A building has a ramp to its front doors to accommodate the handicapped. If the distance from the building to the end of the ramp is 17 feet and the height from the ground to the front doors is 7 feet, how long is the ramp? (Round to the nearest tenth.)

Question

mathstudent55 · Answer

1. A drawing is very helpful.
2. The Pythagorean theorem is here to help.

anonymous · Answer

|dw:1406428041538:dw|

mathstudent55 · Answer

No. Not that way.
You need to be careful interpreting the wording of the problem.

mathstudent55 · Answer

|dw:1406428208774:dw|

mathstudent55 · Answer

The ramp's tip on the ground is 17 ft from the building along the ground.

mathstudent55 · Answer

|dw:1406428286001:dw|

anonymous · Answer

17^2+b^2=7^2?

mathstudent55 · Answer

The door of the building is 7 ft up from the ground.
The question is how long is L, the length of the ramp.

mathstudent55 · Answer

Be careful.
The sides of 17 ft and 7 ft are the legs of the triangle.
L is the hypotenuse, which is the longest side.

|dw:1406428412698:dw|

mathstudent55 · Answer

$a^2 + b^2 = c^2$

$(17~ft)^2 + (7~ft)^2 = L^2$

anonymous · Answer

18.4?

mathstudent55 · Answer

Correct.