A wire runs from the top of a flagpole to a point on the ground that is 9 yards from the base of the pole. The wire is 15 yards long. How many yards tall is the flagpole? (Please type ONLY the numerical answer, no extra spaces or words. Do NOT include any units.)

2 answers

Think about it. The wire is 9 yards shorter than the flagpole.

You don't need algebra to do this.
height^2 + 9^2 = 15^2
height^2 = 144
height =√144 = 12