7. (5 pts)

Ed and Joe are lost in the woods. Ed looks for help by walking north at 3 miles per hour. One hour later, Joe decides to get out on his own by walking west at 4 miles per hour. Assuming they maintain these speeds and directions, how far apart will they be after 3 hours from when Ed started walking?

The question addresses a practical application of the Pythagorean theorem. Ed and Joe create a right triangle by walking in different directions and the theorem is used to determine the distance between them after they have walked their respective distances.

Explanation:

The subject of the question is a mathematical problem, particularly an application of the Pythagorean theorem. The Pythagorean theorem is a statement in geometry that states that in a right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides. Based on the scenario given, Ed walks North for 3 miles while Joe decides to walk 1 hour later and covers 4 miles West. This establishes two sides of a right triangle.

To determine the distance between Ed and Joe after they have walked, you can use the Pythagorean theorem. Square each of their distances – 3^2 for Ed and 4^2 for Joe – then add these values together. Finally, take the square root of the result to find the straight-line distance between Ed and Joe.

Learn more about Pythagorean theorem here:

https://brainly.com/question/28361847

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