With the given measurements, determine the length of the base of the square pyramid the height is 20 and the slant is 25, find the base.

1 answer

To find the length of the base of the square pyramid, we can use the Pythagorean theorem.

The slant height (s) of the pyramid is the hypotenuse of a right triangle formed by the height (h) and half of the base (b/2):

s^2 = (b/2)^2 + h^2

Substituting the given values:

25^2 = (b/2)^2 + 20^2

625 = (b/2)^2 + 400

225 = (b/2)^2

Taking the square root of both sides:

15 = b/2

Multiplying both sides by 2:

30 = b

Therefore, the length of the base of the square pyramid is 30.