Problema Solution
Richard is decorating a rectangular ballroom ceiling with garland. Beginning in a corner, Richard strings garland along length of the ceiling, a distance of 75 feet. Next, Richard strings garland along the width of the ceiling, a distance of 40 feet. Then Richard strings the garland straight back to the original corner. At this point, how much garland has Richard used?
Answer provided by our tutors
In fact we need to find the perimeter of a right triangle with legs of 75 ft and 40 ft.
Using the Pythagorean Theorem we find the hypotenuse 'c', c>0:
c^2 = 75^2 + 40^2
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click here to see the equation solved for c
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c = 85 ft
P = 75 + 40 + 85
P = 200 ft
Richard used 200 feet of garland.