Asked by Evalyn Carver

I'm having problems with Pythagorean theorem: word problems. Please help me. Damon is fishing from a small boat. A fish swimming at the same depth as the hook at the end of his fishing line is 12 feet away from the hook. If Damon is 20 feet away from the fish, how far below Damon is the hook?
Thank you so much because I have been working on this for the past hour and I have gotten no where.
Answered by Evalyn Carver
Reed? Reiny? Anyone? I'm not trying to rush anyone but I am really eager to find out what I've been doing wrong.
Answered by Damon
The hypotenuse is 20
one of the legs is 12
what is the other leg?
12^2 + x^2 = 20^2 = 400
x^2 = 400 - 144
x^2 = 256
x = 16
and yes, I am a fisherman.
Answered by Damon
By the way this is a 3, 4, 5 triangle
9 + 16 = 25
Answered by Evalyn Carver
It's so clear now! Thank you so much! Are you seriously a fisherman though?
Answered by Damon
Yes, although not since I was a young man lobstering and ground fishing out of Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Answered by Evalyn Carver
Sweet! I've never went fishing. The closest I've ever been to water is when I found a baby turtle near a river that I used to live by. Now I have three of them Tony, Tonia, and I still have to figure out if the last one is a girl or a boy. It's a challenge but that's what makes it fun!
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