33.4k views
1 vote
Suppose a railroad rail is 5 kilometers and it expands on a hot day by 18 centimeters in length. Approximately how many meters would the center of the rail rise above the​ ground?

1 Answer

5 votes

Answer:

21.2 m

Explanation:

The Pythagorean theorem tells you the second side of a right triangle with hypotenuse 2500.09 meters and one side 2500 meters will be ...

height = √(2500.09² -2500²) = √450.0081 ≈ 21.2 . . . . meters

The rail will rise approximately 21 meters above the ground.

_____

If the rail forms an arc of a circle, the center of the arc will be about 18 meters above the ground. Solving that involves some iteration (or a graphing calculator).

User Darren Felton
by
5.2k points