Question

use the Pythagorean theorem QuickChek and electrical has a support cable that is attached to the pool 20 feet from the ground the cable is anchored on the ground 10 feet from the base of the pole how long is the cable

Answer 1

To find the length of the cable, we can use the Pythagorean theorem, which states that in a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse (the longest side) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

In this case, we have a right triangle where the height of the pole is 20 feet, and the distance from the pole to the anchor point on the ground is 10 feet. Let's label the height as 'h' and the distance to the anchor point as 'd'.

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can write:

h^2 + d^2 = c^2

where c is the length of the cable (the hypotenuse).

Substituting the given values, we have:

20^2 + 10^2 = c^2

Simplifying the equation:

400 + 100 = c^2

500 = c^2

Taking the square root of both sides:

sqrt(500) = c

Therefore, the length of the cable is approximately 22.36 feet.