Paul drove 50 miles north, then changed direction and drove 120 miles east. At the end of this trip, how far was he from

[Vincen]

Paul drove 50 miles north, then changed direction and drove 120 miles east. At the end of this trip, how far was he from his starting point?

A. 70 miles
B. 110 miles
C. 130 miles
D. 150 miles
E. 170 miles

Answer: C

Source: Magoosh

[Scott@TargetTestPrep]

Paul drove 50 miles north, then changed direction and drove 120 miles east. At the end of this trip, how far was he from his starting point?

A. 70 miles
B. 110 miles
C. 130 miles
D. 150 miles
E. 170 miles

Answer: C

Solution:

This is a right triangle problem, as the distances of 50 miles and 120 miles are the two legs of a right triangle and we need to determine the length of the hypotenuse. We can use the Pythagorean theorem to determine that this is a 5-12-13 right triangle. Since 50 and 120 are 10 times 5 and 12, respectively, we see that the hypotenuse must be 13 x 10 = 130 miles.

Answer: C

[swerve]

Paul drove 50 miles north, then changed direction and drove 120 miles east. At the end of this trip, how far was he from his starting point?

A. 70 miles
B. 110 miles
C. 130 miles
D. 150 miles
E. 170 miles

Answer: C

Source: Magoosh

If we make a diagram, it will be a right angled triangle with one side as \(50\) and the other side as \(120.\)

We have to find the hypotenuse of this right angled triangle \(=\sqrt{50^2 + 70^2} = 130\)

Therefore, C