In a rectangular coordinate system, what is the number of units in the distance from the origin to the point $(-15, 8)$?
I can use the distance formula, which says that the distance between two points $(x_1, y_1)$ and $(x_2, y_2)$ is given by $\sqrt{(x_2 - x_1)^2 + (y_2 - y_1)^2}$. In this case, $(x_1, y_1) = (0, 0)$ and $(x_2, y_2) = (-15, 8)$, so I can plug these values into the formula. I get $\sqrt{(-15 - 0)^2 + (8 - 0)^2} = \sqrt{225 + 64} = \sqrt{289}$. I know that $\sqrt{289} = 17$, so the distance is 17 units. 