Question

How long is the light beam from the top of the lighthouse to the ground? Round to the nearest tenth. The light house is 25m tall and a boat is 180m from the base

Answer 1

181.7m

Explanation:

The set up is a right angled triangle with;

Height of the light house = 25m = opposite side

The distance of the boat from the base = 180m = Adjacent

The distance of the light beam from the house = Hypotenuse = x

Using pythagoras theorem;

x² = 25²+180²

x² = 625+32400

x² = 33025

x = √33,025

x = 181.7m

Hence distance of the light beam from the top of the lighthouse to the ground is 181.7m to the nearest tenth