The distance between the start and end points is 28.3 miles.
Remember that the distance between two points (x₁, y₁) and (x₂, y₂) is:
[tex]d = \sqrt{(x_1 - x_2)^2 + (y_2 -y_1)^2}[/tex]
Here the initial point is (0mi, 0mi).
If we define the north as positive y-axis and east as the positive x-axis, after that Thomas travels 24 miles north and 15 miles west his new position is:
(-15mi, 24mi).
The distance is then:
[tex]d = \sqrt{(-15mi - 0mi)^2 + (24mi - 0mi)^2} = 28.3mi[/tex]
If you want to learn more about distances you can read:
https://brainly.com/question/7243416
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