George is building a slide for a new park. He wants the height of the slide to be 8 feet, and he wants the horizontal distance along the ground to measure 16 feet.

After building the slide, George decides the slide needs a vertical safety support and wants to use a 4-foot piece of wood to build the support. How far from the point where the base of the slide meets the ground should George place the vertical support?

Question

George is building a slide for a new park. He wants the height of the slide to be 8 feet, and he wants the horizontal distance along the ground to measure 16 feet.

After building the slide, George decides the slide needs a vertical safety support and wants to use a 4-foot piece of wood to build the support. How far from the point where the base of the slide meets the ground should George place the vertical support?

anonymous · Answer

Okay, so the value of tan(O) is given by height(perpenicular dist.)/horiontal distance(base). 
The O can be calculated by arctan(8/16)=0.463
Now Let the vertical support be built at a distance of 'x' from the point where slide touches the ground.
height of support=4
So, tan(O)=height/horizonal dist.= 4/x
Therefore, x=4/tan(0)
                    =4/tan(0.463)
                    =8.639 m. (Answer)

anonymous · Answer

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