A volleyball net post needs a cable to support it. The hook to attach the cable is 4 ft. above the court surface, and the hook in the floor is 3 ft. from the base of the post. How long should the cable be?(1 point)

Answer 1

To find the length of the cable that supports the volleyball net post, we can use the Pythagorean theorem.

We have a right triangle where:

• One leg (the height from the floor to the hook above the court) is 4 ft.
• The other leg (the horizontal distance from the base of the post to the hook in the floor) is 3 ft.

Let $c$ be the length of the cable (the hypotenuse of the triangle). According to the Pythagorean theorem:

$$c^2=a^2+b^2$$

where $a=4$ ft (the vertical distance) and $b=3$ ft (the horizontal distance).

Substituting the values in:

$$c^2=4^2+3^2$$ $$c^2=16+9$$ $$c^2=25$$

Taking the square root of both sides to find $c$:

$$c=\sqrt{25}=5\text{ ft}$$

Therefore, the length of the cable should be 5 ft.