Given
A youth group is setting up camp. Rain is predicted, so the campers build a fly, or rain cover, over their tent.
The fly will be 12 feet high and 16 feet wide.
Find out the minimum length of the slanted poles needed to support the fly.
To proof
As given the question
the campers build a fly, or rain cover, over their tent.
The fly will be 12 feet high and 16 feet wide.
The scouts are building the frame for the fly with two poles slanted and joined together at the top of the tent.
The fly is in the shape of cone we take cut section of it in the form of triangle.
As shown in the diagram.
The fly will be 16 feet wide i.e BC = 16 feet
thus BD = DC = 8 feet
By pythagorus theorem
Hypotenuse²= Height ²+ Base²
in ΔABD
AD = 12 feet
BD = 8 feet
put these value in the equation
AB ²= AD² + BD²
AB²= 12²+ 8²
AB² = 144 + 64
AB² = 208

AB = 14.42 feet
The minimum length of the slanted poles needed to support the fly is 14.42 feet.
Hence proved