Question

Randy wants to attach a 16 16 foot string of lights to the top of the 15 15 foot mast of his sailboat. How far from the base of the mast should he attach the end of the light string? Round your answer to two decimal places.

Answer 1

5.57 feet

Explanation:

The string, the mast and the distance between the base of the mast and the end of the light string forms a right triangle, in which:

- The string is the hypothenuse:
`d`

- The mast is the height:
`h`

- The distance between the base of the mast and the end of the light string is the base:
`b`

In this problem, we have:

`d=16 ft` (length of the string)

`h=15 ft` (height of the mast)

Therefore, we can find the distance between the base of the mast and the end of the light string by applying Pythagorean's theorem; we find:

`b=√(d^2-h^2)=√(16^2-15^2)=5.57 ft`