Question

what is the answer to this qustion? A skateboard rail rises 5 feet over a run of 8 feet. What is the length of the rail? Round your answer to 1 decimal place

Answer 1

We have to calculate the length of the rail.

We can imagine the rail as forming a right triangle as:

Then, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the rail (x):

`\begin{gathered} x^2=5^2+8^2 \\ x^2=25+64 \\ x^2=89 \\ x=√(89) \\ x\approx9.4 \end{gathered}`

Answer: the length is approximately 9.4 feet.