Evelyn rode her horse along a triangular path. The distance she traveled south was five times the distance she traveled east. Then she rode directly back to her starting point. What is an expression for the total distance she rode?

Question

anonymous · Answer

Draw the triangle. Let x units be the distance traveled east. You then have a right angled triangle with sides x, 5x and xsqrt26 (using Pythagoras). 
So total distance = x(6+sqrt26) units