Calculate Distance Traveled by Stephen with His Moped
Stephen's Moped Adventure
Stephen buys a new moped and decides to go for a ride. He travels 3km south and then 4km east. Now, the question is: How far does he need to go to get back to where he started?
Calculating the Distance
If he's going back using the same roads, then he would have to drive 4km west and then 3km north. However, if he wants to go diagonally straight to the point of his beginning, then you apply the Pythagorean theorem.
c2 = a2 + b2 - the 2 means squared
c2 = 42 + 32
c2 = 16 + 9
c2 = 25
c = SquareRoot of 25
c = 5km
Therefore, if Stephen goes diagonally, then he needs to travel 5km.
Question:What is the total distance traveled by Stephen if he goes back to his starting point using the same roads?
Answer:If Stephen goes back using the same roads, he would have traveled a total distance of 7km.