A surveyor has poles A, B, and C set to form a right triangle with the right angle at B. If the distance from A to B is 35 meters and the distance from B to C is 25 meters, what is the distance from A to C? He can't measure it because there is a deep pond between points A and C.

Question

mathmate · Answer

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Use Pythagoras theorem,
AC^2=AB^2+BC^2

Note: Sometimes surveyors would measure all three sides to create a right angle, especially when they do not have an instrument handy.