Question

A streetlight post needs distance and the Pythagorean theorem. What is the distance between the streetlight post and the base of the post if the height of the post is 5 meters and the distance from the base to the top of the post is 12 meters?

1) 13 meters
2) 17 meters
3) 20 meters
4) 25 meters

Answer 1

The distance between the streetlight post and the base can be found using the Pythagorean theorem. In this case, the distance is 13 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

The distance between the streetlight post and the base of the post can be found using the Pythagorean theorem. The height of the post represents one leg of the right triangle, and the distance from the base to the top represents the other leg. Let's label the height 'a' and the distance from the base to the top 'b'. We can then use the Pythagorean theorem to find the distance between the post and the base, which is the hypotenuse of the triangle. The formula is a² + b² = c², where 'c' represents the hypotenuse. In this case, a = 5 meters and b = 12 meters, so we have 5² + 12² = c². After evaluating this equation, we find that c² = 169. To find 'c', we take the square root of both sides, resulting in c = 13 meters.