Question

a guy wire from the top of a 20-foot pole is anchored to the ground 12 ft from the base of the pole. how long is the wire?

Answer 1

you can use the pythagorean theorem to find z

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

20^2 + 12^2 = z^2

z = ??

Answer 2

544=z^2

Answer 3

but thats not a perfect square

Answer 4

it usually isn't but it still works because you can have fractional lengths (like 2.3 or something)

Answer 5

Take the square root of both sides. What do you get?

Answer 6

23.323..

Answer 7

So that is the approximate length of z

Answer 8

which is the approximate length of the wire in feet

Answer 9

oh ok thanks

Answer 10

you're welcome