Question

john leaves school to go home. he walks 6 blocks north and then 8 blocks west. in a straight line, how far is johns home from school? draw a triangle to represent the situation and then solve.

Explanation:

Step1: Draw a right - triangle

Let the distance walked north (\(a = 6\) blocks) and the distance walked west (\(b=8\) blocks) be the two legs of a right - triangle. The straight - line distance from school to home (\(c\)) is the hypotenuse.

Step2: Apply the Pythagorean theorem

The Pythagorean theorem is \(c^{2}=a^{2}+b^{2}\). Substitute \(a = 6\) and \(b = 8\) into the formula:

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Step3: Solve for \(c\)

Take the square root of both sides. Since \(c>0\) (distance), \(c=\sqrt{100}=10\)

Answer:

John's home is \(10\) blocks away from school in a straight line.