Question

Two girls walk home from school. Starting from school Susan walks north 2 blocks and then west 8 blocks, while Cindy walks east 3 blocks and then south 1 block. Approximately how many blocks apart are the girls' homes?

Answer 1

Approximately `11.4` blocks (assuming the blocks are perfectly square.

Explanation:

Cindy's house is `8+3 = 11` blocks further East than Susan's.
Cindy's house is `2+1 =3` blocks further South than Susan's

Using the Pythagorean Theorem,
Cindy and Susan's houses are
`color(white)("XXX")sqrt(11^2+3^2) = sqrt(130) ~~11.40175` blocks apart.