To avoid a large, shallow reef, a ship set a course from point A and traveled 24 miles east to point B. The ship then turned and traveled 31 miles south to point C. If the ship could have traveled in a straight line from point A to point C, about how many miles could it have saved?
39 miles
20 miles
16 miles
7 miles

Question

To avoid a large, shallow reef, a ship set a course from point A and traveled 24 miles east to point B. The ship then turned and traveled 31 miles south to point C. If the ship could have traveled in a straight line from point A to point C, about how many miles could it have saved?
39 miles
20 miles
16 miles
7 miles

adamk · Answer

16 miles. Find the hypotenuse. 24^2 + 31^2 then take the square root. Then, subtract that from 31+24.