While traveling down the remote river, Emek and Tara found their planned channel blocked by rising water. Their navigation model offered two safe alternate routes and expressed the travel times in hours. Route A required sqrt(50)/5 + 2^3/4 hours, while Route B required 1 + 3sqrt(8)/4 hours. To compare them, Tara simplified sqrt(50) to 5sqrt(2), so Route A became sqrt(2) + 2. Emek simplified sqrt(8) to 2sqrt(2), making Route B equal to 1 + 3sqrt(2)/2. Using sqrt(2) as approximately 1.414, they estimated Route A at 3.414 hours and Route B at about 3.121 hours. They checked the original expressions with the same approximation and obtained matching values, confirming that their transformations had preserved the travel times. Sunset was 3.3 hours away, so Route A would arrive too late, while Route B left about 0.18 hour to spare. Emek and Tara chose Route B and reached camp safely before dark.