Question

Two poles of lengths 10 ft and 15 ft are set up vertically with bases on horizontal ground 12 ft apart. Find the distance between the tops of poles

Answer 1

13 ft.

Explanation:

We have a right triangle with base 12, height = 15 -10 = 5 and we need to find the hypotenuse which is the distance between the 2 tops.

x^2 = 5^2 + 12^2 = 144 + 25 = 169.

x = sqrt169 = 13 ft.

Answer 2

The distance between the tops of the poles is the hypotenuse of the triangle which is equal to the square root of (12^2 + 5^2)

The hypotenuse = square root (144 + 25) = 13 ft