after an airplane takes off it travels 10.4 km west

Question

After an airplane takes off, it travels 10.4 km west, 8.7 km north, and 2.1 km up. How far is it from the take-off point?

The final answer to this question is 13.7 kilometers (km)

We will follow the following steps to solve the problem

Data: Revealed information from the question

If we allow negative x to represent the western direction = 10.4 km .

Then the eastern direction will be, x = – 10.4 km

Along the northern direction, we have y = 8.7 km

We also have z = 2.1 km

Unknown: Unrevealed information

Distance from the takeoff point, S = ?

Formula: The equation that will help us solve the problem

S = √ (x² + y² + z²)

We will now apply our data into the formula to solve the problem

S = √ (x² + y² + z²) = √ ((-10.4)² + 8.7² + 2.1²)

Which implies that

S = √(108.6 + 75.69 + 4.41) = √188.7

Therefore, the distance from the takeoff point is

S = 13.7 km

Hence, the distance s from the takeoff point is 13.7 kilometers.

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