Two cars leave an intersection. One car travels north; the other east. When the car traveling north had gone 12 mi, the distance between the cars was 4 mi more than the distance traveled by the car heading east. How far had
The east bound car traveled?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Using the Pythagorean theorem, the distance between the cars is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs of 12 miles and the distance traveled by the eastbound car (x). The equation is: $ \sqrt{12^2 + x^2} = x + 4 $. Solving this equation gives x = 16 miles.

Two Cars Leave an Intersection