Question

A kite is flying at the end of a 300 -foot string. It is 120 feet above the ground. About how far away horizontally is the person holding the string from the kite?

Answer 1

To find the horizontal distance between the person holding the string and the kite, we can use the Pythagorean theorem. The person holding the string is about 275.5 feet away horizontally from the kite.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the horizontal distance between the person holding the string and the kite, we can use the Pythagorean theorem.

The string of the kite is the hypotenuse of a right triangle, and the height of the kite above the ground is one of the legs.

Let's call the horizontal distance x. Now let's set up the equation:

x^2 + 120^2 = 300^2

Simplifying the equation, we get:

x^2 = 300^2 - 120^2

x^2 = 90000 - 14400

x^2 = 75600

Taking the square root of both sides:

x = √75600

x ≈ 275.5 feet

Therefore, the person holding the string is about 275.5 feet away horizontally from the kite.