Question

The Seventh Inning Stretch Company has created a new baseball that will improve your chances of hitting a home run. The 36-inch bat is only available online. To protect the bat, it must be shipped so the handle of the bat is in one corner of the box and the top portion of the bat touches the opposite diagonal corner.The shipping box has a length of 30 inches and a height of 6 inches. How wide should the box be to fit the 36-inch bat? Show and explain your work.

Answer 1

Width of the box = 18.97 inches

Explanation:

Length of the bat = 36 inches.

That means length of the diagonal of the bat (BC) = 36 inches

By applying Pythagoras theorem in right triangle BDC,

BC² = BD² + CD²

BC² = (30)² + w² -------(1)

BY applying Pythagoras theorem in right triangle ABC,

AC² = AB² + BC²

(36)² = 6² + BC²

By substituting the value of BC from equation (1),

(36)² = 6² + (30)² + w²

1296 = 36 + 900 + w²

w² = 1296 - 936

w = √360

w = 18.97 inches