Dwayne is laying computer cables in the ceiling of a large building. A 300-foot cable to Suite A and a 520-foot cable to Suite B meet at a right angle. Suites A and B are both on the outer walls of the building. If Dwayne lays a third cable from where the first two cables meet directly to the outer wall, how far will it be from where the third cable meets the outer wall to Suite A?

Answer 152.8 ft
149.9 ft

163.9 ft
157.9 ft

Question

Dwayne is laying computer cables in the ceiling of a large building. A 300-foot cable to Suite A and a 520-foot cable to Suite B meet at a right angle. Suites A and B are both on the outer walls of the building. If Dwayne lays a third cable from where the first two cables meet directly to the outer wall, how far will it be from where the third cable meets the outer wall to Suite A?

Answer    152.8 ft 
   149.9 ft
 
   163.9 ft 
   157.9 ft

anonymous · Answer

This is a very poorly worded question.  Is it straight out of your text book?

From my understanding of what the question is asking I think the answer is 149.9 feet

anonymous · Answer

thnx

anonymous · Answer

from my understanding, the answer is 0.  with the information given, the closest point to the outer wall from the intersection of cables is going to be suite A.  I agree it is a poorly worded question.

anonymous · Answer

I thought that for a while as well.  It all depends if suite A and suite B are along a straight wall, or there is a corner between them.  Assume that the wall is straight.  Then you have a right triangle.  Draw the shortest line possiable from the hypotoneuse to the 90 degree intersection.  Then find the distance from the other endpoint of that line to suite A.

anonymous · Answer

I feel sorry for people that have to work with textbooks with this type of question.  It makes math seem hard, when it is actually not.