Question 198098
When he picks up his friends, Bobbie walks 20 blocks (6+10+4 = 20) to school.
The direct path he could take can be represented by the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose base is 10 blocks (from the 10 blocks west) and whose height is also 10 blocks (from the 6+4 blocks north). Using the Pythagorean theorem, you can calculate the length of the direct path (c = hypotenuse) that Bobbie could take.
{{{c^2 = 10^2+10^2}}}
{{{c^2 = 100+100}}}
{{{c^2 = 200}}} Take the square root of both sides.
{{{c = sqrt(200)}}}
{{{c = 14.142}}}
So if Bobbie took the direct path to school, he would walk about 14 blocks and this would be 6 fewer blocks (20-14 = 6) than if he took the longer path.