From her home, Brittany would have to walk due north to get to her friend Christine's house and due east to get to her friend Tisha's house. It is 4 miles from Brittany's house to Tisha's house and a straight-line distance of 5 miles from Christine's house to Tisha's house. How far is Brittany's house from Christine's house?_________ miles
Q. From her home, Brittany would have to walk due north to get to her friend Christine's house and due east to get to her friend Tisha's house. It is 4 miles from Brittany's house to Tisha's house and a straight-line distance of 5 miles from Christine's house to Tisha's house. How far is Brittany's house from Christine's house?_________ miles
Identify Triangle Formed: Identify the triangle formed by Brittany's, Christine's, and Tisha's houses. Brittany to Tisha is one leg (4 miles), and Christine to Tisha is the hypotenuse (5 miles). We need to find the other leg, which is the distance from Brittany's house to Christine's house.
Apply Pythagorean Theorem: Apply the Pythagorean Theorem: a2+b2=c2, where c is the hypotenuse. Here, a is the distance from Brittany to Christine, b is 4 miles, and c is 5 miles. Set up the equation: a2+42=52.
Calculate Squares: Calculate the squares: 42=16, 52=25. Plug these into the equation: a2+16=25.
Solve for a2: Solve for a2: a2=25−16. a2=9.
Find a: Find a by taking the square root of 9. a=9, so a=3.
More problems from Pythagorean theorem: word problems