SOLUTION: Hi in math class we are doing stuff with triangles. Here is my word problem: Scott wants to swim across a river that is 400 meters wide. He begins swimming perpendicular to the sho

Algebra ->  Triangles -> SOLUTION: Hi in math class we are doing stuff with triangles. Here is my word problem: Scott wants to swim across a river that is 400 meters wide. He begins swimming perpendicular to the sho      Log On


   

Question 179556: Hi in math class we are doing stuff with triangles. Here is my word problem: Scott wants to swim across a river that is 400 meters wide. He begins swimming perpendicular to the shore he started from but ends up 100 meters down river from where he started because of the current. How far did he actually swim from his starting point?
Thank you so much!
Answer by stanbon(75887) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Scott wants to swim across a river that is 400 meters wide. He begins swimming perpendicular to the shore he started from but ends up 100 meters down river from where he started because of the current. How far did he actually swim from his starting point?
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Draw the picture.
You have a right triangle and you want to find the length of the hypotenuse.
h = sqrt[400^2 + 100^2]
h = sqrt[160000 + 10000]
h = 412.31 meters
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Cheers,
Stan H.