Question

Hello I need help with this problem:A telephone poll is 24 feet tall. A 26-foot guy wire is used to stabilize the pole. How far from the base of the telephone pole should the end of the guy wire be set? (Assume that the poll makes a right angle with the ground)A) 10 FeetB) 11 FeetC) 12 FeetD) 9 Feet(image modified to fit problem into one)

Answer 1

To solve this problem we need to use the pythagorean theorem. In this case we need to find the length of one of the legs of the triangle formed, which means we need to use the following formula:

`b=\sqrt[]{c^2-a^2}`

Where c is the hypotenuse, which in this case is represented by the guy wire, and a is the known leg, which is represented by the phone poll. Use the known lengths to find the answer:

`\begin{gathered} b=\sqrt[]{26^2-24^2} \\ b=\sqrt[]{100} \\ b=10 \end{gathered}`

The correct answer is 10. The answer is choice A.