Question

Sonja's house is 4 blocks west and 1 block south of the center of town. Her school is 3 blocks east and 2 blocks north of the center of town.

What is the direct distance from Sonja's house to her school?

(Hint: The center of town should be the origin, and north is up.)

10 blocks
4.5 blocks
7.1 blocks
7.6 blocks

Answer 1

You can use the distance formula:
\[d = \sqrt{(x_2-x_1)^2 + (y_2-y_1)^2}\]if you think of the distances given as coordinates. 4 blocks west and 1 block south is like (-4,-1). 3 blocks east and 2 blocks north is like (3,2).