Question

50 POINTS
My neighborhood is full of one-way streets. To drive from my house to the grocery store, I have to go 1 block south, then 1 block east, then 5 blocks north, then 2 blocks east. Each block is 1/16 of a mile. How much shorter would my trip be if I could fly like a bird (that is, travel in a straight line)?
I FOUND THE distance for non bird which is 9/16. I wanna apply the pythagoreum theorum and draw a straight line to make it a triangle so I can do so but don't know where to place it

Answer 1

1/4. . Hope this helps you

Answer 2

Let's suppose that your house is located at (0,0)

1 block south from here puts you at (0, -1/16)

1 block east from here now puts you at (1/16, -1/16)

5 blocks north from here puts you at (1/16, 4/16)

2 blocks east from here puts you at (3/16, 4/16)


You have traveled (1/16) ( 1 + 1 + 5 + 2) = 9 / 16 of a mile

The "straightline" distance between (0, 0) and (3/16, 4/16) =

sqrt [ (3/16^2 + (4/16)^2 ] = sqrt [ 25 / 256] = 5 /16 of a mile

Your trip would be [ 9/16 - 5/16 ] which equals 4/16 simplified equals 1/4 of a mile.