Question

Colton is about to ride a straight water slide. The launching platform is at the top of a tower that is 8 meters tall. The splash pool at the end of the slide is 15 meters from the base of the tower. How long is the water slide itself? Show your work.

Answer 1

The length of the water slide itself is 17 meters

Explanation:

Here, we want to calculate the length of the water slide

from the description given in the question;

we have a right angled triangle where the height of the tower, the distance from the base of the tower and the length of the slide itself represents the sides of the triangle

From the description given in the question, the water slide length represents the slope of the right triangle formed

thus, mathematically by using Pythagoras’ theorem;

The square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the two other sides

Let us call the length of the water slide y

y^2 = 8^2 + 15^2

y^2 = 64 + 225

y^2 = 289

y = √289

y = 17 meters