Finding the Distance: Pythagorean Theorem Application

Since the driver's route is represented by the solid lines, we can see that she traveled 5 miles and then 4 miles. This means that she traveled a total of 9 miles before stopping.

The dashed line represents the distance from her starting point to where she stopped. We can use the Pythagorean theorem to find this distance:

dashed line = √(5^2 + 4^2) dashed line = √41

Therefore, x is equal to the length of the dashed line, which is √41 miles.