Question

summerfield street and oxford avenue intersect. if the diagonal distance across the intersection is 9.8 meters and summerfield street is 5.2 meters wide, how wide is oxford avenue? if necessary, round to the nearest tenth. meters

Explanation:

Step1: Identify Pythagorean theorem

The intersection forms a right triangle, where:

• Hypotenuse $c = 9.8$ m (diagonal distance)
• One leg $a = 5.2$ m (width of Summerfield Street)
• Unknown leg $b$ = width of Oxford Avenue

Pythagorean theorem: $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$

Step2: Rearrange to solve for $b$

Isolate $b^2$:
$b^2 = c^2 - a^2$

Step3: Plug in values

$b^2 = 9.8^2 - 5.2^2$
$b^2 = 96.04 - 27.04$
$b^2 = 69$

Step4: Calculate square root

$b = \sqrt{69} \approx 8.3$

Answer:

8.3 meters