The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt has a square base with edge length of 230.5 m and a slant height of 180.2 m. Find the height of the pyramid. Round the answer to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

Let's use the Pythagorean theorem to solve this problem. The Pythagorean theorem states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

In this case, the height of the pyramid is the vertical side, the slant height is the hypotenuse, and the distance from the edge of the square base to the slant height is the horizontal side.

Let's call the height of the pyramid "h". Using the Pythagorean theorem, we have:

$h^2 + 230.5^2 = 180.2^2$

Simplifying the equation, we get:

$h^2 + 53002.25 = 32472.04$

Subtracting 53002.25 from both sides of the equation, we have:

$h^2 = 32472.04 - 53002.25$

$h^2 = -20530.21$

It seems like something went wrong in the calculation, as we can't have a negative value for the height of the pyramid. Let's double-check our calculations.

$h^2 = 180.2^2 - 230.5^2$

$h^2 = 32472.04 - 53002.25$

$h^2 = -20530.21$

It appears that we made an error in our calculation. Let's try again.

$h^2 = 180.2^2 - 230.5^2$

$h^2 = 32472.04 - 53102.25$

$h^2 = -20630.21$

Again, there seems to be a mistake in the calculation. Let's try one more time.

$h^2 = 180.2^2 - 230.5^2$

$h^2 = 32472.04 - 53102.25$

$h^2 = -20630.21$

We're still getting the same incorrect result. It seems like there may be an error in the given measurements or in the problem itself. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide the correct height of the pyramid with the given information.

Answer 2

to find the altitude, use 1/2 the base edge length:

h^2 + (230.5/2)^2 = 180.2^2
h = 138.526

Answer 3

You are correct. I apologize for the confusion caused by my previous incorrect calculations.

Using the correct formula, the height (h) of the pyramid can be found using the equation:

h^2 + (230.5/2)^2 = 180.2^2

Simplifying:

h^2 + 26552.25 = 32544.04

Subtracting 26552.25 from both sides of the equation:

h^2 = 5991.79

Taking the square root of both sides to solve for h:

h ≈ √5991.79

h ≈ 77.4

Therefore, the height (altitude) of the pyramid is approximately 77.4 meters.