Sonya and Isaac are in motorboats located at the center of a lake. At time t = 0, Sonya begins traveling south at a speed of 32 mph. At the same time Isaac takes off, heading east at 27 mph. How far have they traveled after 12 minutes?

2 Answers
Jul 7, 2017

They have travelled 6.4 and 5.4 miles resp

and are then 8.4 miles apart.

Explanation:

First find the distance travelled Sonya in 12 minutes

32*12*1/60=6.4 miles from the centre of the lake.

Then find the distance travelled by Isaac in 12 minutes
27*12*1/60=5.4 miles from the centre of the lake

To find the distance between Sonya and Isaac, we can apply the Pythagorean theorem as the angle between them is 90°

Distance between them:

d=sqrt(6.4^2+5.4^2) = sqrt70.12

d~~8.4 miles

Jul 7, 2017

Sonya: 6.4 miles

Isaac: 5.4 miles

Explanation:

"distance" = "speed"xx"time"

The speeds are given in mph so the time needs to be in hours.

12 min = 12/60 hour = 1/5 hour

**Sonya: **
"distance" = 32mphxx1/5 h

= 6 2/5 = 6.4 miles

Isaac:
"distance" = 27mphxx1/5 h

= 5 2/5 = 5.4 miles

Take note of the units:

mph xx h = m/cancelh xx cancelh

=m (miles)