The correct answer is 45ft(along the ground)
Step-by-step explanation:
It is making the right angled triangle as one half is 28 feet tall(vertically straight); the other half which fell over some distance is the hypotenuse. To find its length:
Hypotenuse = 81 - 28 = 53
Now that we have hypotenuse and the vertical length (perpendicular), we can find the base( along the ground) using Pythagoras theorem:
c^2 = a^2 + b^2
c = hypotenuse
a = perpendicular
b = base
53^2 = 28^2 + b^2
b = 45ft (along the ground)