Question

A wire to be attached to support a telephone pole. Because of surrounding buildings, sidewalks and roadways, the wire must be anchored exactly 21 feet from the base of the pole. Telephone company workers have only 28 feet of cable, and 2 feet of that must be attached to the cable to the pole and to the stake on the ground. How high from the base of the pole can the wire be attached.

The wire can be attached at the height of __ feet from the base of the poles.( simplify your answer)

The wire can be attached at the height of approximately ___ feet from the base of the pole. (Round to two decimal places as needed)

Answer 1

Use Pythagoras's Theorem.

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

21^2 + b^2 = 26^2

Answer 2

So the support wire exposed can only be 26 ft
Clear case of Pythagoras
let the height be h, then
h^2 + 21^2 = 26^2
solve for h