SOLUTION: Noam walks home from school by walking 8 blocks north and then 6 blocks east. How much shorter would his walk be if there were a direct path from the school to his house? Assume th

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Misc -> SOLUTION: Noam walks home from school by walking 8 blocks north and then 6 blocks east. How much shorter would his walk be if there were a direct path from the school to his house? Assume th      Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


    

Question 335635: Noam walks home from school by walking 8 blocks north and then 6 blocks east. How much shorter would his walk be if there were a direct path from the school to his house? Assume that the blocks are square.
Answer by Fombitz(32388) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The blocks form the legs of a right triangle.
The most direct route would be the hypotenuse of the right triangle.
Use the Pythagorean theorem,
8%5E2%2B6%5E2=H%5E2
H%5E2=64%2B36
H=10
He now walks 14 blocks, he could walk 10 blocks saving 4 blocks of walking.