Question

The bed of a pick up truck measures 4' x 8" to the nearest inch what is the length of the longest thin metal bar that will lie flat in the bed

Answer 1

The maximum length of a thin metal bar that can lie flat in a pickup truck bed measuring 4 feet by 8 inches is found using the Pythagorean theorem to be approximately 48.7 inches.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question involves finding the length of the longest thin metal bar that can lie flat in the bed of a pickup truck with a bed size of 4 feet by 8 inches. To determine the longest possible length of the metal bar, one must use the Pythagorean theorem. This theorem states that in a right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.

Let's denote the length and width of the truck bed as 'L' and 'W', respectively. The longest metal bar will fit diagonally across the bed, creating a right-angled triangle where the bar is the hypotenuse. In the context of this problem:

• L = 4 feet = 48 inches (since 1 foot = 12 inches)
• W = 8 inches

Using the Pythagorean theorem:

Bar length2 = L2 + W2

Bar length2 = 482 + 82

Bar length2 = 2304 + 64

Bar length2 = 2368

Bar length = √2368

Bar length ≈ 48.7 inches

Therefore, the maximum length of the thin metal bar that can lie flat in the truck bed without bending is approximately 48.7 inches, which can be rounded to the nearest whole number if required.

Answer 2

ok so what y ou want to do it to max space, lie it diagonally
use pythagoren theorem
first convert the units

4'=4 feet
8''=8 inches
convert to inches
4 feet times 12=48 inches

so
pythagorea theorem is
a^2+b^2=c^2
c=hypotonuse
a and b are legs
in a right triangle

8 and 48 are the legs
fidn hypotonuse

8^2+48^2=c^2
64+2304=c^2
2368=c^2
8√37=c
aprox
48.66=c
4 feet amd 0.66 inches