The Shortest Path

Strategies and Hints

  1. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

  2. No, the width of Maple Street has no effect on the solution. In fact, the problem is best solved by assuming that Maple Street has a width of zero.

  3. In the drawing below, similar triangles are BOX, JOY, and JBZ.

Solution

Using two of the similar triangles, the distance OX can be found from the proportion . Thus, and the answer is 416 feet. Bill should cross Maple Street
416 ft east of his house.