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Rachel is sitting in a tree 1515 feet above the ground. A minute ago, she spotted a skunk 4040 feet from the base of the tree walking closer to her. Now, the skunk is 2020 feet from the base of the tree. The diagonal line from Rachel to the skunk is the distance between them. How much closer is the skunk to Rachel now than it was a minute ago?\newlineIf necessary, round your answer to the nearest tenth.\newline____\_\_\_\_ feet\newline

Full solution

Q. Rachel is sitting in a tree 1515 feet above the ground. A minute ago, she spotted a skunk 4040 feet from the base of the tree walking closer to her. Now, the skunk is 2020 feet from the base of the tree. The diagonal line from Rachel to the skunk is the distance between them. How much closer is the skunk to Rachel now than it was a minute ago?\newlineIf necessary, round your answer to the nearest tenth.\newline____\_\_\_\_ feet\newline
  1. Identify Distances: Identify the distances involved in the problem. Rachel is 1515 feet above the ground, and the skunk's initial distance from the tree is 4040 feet, now reduced to 2020 feet.
  2. Calculate Initial Distance: Calculate the initial diagonal distance from Rachel to the skunk using the Pythagorean theorem. Initial distance = 152+402=225+1600=1825\sqrt{15^2 + 40^2} = \sqrt{225 + 1600} = \sqrt{1825}.
  3. Calculate New Distance: Calculate the new diagonal distance from Rachel to the skunk using the Pythagorean theorem. New distance = 152+202=225+400=625\sqrt{15^2 + 20^2} = \sqrt{225 + 400} = \sqrt{625}.
  4. Find Difference: Subtract the new distance from the initial distance to find out how much closer the skunk is now. Difference = 1825625=42.725=17.7\sqrt{1825} - \sqrt{625} = 42.7 - 25 = 17.7 feet.

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