Question

A solar collector and its stand are in the shape of a right triangle. The collector is 5.00 m long, the upright leg is 2.00 m long, and the base leg is 4.58 m long. Because of inefficiencies in the collector’s position, it needs to be lowered by 0.50 m on the upright leg. How long will the new base leg be? Round to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

a^2=c^2-b^2
a^2=5^2-(2.00-.5)^2

solve for a