Question

A city planner wants to build a ramp onto a highway. The vertical distance that the ramp goes up is 160ft. The length of the ramp is 340ft and represents the hypotenuse of a right triangle. Find the horizontal distance that the ramp will cover.

Answer 1

300 ft

Explanation:

Given that a city planner wants to build a ramp onto a highway. The vertical distance that the ramp goes up is 160ft. The length of the ramp is 340ft and represents the hypotenuse of a right triangle.

i.e. the triangle formed is a right one with hypotenuse 340 ft and one side 160ft. The other side is the horizontal distance the ramp will cover say x

Then by Pythagorean theorem we get

`340^2 = 160^2+x^2\\x^2 =(340+160)(340-160)\\\\x^2 =90000\\x =300 ft`

Thus horizontal distance the ramp will cover = 300 ft.