If two cars were faced away from each other back to back both cars traveled 8 miles forward then made a 90 degree left turn and traveled another 6 miles how far apart would they be?

Answer 1

Since the two cars turn left away from each other their paths form two right triangles. The hypotenuse (side away from the right angle) of both triangles added together is the distance between the two cars. Using the Pythagorean theorem hypotenuse = square root of 6 sq + 8 sq = 36 + 64 = square root of 100 = 10 (10 x 10 = 100). Thus 10 + 10 = 20 miles.

For those interested in an answer in kilometers, 20 miles = 32.18688 kilometers.

Although it is possible to think of their paths forming one big triangle, the above explanation should be the easiets to see and understand. This is the original one big triangle answer. The cars would be 20 miles apart diagonally. If you draw the pattern out, you will notice a right angle triangle with base of 16 and height of 12. Using the formula A squared plus B squared = C squared, the answer is 20.