1) When Samuel goes to school, he has to walk 480 yards east of his house and then 360 yards south to arrive to his school. How far does he have to walk to get to school from his house? If he decides that he will cut his distance by going across a park directly from his house to school how far will he have to walk? By how much is it shorter to go across the park then going around the park? In your picture, you should have the house, the school, the path from the house to school around the park and path from the house to school across the park. Label the path around the park with their values. Label the path across the park with a variable. The path across the park and the path around the park form a right triangle with the right angle between the two parts of the path around the park. Label the right angle. Since the paths form a right triangle, you can use Pythagorean theorem to find the distance from the house to school across the park. The general Pythagorean formula is a2 + b2 = c2 where a and b represent the legs and c represents the hypotenuse.

Once you find the distance, find out the total distance Samuel has to travel around the park. Then you will be able to find out by how much farther it to go around the park.

2) A 100 feet tower needs an anchor line. For the tower to be stable, the anchor line has to be attached to the top of the tower with its other end on the ground 32 feet from the tower. How long has to be the anchor line for the tower to be stable?

Sketch the picture of the tower, the anchor line and the distance from the tower. You will form a right triangle with the right angle between the tower and the ground. Label the height of the tower and the distance from the tower. Label the length of the anchor line with a variable. Label the right angle. Again, you will use the Pythagorean formula. Follow the same procedures related to working with Pythagorean formula as you did in question 1.

3) You want to buy a new tv. In a store, you see a tv that you like with a diagonal of 20 inches and length of 16 inches. Will this tv fit on a shelf that is 13 inches high?

Sketch the picture of the frame of the tv. Draw the diagonal of the tv. Label the diagonal and the length of the tv. To find out if the tv fits on the shelf, you will have to find the height of the tv. The diagonal of the tv and its length and height form a right triangle with the right angle between the length and the height of the tv. Label the right angle. Again, you will use the Pythagorean formula. Follow the same procedures related to working with Pythagorean formula as you did in question 1. Once you find the height of the tv, explain whether it will fit on the shelf or not and why.