An electric pole has a support cable that is attached to the pole 20 ft. from the ground. The cable is anchored on the ground 10 ft. from the base of the pole. How long is the cable? Round to the nearest tenth.(1 point)

Question

Responses

17.3 ft.
17.3 ft.

22.4 ft.
22.4 ft.

300 ft.
300 ft.

500 ft.

Answer 1

To solve this problem, we can use the Pythagorean theorem.
The hypotenuse, which represents the length of the cable, can be found by taking the square root of the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

Using the Pythagorean theorem:
c^2 = a^2 + b^2

In this case, the sides are:
a = 20 ft. (height of the pole above the connection point)
b = 10 ft. (distance from the base of the pole to the connection point)

c^2 = 20^2 + 10^2
c^2 = 400 + 100
c^2 = 500

Taking the square root of both sides:
c = √500

Rounding to the nearest tenth:
c ≈ 22.4 ft.

So, the length of the cable is approximately 22.4 ft. Answer choice: 22.4 ft.