SOLUTION: Mike and Sandra leave their house. Mike travels northward for 4 miles to get to his job, and Sandra travels west for 3 miles to get to her job. Find out how many miles apart they
Algebra ->
Customizable Word Problem Solvers
-> Travel
-> SOLUTION: Mike and Sandra leave their house. Mike travels northward for 4 miles to get to his job, and Sandra travels west for 3 miles to get to her job. Find out how many miles apart they
Log On
Question 882972: Mike and Sandra leave their house. Mike travels northward for 4 miles to get to his job, and Sandra travels west for 3 miles to get to her job. Find out how many miles apart they work. Answer by Leaf W.(135) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Hello!
***
First of all, draw a picture of what is going on! Here is my rendition:
As you can see, the paths that Mike and Sandra take are at right angles to each other, and thus create a right triangle whose hypotenuse is the distance between their workplaces. To solve for this distance (which I will call D), simply use the Pythagorean theorem:
d = 5
***
Therefore, Mike and Sandra work five miles apart.
Let me know if you need further clarification! =)
