Lars put stakes in his backyard, as shown in the diagram below, to separate sections of his garden.

Question

Lars stretched 20 yards of a string from stake X to stake Y and 15 yards of the string from stake Y to stake Z. The two strings meet at a right angle.

He wants to stretch the string from stake Z to stake X next. What is the distance from stake Z to stake X?
A.
313 yards
B.
25 yards
C.
5 yards
D.
35 yards

Answer 1

B. 25 yards

Since the two strings meet at a right angle, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance from stake Z to stake X.

Let's call the distance from stake Z to stake X "d".

Using the Pythagorean Theorem:

(15)^2 + (20)^2 = d^2
225 + 400 = d^2
625 = d^2
d = √625
d = 25

Therefore, the distance from stake Z to stake X is 25 yards.