"$
\n" ); document.write( " $\"c%5E2+=+250000\"$ Take the square root of both sides.
\n" ); document.write( " $\"highlight%28c+=+500%29\"$
\n" ); document.write( "The two planes will be 500 miles apart at 3:00pm
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