Question

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)
Responses

5 ft.
5 ft.

2.65 ft.
2.65 ft.

25 ft.
25 ft.

4 ft.

Answer 1

To find the length of the cable needed to support the volleyball net post, you can use the Pythagorean theorem. The situation can be visualized as a right triangle, where:

- One leg of the triangle (vertical) is the height from the court surface to the hook in the post, which is 4 ft.
- The other leg of the triangle (horizontal) is the distance from the post to the hook in the floor, which is 3 ft.

The length of the cable will be the hypotenuse of this right triangle. According to the Pythagorean theorem:

\[
c = \sqrt{a^2 + b^2}
\]

where \( a \) is 4 ft, and \( b \) is 3 ft.

Calculating it:

\[
c = \sqrt{(4)^2 + (3)^2} = \sqrt{16 + 9} = \sqrt{25} = 5 \text{ ft.}
\]

Thus, the length of the cable should be **5 ft**.