Question

A trucker needs to know if his trailer is wide enough for his load. He knows the diagonal length of the trailer is 60 ft and the length is 48 ft. He also knows that the diagonal width is 45 ft. Use the measurements to find the width of the trailer

Answer 1

By applying the Pythagorean theorem to the measurements provided, we determined that the width of the trailer is 36 feet.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the width of the trailer using the measurements provided, we need to apply the Pythagorean theorem. The theorem states that in a right 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. Here we are given the length of the trailer (48 ft) and the diagonal length of the trailer (60 ft), which is the hypotenuse.

We set up the equation a^2 + b^2 = c^2, where c is the length of the hypotenuse and a and b are the lengths of the other two sides. We know that c is 60 ft and a is 48 ft, so we plug these values in to find the width (which we will call b):

48^2 + b^2 = 60^2

2304 + b^2 = 3600

b^2 = 3600 - 2304

b^2 = 1296

b = sqrt(1296)

b = 36 ft

Therefore, the width of the trailer is 36 ft.