Problema Solution
A builder of a high-ropes adventure course wants to secure a pole by attaching a support cable from the anchor stake a yards from its base to a point b yards up the pole. How long should the cable be? (Let
a = 4
and
b = 3.
)
Answer provided by our tutors
a = 4 yd
b = 3 yd
c = the length of the support cable, c>0
Using the Pythagorean Theorem we have:
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
4^2 + 3^2 = c^2
........
click here to see the equation solved for c
........
c = 5 yd
We need to ignore the negative solution -5 because the cable's length can only be positive.
The cable should be 5 yards long.