Suppose two bicyclists start at the same location.
The first bicyclist rides due north and the other rides
due west. Find the speed that each bicyclist rode in
miles per hour if they are 8V2 miles apart after riding
for 2 hours at the same speed

The distance between the cyclists is the hypotenuse of an isosceles right triangle. The hypotenuse is √2 times the length of the legs in such a triangle, so each cyclist must have ridden 8 miles in 2 hours.

Their speed is (8 mi)/(2 h) = 4 mi/h.

_____

Additional comment

Consider an isosceles right triangle with leg lengths 1. Then the Pythagorean theorem tells us the length of the hypotenuse is ...

c² = a² +b² . . . square of hypotenuse is sum of squares of legs

c² = 1² +1² . . . . both legs are 1 in our example triangle

c² = 2

c = √2

That is, the hypotenuse is √2 times the leg length.

Suppose two bicyclists start at the same location. The first bicyclist rides due north and the other rides due west. Find the speed that each bicyclist rode in miles per hour if they are 8V2 miles apart after riding for 2 hours at the same speed

Respuesta :

Otras preguntas

Suppose two bicyclists start at the same location.
The first bicyclist rides due north and the other rides
due west. Find the speed that each bicyclist rode in
miles per hour if they are 8V2 miles apart after riding
for 2 hours at the same speed