Question 873213
Q:
A person travels 10 miles due north, 4 miles due west, 5 miles due north,
and 12 miles due east. How far is that person from the starting point?
A:
Let the origin be the starting point.
10 miles due north corresponds to point (0, 10)
4 miles due west corresponds to point (-4, 10)
5 miles due north corresponds to point (-4, 15)
12 miles due east corresponds to point (8, 15)
The distance between (0,0) and (8,15) using the distance formula is
d = {{{sqrt((15 - 0)^2 + (8 - 0)^2)}}} = {{{highlight(17)}}} miles