To drive to work, dave has to drive 20 miles east and then 15 miles north. if there were a direct road going northeast, how many miles would he have to drive? .

The path that Dave drove and the direct road going northeast form a right triangle with legs 20 miles and 15 miles. What is asked in the problem is the hypotenuse of the triangle, x. Using the Pythagorean equation,
                                20² + 15² = x²
The equation yields a value of x equal to 25. Thus, Dave would have to drive 25 miles only. 

If i could just have the statements, i'd be able to