An illustration shows a three dimensional rectangular prism with labeled parts. The top, front and right sides are visible. The bottom, left, and rear sides are not visible, but their positions are indicated by dashed lines. The vertical edge joining the front and left sides is labeled h. A right angle is indicated where that edge meets the front base edge. The front base edge is labeled l. A right angle is indicated where that edge meets the right base edge. The right base edge is labeled w. Two dotted lines extend from the vertex at the back right side of the prism through the interior. The first dotted line extends up to the vertex at the front left side and is labeled d. The second dotted line extends diagonally across the base to the vertex at the front left side where the perpendicular height line meets the base edge and is labeled x.

Given l=30 in.
, w=20 in.
, h=18 in.
, and x=36.1 in.
, find the length of d
. Round the answer to the nearest tenth.

(1 point)

1 answer

To find the length of \( d \), which is the diagonal line connecting the back right vertex of the rectangular prism to the front left vertex, we can use the three-dimensional distance formula.

The formula for the distance \( d \) between two points \((x_1, y_1, z_1)\) and \((x_2, y_2, z_2)\) is given by:

\[ d = \sqrt{(x_2 - x_1)^2 + (y_2 - y_1)^2 + (z_2 - z_1)^2} \]

In this case, we will assume the following coordinates based on the dimensions of the prism:

  • The back right vertex (bottom corner) can be defined as \( (l, w, 0) \) which is \( (30, 20, 0) \).
  • The front left vertex (top corner) can be defined as \( (0, 0, h) \) which is \( (0, 0, 18) \).

Now, we can plug these values into the distance formula:

\[ d = \sqrt{(0 - 30)^2 + (0 - 20)^2 + (18 - 0)^2} \]

Calculating each part:

  1. \((0 - 30)^2 = (-30)^2 = 900\)
  2. \((0 - 20)^2 = (-20)^2 = 400\)
  3. \((18 - 0)^2 = 18^2 = 324\)

Now, sum these values:

\[ d = \sqrt{900 + 400 + 324} = \sqrt{1624} \]

Calculating the square root:

\[ d \approx 40.31 \]

Rounding to the nearest tenth, we find:

\[ \boxed{40.3} , \text{in.} \]